Plant Threats to Pacific Ecosystems

PIER plant species present on Matuku Island listed by scientific name

A product of the Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk project (PIER)

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This table lists invasive and potentially invasive plant species profiled by the Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk project (PIER) that occur on Matuku Island. It includes those of environmental concern (including those that are probably of threat only to islands with high elevations) as well as agricultural and ruderal weeds.  Each species is linked by its scientific name to an individual write-up containing relevant information.

The information in this table is based on the supporting data and may not represent the current situation. Note also there may be discrepancies among data presented at geographic resolutions (e.g., island vs. island group vs. country-territory-state levels), depending upon the reliability of the data at each level.

Species are listed in alphabetic order.  You can browse this list or use the "find" function on your web browser to search by scientific name.

Can't find it here?  Check the list of synonyms for other names (the more common synonyms are included below) or search other lists and databases available on the Internet.

Stumped by botanical terms?  Here are links to a brief glossary and a search engine for botanical terms.

Scientific name (+Family) Often-used other Latin names Habit Primarily a threat
at high elevations?
Achyranthes aspera   (Amaranthaceae) Achyranthes canescens R. Br. herb No
Ageratum conyzoides   (Asteraceae)   herb No
Bothriochloa bladhii   (Poaceae) Andropogon bladhii Retz.; Andropogon intermedius R. Br.; Bothriochloa caucasica (Trin.) C.E. Hubbard; Dichanthium bladhii (Retz.) Clayton grass No
Capsicum frutescens   (Solanaceae)   herb No
Cardiospermum halicacabum   (Sapindaceae)   vine No
Casuarina equisetifolia   (Casuarinaceae) Casuarina litorea L. var. litorea; Casuarina littorea Rumph. tree No
Chrysopogon aciculatus   (Poaceae)   grass No
Chrysopogon zizanioides   (Poaceae) Andropogon zizanioides (L.) Urb.; Phalaris zizanioides L.; Vetiveria zizanoides (L.) Nash grass No
Coix lacryma-jobi   (Poaceae)   grass No
Conyza sumatrensis   (Asteraceae) Conyza albida Willd. ex Spreng. herb No
Crotalaria quinquefolia   (Fabaceae)   herb No
Cymbopogon refractus   (Poaceae)   grass No
Cyrtococcum oxyphyllum   (Poaceae)   grass No
Desmodium heterocarpon   (Fabaceae)   herb No
Digitaria fuscescens   (Poaceae)   grass No
Echinochloa colona   (Poaceae)   grass No
Eleusine indica   (Poaceae)   grass No
Emilia fosbergii   (Asteraceae)   herb No
Imperata conferta   (Poaceae)   grass No
Lablab purpureus   (Fabaceae) Dolichos lablab L.; Dolichos purpureus L.; Lablab vulgaris Savi vine No
Lobelia zeylanica   (Campanulaceae) Lobelia purpurascens sensu J. W. Parham in Dept. Agr. Fiji Bull.35 and other publications. herb No
Melia azedarach   (Meliaceae)   tree No
Metrosideros collina   (Myrtaceae) Leptospermum collinum J. R. Forst. & G. Forst; Melaleuca villosa L. f. tree No
Nicotiana tabacum   (Solanaceae)   herb No
Ocimum basilicum   (Lamiaceae)   herb No
Oplismenus hirtellus   (Poaceae) Oplismenus hirtellus subsp. setarius (Lam.) Mez ex Ekman; Oplismenus setarius (Lam.) Roem. & Schult. grass No
Paspalum conjugatum   (Poaceae)   grass No
Senna tora   (Fabaceae) Cassia tora L. herb No
Sonchus oleraceus   (Asteraceae) Sonchus asper sensu various authors. herb No
Sporobolus diander   (Poaceae) Sporobolus diandrus (Retz.) P. Beauv.; Sporobolus indicus (L.) R. Br. var. flaccidus (Roem. & Schult.) Veldkamp grass No
Sporobolus elongatus   (Poaceae)   grass No
Tridax procumbens   (Asteraceae)   herb No
Urochloa subquadripara   (Poaceae) Brachiaria subquadripara (Trin.) Hitchc.; Panicum subquadriparum Trin.; Urochloa distachya (L.) T. Q. Nguyen grass No

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

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This page was last regenerated on 17MAR2012.