Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER)

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Medinilla heterophylla
A.Gray, Melastomataceae
No images for this taxon


Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 9 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

Fijian: kambikambi, mbambalewalu, tavolali, tikoko ni kalou, wa kula, wa nduanilulu, wa ni mbai

Habit:  vine

Description:  "High-climbing liana, the young parts inconspicuously brown-furfuraceous-puberulent, soon glabrescent, the branches subterete, stout, often rooting at nodes, the branchlets slender, terete; leaves conspicuously dimorphic (rarely those of a pair subsimilar); larger leaves: petioles slender, shallowly canaliculate, 12-30 mm long, the blades chartaceous, ovate-oblong or elliptic, 6-16 cm long, 4-10.5 cm broad, subcordate or rounded at base, acute or short-acuminate at apex, 5- or 7-pli-nerved, the nerves often united to 12 mm above base, slightly raised or nearly plane above, prominent beneath, the tertiaries prominulous on both surfaces or subimmersed; smaller leaves: petioles none or up to 2 mm long, the blades suborbicular, up to 4 cm in diameter, cordate and often subamplexicaul at base, inconspicuously 3- or 5-pli-nerved; inflorescence from main stems or terminal or axillary on branchlets, amply paniculate or cymose (when associated with leaves more compact and often only 5 cm long), up to 50 cm long, the branches often puberulent when young, soon glabrescent, few, raceme-like, with internodes 6-23 mm long and swollen nodes; bracts white (2 or) 3 or 4 in whorls at nodes, persistent, papyraceous, obovate, 7-14 mm long, 4-10 mm broad, rounded at apex, obtuse at base; flowers 2-4 per node, abundant, the pedicel slender, 7-17 mm long, with 2 apical bracteoles; bracteoles similar to bracts or suborbicular, clasping the calyx; calyx white, the tube cupuliform, 4-5 mm long and in diameter at anthesis, obtuse or subacute at base, often minutely brownish-glandular-puberulent, the limb sub erect, membranous, 1.5-2 mm long, truncate at margin, the teeth 4, minute; petals 4, pale to rich pink, membranous, obovate, 9-10 mm long, 8-9 mm broad, rounded and sometimes emarginate at apex; stamens 8, the filaments slender, 4-5 mm long at anthesis, the anthers usually yellow, oblong-subulate, about 3 mm long, trilobulate at base (two anterior and one posterior lobes similar, rounded, about 0.5 mm in diameter), subacute at apex, dehiscing by a single introrse-terminal pore; style 7-9 mm long, the stigma minute; fruit globose-ovoid, purple to black, 6-8 mm in diameter, the calyx-limb subpersistent, the pericarp thin, the seeds numerous, semi-obovoid, about 1 mm long"  (Smith, 1942; pp. 81-82).

"A liana occurring in dense forest, or occasionally on the edges of forest, at elevations of 50-1,120 m.  Its inflorescences commonly occur on the stem, often near the ground, but frequently they are also associated with the leaves toward the tops of trees.  The inflorescence branches, bracts, bracteoles, and hypanthium are usually pure white, sometimes slightly greenish or faintly pink-tinged; the petals are rich to pale pink, the filaments white or distally yellowish, the anthers yellow with blue to purple basal lobes, the style is white and sometimes pink-tinged, and the fruit is dull purple, at length black"  (Smith, 1985; p. 391).

Habitat/ecology:  In Fiji, "occurring most often in the forests of middle elevations"  (Smith, 1942; pp. 81-82).

Propagation:  Seed, possibly spread by birds (Frohlich & Lau, 2010; p. 12).

Native range:  Fiji (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. &
Island group
Location Cited status &
Cited as invasive &
Cited as cultivated &
Cited as aboriginal introduction?
Reference &
Comments
Fiji
Fiji Islands
Kandavu Island native
Smith, Albert C. (1985) (p. 391)
Voucher cited: Smith 249
Fiji
Fiji Islands
Koro Island native
Smith, Albert C. (1985) (p. 391)
Voucher cited: Smith 1013
Fiji
Fiji Islands
Ovalau Island native
Smith, Albert C. (1985) (p. 391)
Voucher cited: U.S. Expl. Exped. 47890 (US, GH, NY), Gillespie 4532
Fiji
Fiji Islands
Taveuni Island native
Smith, Albert C. (1985) (p. 391)
Voucher cited: Smith 8274
Fiji
Fiji Islands
Vanua Levu Island native
Smith, Albert C. (1985) (p. 391)
Vouchers cited: Smith 1582, Degener & Ordonez 13847
Fiji
Fiji Islands
Viti Levu Island native
Smith, Albert C. (1985) (p. 391)
Vouchers cited: Greenwood 1066, Degener & Ordonez 13574, Smith 5227, DF 1172, Seemann 176, Gillespie 3098, Degener 15372, Gibbs 539, Parks 20077, Smith 7027
State of Hawaii
Hawaiian Islands
O‘ahu Island introduced
invasive
Frohlich, Danielle/Lau, Alex (2010) (p. 12)
Voucher cited: OED/OISC 2008041602 (BISH)
State of Hawaii
Hawaiian Islands
O‘ahu Island   Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.) (1976) (voucher ID: BISH 415558)
Taxon name on voucher: Medinilla heterophylla A.Gray

Control:  If you know of control methods for Medinilla heterophylla, please let us know.


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This page was created on 26 NOV 2008 and was last updated on 10 JUL 2010.