Browallia americana L., Solanaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

English: bush violet

French: yeux bleus

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Annual herb to 1 m tall, with erect, ascending, much-branched stems, sparingly hirsute to subglabrate leaves, and flowers borne solitary in axils of upper leaves; petioles 1-2 cm long, moderately to densely hirsute, finally glabrate or nearly so; blades thin, bright green, ovate to ovate-acuminate, 1.5-6 cm long, 1-3.5 (4) cm wide, rounded to broadly cuneate at base, acute to short-acuminate at apex, sparsely to moderately hirsute along veins beneath, less so above, nearly glabrate in age; pedicels slender, 4-5 mm long at anthesis, 10-18 mm long and curving outward and upward in fruit; glabrate in age; calyx narrowly tubular-campanulate, 3.5-5 mm long, hirsute with lax, multicellular hairs to 1.5 mm long, the lobes 5, erect, 1-2 mm long, slightly unequal; corolla tubular-salverform, 10-13 mm long, hirsute without, the tube slightly ampliate into oblique throat 2-2.5 mm long, limb blue, 5-lobed, faintly 2-lipped, 10-12 mm broad, an arc of white overarching 2 small spots of yellow at base of upper lip, limb margins somewhat undulate; stamens 4, didynamous; ovary free, ovoid; style slender, glabrous, strongly curved at apex; capsule broadly ovoid, 6-8 mm long, sparsely puberulent, brownish, dehiscing into 4 teeth, the first split along septa; seeds numerous, rhomboidal, flattened, dark tan to pale brown, 0.4-0.6 mm long, minutely foveolate, dull."  (Wiggins & Porter, 1971)

"Annual herb 15-60 cm high, erect or suberect...  The leaf blades are ovate, up to about 7 x 5 cm; the corolla is blue, sometimes purple or white, with a tube to 20 mm long and a limb about 15 mm in diameter; and the anthers are yellow"  (Smith, 1991; p. 39).

Habitat/ecology:  In Fiji, "cultivated and also sparingly naturalized near habitations from near sea level to about 850 m" (Smith, 1991; p. 39). In the Galápagos Islands, "known only along trails and fence rows in the Scalesia Zone" (Wiggins & Porter, 1971; pp. 458-459).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Tropical America, now widely cultivated and sometimes sparingly naturalized" (Smith, 1991; p. 39). Widely cultivated and naturalized (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Floreana Group	Floreana Island	introduced invasive	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Isabela Island	introduced invasive	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Volcán Sierra Negra, Isabela Island	introduced invasive	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced invasive	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced invasive	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1991) (p. 39) Vouchers cited: DA 811, DA 12139, Greenwood 1116 Sparingly naturalized.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawaiian Islands	introduced cultivated	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral/Imada, Clyde T. (2000) (p. 30)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 130) Vouchers cited: Franc 1887, MacKee 26630 Spontané

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Costa Rica (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Honduras (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Nicaragua (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Panama (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Colombia	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)

Comments:  It is considered to be likely introduced in the Galápagos Islands due to its presence only on Santa Cruz island along trails and fences (Chris Buddenhagen, pers. com.).

Control:  If you know of control methods for Browallia americana, please let us know.