Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER)

  [   PIER species lists  ]   [   PIER home  ]

Nicotiana glauca
R.C.Graham, Solanaceae
Click on an image for links to BIGGER PICTURES


Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 15 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: guang yan cao

English: mustard tree, tree tobacco, wild tobacco

French: tabac canaque

Hawaiian: mākāhala, paka

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Shrubs or small spindly trees, glabrous except for corolla tube.  Leaves simple, alternate, glaucous, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, often 4-10 cm long, 2-8 cm wide, glabrous, margins entire, apex obtuse to broadly acuminate, base obtuse, petioles terete, 1-6 cm long.  Flowers in short, dense, terminal panicles, pedicels up to 15 mm long, bracts lanceolate, 2-7 mm long; calyx usually 7-14 mm long, the lobes narrowly elliptic, connate ca. 3/4 their length, intersepalar membrane inconspicuous; corolla tube 20-40 mm long, 3-4 mm wide at apex of calyx, the tube proper narrower than throat cylinder, throat cup symmetrical, yellow or yellowish, corolla limb 9-13 mm in diameter, remaining open in daylight, the lobes obtuse, connate most of their length, stamens equal or nearly so; filaments inserted in lower 1/2 of tube, 20-30 mm long.  Capsules ovoid-ellipsoid to nearly subglobose, equaling or shorter than calyx, 7-13 mm long.  Seeds numerous, reniform to oblong-reniform, 0.5-0.9 mm long, testa honeycombed or with wrinkles" (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1260-1262, 1895).

Habitat/ecology:  "Riverbanks, desert scrub, arid grassland, coastal beaches, rocky places.  A drought resistant plant that grows in a wide range of conditions, either as a stunted shrub or as a tree.  The vigorous growth leads to dense pure  stands that crowd out native species and prevent natural regeneration.  The large leaves shade out all vegetation below its canopies.  Little is known on the ecology of this shrub"  (Weber, 2003; p. 286).

In Hawai‘i, "naturalized in open, arid, disturbed sites, 3-350 m" (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1260-1262). In New Caledonia, "cette plante envahissante ailleurs ne semble pas s'être établie en Nouvelle-Calédonie" (MacKee, 1994; p. 131).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Argentina, now widely naturalized in warm temperate regions of the world" (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1260-1262).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. &
Island group
Location Cited status &
Cited as invasive &
Cited as cultivated &
Cited as aboriginal introduction?
Reference &
Comments
French Polynesia
Clipperton Island
Clipperton (Arue, Avera) Island   Sachet, M.-H. (1962) (p. 93)
State of Hawaii
Hawaiian Islands
Hawai‘i (Big) Island introduced
invasive
Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R. (1995) (p. 26)
Voucher cited: Flynn & Lorence 2280 (BISH, PTBG)
State of Hawaii
Hawaiian Islands
Kaho‘olawe Island introduced
invasive
Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1260-1262)
State of Hawaii
Hawaiian Islands
Lāna‘i Island introduced
invasive
Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1260-1262)
State of Hawaii
Hawaiian Islands
Maui Island introduced
invasive
Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1260-1262)
State of Hawaii
Hawaiian Islands
Moloka‘i Island introduced
invasive
Oppenheimer, Hank L. (2003) (pp. 25-26)
Voucher cited: Oppenheimer H70113 (BISH, PTBG)
State of Hawaii
Hawaiian Islands
O‘ahu Island introduced
invasive
Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1260-1262)
Voucher cited: Mann & Brigham 196 (BISH)
Marshall Islands
Ralik Chain
Enewetak (Ãnewetak, Eniwetok) Atoll introduced
invasive
St. John, Harold (1960) (pp. 332-333)
Voucher cited: Palumbo 1124
New Caledonia
New Caledonia Archipelago
Île Grande Terre introduced
MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 131)
Present status unknown. Vouchers cited: Cribs 1035, Le Rat 54
United States (other Pacific offshore islands)
Johnston Atoll
Johnston Island introduced
invasive
Amerson, A. Binion, Jr./Shelton, Philip C. (1976) (p. 59)
Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. &
Island group
Location Cited status &
Cited as invasive &
Cited as cultivated &
Cited as aboriginal introduction?
Reference &
Comments
Australia
Australia (continental)
Australia (continental) introduced
invasive
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Naturalized
China
China
China (People's Republic of) introduced
cultivated
Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2013)
Mexico
Mexico
Mexico (United Mexican States) introduced
invasive
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Naturalized
New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand (country) introduced
invasive
Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 1231)
South America (Pacific rim)
South America (Pacific rim)
Chile (Republic of) native
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
South America (Pacific rim)
South America (Pacific rim)
Ecuador (Republic of) (continental) native
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
South America (Pacific rim)
South America (Pacific rim)
Perú (Republic of) native
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. &
Island group
Location Cited status &
Cited as invasive &
Cited as cultivated &
Cited as aboriginal introduction?
Reference &
Comments
United States (continental except west coast)
United States (other states)
United States (other states) introduced
invasive
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Naturalized

Control: 

Physical:  Hand pull or dig out seedlings and young plants.

Chemical:  Cut large plants and treat the stumps with herbicide. "In South Africa the plants are cut and stumps treated with 2,4,5-T" (Cronk & Fuller, 2001; p. 174).

Biological:  "Successful control has been achieved where the plants were sprayed with herbicide and the exposed to the beetle, Malabris aculeata"  (Cronk & Fuller, 2001; p. 174).


Need more info? Have questions? Comments? Information to contribute? Contact PIER! (pier@hear.org)

  [   PIER species lists  ]   [   PIER home  ]

This page was created on 14 MAY 2005 and was last updated on 19 JAN 2011.