Tephrosia purpurea (L.) Pers., Fabaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk; score: 7 (Hawaii-Pacific Weed Risk Assessment for Tephrosia purpurea)

Other Latin names:  Cracca purpurea L.; Galega piscatoria Aiton; Tephrosia piscatoria Pers.; Tephrosia wallichii Fawc. & Rendle

Common name(s): [more details]

English: fish poison, purple tephrosia, wild indigo

Hawaiian: ʻauhuhu, 'auhola, 'auhuhu, ahuhu, hola

Marquesan: kohuhu

Niuean: kohuhu, kohuhu sea

Samoan: ʻavasā, 'avasa

Tongan: kavahuhu

Unknown: kavahuhu

Habit:  herb

Description:  "'Auhuhu [PIER ed.: Tephrosia purpurea] has an open, airy appearance, varies from 1.5' to 5' tall, and has wiry stems that bear odd-pinnately compound leaves with usually 7-15 elliptic-oblong to oblanceolate, 0.4-1.33" long leaflets. The pea-type flowers are white, pale pink, or purplish, 0.25-0.4" long, upcurved on the stalks, and arranged in erect, terminal racemes. The pods are linear, 0.8-1.75" long, the 2 valves twisting open to release 2-9 pale brown to black, more or less rectangular seeds, each less than 0.2" long." (A Tropical Garden Flora, pp. 334-335)

"Subshrub with alternate, pinnately compound leaves, small white papilionaceous flowers, and small, narrow, flattened, papery pods. . ." (Botanical Inventory of Ta'u Unit, p. 51)

Habitat/ecology:  "This short-lived shrub of coastal and inland sites thrives with full sun and salt exposure, often on poor soils, making it a hady though undistinguished plant." (A Tropical Garden Flora, p. 334)

". . .the seeds are said to be widely disseminated by birds (Guppy, 1906, p. 65)." (Sykes, 1970, p. 161)

On Ta'u (American Samoa): ". . .uncommon in sunny coastal areas, reported from near sea level to 200 m." (Botanical Inventory of Ta'u Unit, p. 51)

Propagation:  ". . .the seeds are said to be widely disseminated by birds (Guppy, 1906, p. 65)." (Sykes, 1970, p. 161)

Native range:  "Native from Africa to southern Asia and Malesia, tropical Australia, and the Tuamotus." (Smithsonian: Flora of the Hawaiian Islands)

". . .ranging from tropical Africa to Hawai'i." (Botanical Inventory of Ta'u Unit, p. 51)

Impacts and invaded habitats:  (no invaded habitats or impacts known by PIER; please let us know if you know of such information we should add here)

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
American Samoa Manu‘a Islands	Ofu Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
American Samoa Manu‘a Islands	Ta‘u Island	possibly introduced	Whistler, W. A. (1992) (p. 51) Voucher cited: Yuncker 9229. "Reported only from the west side of the island, and possibly not found within the park boundaries." (p. 51)
Cook Islands Cook Islands	Cook Islands		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Aitutaki Atoll		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Ma‘uke Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Fiji Islands		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
French Polynesia French Polynesia Islands	French Polynesia Islands		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
French Polynesia Gambier Islands	Mangareva (Gambier) Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Ua Huka (Huahuna, Uahuka) Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawaiian Islands		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
New Caledonia New Caledonia	New Caledonia Islands		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Niue Niue	Niue Island	possibly native	Sykes, W. R. (1970) (p. 161) Vouchers cited: CHR 150524, CHR 150525, CHR 150526, CHR 150527, CHR 150556; ". . .although a weed of artificial habitats on Niue today, it is possibly indigenous there, since the seeds are said to be widely disseminated by birds (Guppy, 1906, p. 65)." (Sykes, 1970, p. 161) ". . .the seeds are said to be widely disseminated by birds (Guppy, 1906, p. 65)." (Sykes, 1970, p. 161)
Niue Niue	Niue Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Papua New Guinea Bismarck Archipelago	Bismarck Archipelago		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Samoa Samoa	Samoa		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Savai‘i Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Tonga Tonga Islands	Tonga Islands		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Tonga Tonga Islands	Tonga Outliers		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Tonga Vava‘u Group	Vava‘u Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Vanuatu New Hebrides Islands	Aniwa Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Vanuatu New Hebrides Islands	Êfaté (Efete) Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Vanuatu New Hebrides Islands	Erromango Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)

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)		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Seychelles Islands	introduced	Invasive Species Specialist Group (2017)

Comments:  Present in Hawaii per Alien plant invasions in native ecosystems in Hawaii, p. 140; Smithsonian: Flora of the Hawaiian Islands

"Native from Africa to southern Asia and Malesia, tropical Australia, and the Tuamotus. In the Marquesas, a Polynesian introduction." (Smithsonian: Flora of the Hawaiian Islands)

"Polynesians probably brought it [PIER ed.: Tephrosia purpurea] to Hawai'i, where it is now naturalized." (A Tropical Garden Flora, p. 334)

". . .although a weed of artificial habitats on Niue today, it is possibly indigenous there, since the seeds are said to be widely disseminated by birds (Guppy, 1906, p. 65)." (Sykes, 1970, p. 161)

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