Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER)

  [   PIER species lists  ]   [   PIER home  ]

Tephrosia noctiflora
Bojer ex Baker, Fabaceae
No images for this taxon


Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: chang xu hui mao dou

English: South African hoarypea

Habit:  herb

Description: 

Genus: "Herbs or shrubs with soft wood, stipulate; leaves alternate, imparipinnate (rarely simple, unifoliolate, or palmately 3-7-foliolate, but in none of our [Fijian] species), estipellate, the leaflets opposite, entire, with numerous parallel lateral nerved extending to margin and often with a well-developed marginal nerve; inflorescences pseudoracemose, terminal, leaf-opposed, or less often axillary, bracteate, the flowers usually 2 or more together, lacking bracteoles; calyx 5-loved, the lobes or teeth subequal or the upper 2 subconnate; petals 5, usually yellow to purple, clawed, the standard suborbicular, without basal auricles, pilose without, the wings slightly adherent to keel, the keel petals auriculate at base of blade; stamens 10, the filaments connate into a sheath, the vexillary filament free at base, subconnate with the others above middle, infrequently free; intrastaminal disk usually present; ovary sessile, the ovules usually many (1-22), the style incurved or inflexed, the stigma terminal, often penicillate; fruit linear or oblong, compressed, beaked, usually pilose, dehiscent (often explosively so, the valves then becoming twisted), the seeds longitudinally to transversely arranged."  (Smith, 1985; pp. 172-173).

Species: "Herbs, perennial, suffrutescent, 0.5-1.5 m tall. Stems terete, with dense spreading trichomes. Stipules narrowly triangular, 6-11 mm, persistent, apex acuminate. Leaves 15-25-foliolate; rachis 7-11 cm, including petiole 0.7-1.3 cm; leaflet blades oblong-oblanceolate, 2.2-3.2 x 0.5-0.8 cm with terminal one slightly larger than others, abaxially densely appressed sericeous, adaxially glabrous, secondary veins 9-11 on each side of midvein, base cuneate, apex rounded to retuse and cuspidate. Pseudoracemes terminal, 15-25 cm, rigid and straight, with scattered flowers. Pedicel 2-4 mm. Flowers ca. 1 cm. Calyx ca. 5 x 5 mm, densely brown pubescent; teeth unequal, most abaxial one 4-6 mm and narrow, other ones short and broad. Corolla yellow, violet, or white; standard orbicular, brown sericeous. Ovary sericeous, with numerous ovules. Legume linear, 4.5-5 cm x ca. 5 mm, straight, densely brown pubescent, apex ascending curved. Seeds 7-9 per legume, black, reniform, ca. 4 x 2.5 mm, usually transversely rugose"  (Flora of China online).

Habitat/ecology:  In Fiji, "cultivated near sea level" (Smith, 1985; pp. 172-173).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Eastern Africa and Madagascar to India, cultivated and often naturalized elsewhere" (Smith, 1985; pp. 172-173).

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
Viti Levu Island introduced
cultivated
Smith, Albert C. (1985) (pp. 172-173)
Voucher cited: DA 8490 (FDA 13678)
New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia Islands introduced
ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
New Caledonia
New Caledonia Archipelago
Île Grande Terre introduced
MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 91)
Vouchers cited: Cribs 737, Le Rat 131, MacKee 2443, Schmid s.n. s.loc., MacKee 11477, MacKee 20713, Schmid 2703 (NOU), MacKee 29741
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)
Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island) introduced
ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Philippines
Philippine Islands
Philippine Islands introduced
ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands   Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 97)
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands native
Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. (1988) (p. 113)
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
ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
China
China
China (People's Republic of) introduced
invasive
Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2013)
"Introduced and escaped in ravines near shorelines, coastal grasslands; below 100-700 m. Guangdong, Yunnan".
Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia (Republic of) introduced
ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Indonesia
Indonesia
West Papua Province (Indonesia) (western New Guinea Island) (formerly Irian Jaya) introduced
ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Malaysia
Malaysia
Malaysia (country of) introduced
ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Singapore
Singapore
Singapore (Republic of) introduced
invasive
Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 85)
Naturalised
Taiwan
Taiwan Island
Taiwan Island introduced
invasive
Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2013)
"Introduced and escaped in ravines near shorelines, coastal grasslands; below 100-700 m".
Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. &
Island group
Location Cited status &
Cited as invasive &
Cited as cultivated &
Cited as aboriginal introduction?
Reference &
Comments
Comoros
Comoro Islands
Comoro Islands native
ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
La Réunion (France)
La Réunion Island
La Réunion Island introduced
ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Mauritius
Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)
Mauritius Island introduced
ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Seychelles
Seychelles Islands
Frégate Island   Robertson, S. A./Todd, D. M. (1983) (p. 52)
Vouchers cited: Jeffrey 1176, Procter 4159, Robertson 2673
Seychelles
Seychelles Islands
Seychelles Islands native
ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Seychelles
Seychelles Islands
Seychelles Islands introduced
Invasive Species Specialist Group (2017)

Control:  If you know of control methods for Tephrosia noctiflora, please let us know.


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

  [   PIER species lists  ]   [   PIER home  ]

This page was created on 1 JAN 1999 and was last updated on 14 DEC 2010.