Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Borreria prostrata (Aubl.) Miq.

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: pu fu feng hua cao

English: false buttonweed, prostrate false buttonweed

Spanish: botoncillo

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Prostrate or decumbent annual herbs to 40 cm tall, branching mostly near the bases, leafy stems 0.4-2 mm thick, glabrous or rarely with thin hairs to 0.8 mm long, with 4 longitudinal ribs 0.1-0.3 mm high; stipule sheaths 1-3 mm high, 1.5-6 mm broad, with 3-9 awns 1-2 mm long. Leaves opposite or pseudoverticillate with 2-4 smaller axillary leaves at each node, sessile or subsessile; leaf blades 10-35 mm long, 2-18 mm broad, elliptic to narrowly elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate, apex acute (obtuse), base cuneate and decurrent on petiole, drying membranaceous to chartaceous, greenish or yellowish brown, glabrous or with minute (0.2 mm) stiff hairs above and below, scabrous on the margin, 2º veins 2-4/side. Inflorescences mostly axillary (sometimes terminal), 2-4 mm high and 3-8 mm broad, flowers few (3-8) to many (ca. 20) and sessile. Flowers with hypanthium 0.5-1 mm long, calyx lobes usually 2 larger and 2 smaller, 0.6-1 mm long; corolla white, less than 3 mm long. Fruits ca. 2 mm long, body of the fruit 0.8-1.2 mm long; seeds 0.7-1.2 mm long, 0.3-0.5 mm broad, reticulate, often with longitudinal ridges (x 10) and distinctive transversely elongated pits (x40), dark reddish brown" (Berger, 1993; p. 318).

"Spermacoce prostrata is recognized by the small weedy habit, usual lack of puberulence, often sessile leaves, minute flowers, and small seeds with reticulated surface of distinctive pits. These pits are larger (0.05-0.1 mm) than in S. exilis or S. ovalifolia and they are transversely oblong (x40)... The fruits usually appear to have only two calyx lobes because the two smaller lobes fall off. Many of these specimens were earlier placed under the name Borreria ocymoides (Burm.) DC., an Asian species. Compare with S. exilis" (Berger, 1993; p. 318).

A key to some Spermacoce species (adapted from Lorence & Flynn, 2006; pp. 4-5):

1.  Mature seed surface with deep transverse grooves, the surface between grooves foveolate:  Spermacoce remota [=Spermacoce assurgens].
1.  Mature seeds with surface variously sculptured but not transversely grooved:  2

2(1).  Calyx lobes consistently 2:  Spermacoce exilis
2.       Calyx lobes 4 (occasionally 2-3 in some flowers of Spermacoce prostrata):  3

3(2).  Leaves, at least the lower ones, distinctly petiolate with petioles 5-10 mm long; corolla tube c. 4-5 mm long; capsule (excluding calyx) 2.5-3.0 mm long; seeds 2.0-2.6 mm long:  Spermacoce latifolia
3.      Leaves sessile or the lower ones with petioles 1-3 (5) mm long; corolla tube 0.5 mm long; capsule (excluding calyx) 1-2 mm long; seeds 0.7-1.8 mm long:  4

4(3).  Calyx lobes 4 (occasionally 2-3 in some flowers), 0.5-0.7 mm long, deltate to narrowly deltate with green midrib and broad pale margins; capsule 1.0-1.1 mm long; seeds 0.7-0.9 mm long, deep purplish-brown, dorsal surface with fewer than 8 vertical rows of deep, circular-rimmed pits:  Spermacoce prostrata
4.      Calyx lobes 4, 0.4-1.1 mm long, narrowly deltate to linear-subulate with green midrib and narrow pale margins; capsule 1.2-2.0 mm long; seeds 1-1.8 mm long, chestnut to purplish-brown, dorsal surface with more than 10 vertical rows of minute, shallow pits:  Spermacoce ovalifolia

Habitat/ecology:  "Common weedy plants of open sites in evergreen and partly deciduous forest regions (only rarely collected in deciduous forest areas), from near sea level to 1900 m elevation" (Berger, 1993; p. 318).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Southern United States to South America and the West Indies" (Berger, 1993; p. 318).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy W./Wagner, Warren L. (1995) (p. 52) Vouchers cited: T. Flynn et al. 3910 (PTBG, US), D. Lorence & T. Flynn 6673 (PTBG), W.L. Wagner et al. 5976 (BISH, PTBG), W.L. Wagner & S. Mill Arey 6390 (US). Per Oppenheimer (2003) this species was misidentified as Spermacoce ovalifolia, which does not occur in the Hawaiian Islands.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Oppenheimer, Hank L. (2003) (pp. 23-24) Vouchers cited: (West Maui) Oppenheimer H20127 (BISH) (All plants at this location destroyed); (East Maui) Oppenheimer H89929 (PTBG), Starr & Martz 010508-3 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Shannon, Robynn K./Herbst, Derral R. (1997) (p. 61) Voucher cited: Imada et al. 94-5 (BISH). Per Oppenheimer (2003) this species was misidentified as Spermacoce ovalifolia, which does not occur in the Hawaiian Islands.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
China China	China (People's Republic of)	introduced invasive	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) Naturalized in disturbed wet sites at low elevations. Hainan, Hong Kong.
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Costa Rica Costa Rica	Costa Rica (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Ecuador (Mainland) Ecuador	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 187)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Nicaragua Nicaragua	Nicaragua (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Panama Panama	Panama (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island	introduced invasive	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) Naturalized in disturbed wet sites at low elevations.

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island		Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011)

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)	USA (Florida)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Comments:  Hawaiian species originally misidentified as Spermacoce ovalifolia (Lorence et al., 1995; p. 52).

Additional information:
Additional online information about Spermacoce prostrata is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Spermacoce prostrata as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Spermacoce prostrata may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Berger, W., ed. 1993. Flora Costaricensis. Fieldiana Botany New Series, No. 33: Family #202 Rubiaceae.

Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy W./Wagner, Warren L. 1995. Contributions to the flora of Hawai‘i. III. New additions, range extensions, and rediscoveries of flowering plants. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Miller, Scott, E., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1994. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 41:19-58.

Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro. 2004. Invasive alien species in Japan: the status quo and the new regulation for prevention of their adverse effects. Global Environmental Research 8(2)/2004: 171-191.

Oppenheimer, Hank L. 2003. New plant records from Maui and Hawai‘i Counties. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2001-2002. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 73:3-30.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).

Wagner, Warren L./Shannon, Robynn K./Herbst, Derral R. 1997. Contributions to the flora of Hawai‘i. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Miller, Scott, E., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1996. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 48:51-65.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).