Acmella uliginosa (Sw.) Cass., Asteraceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Spilanthes ibadicensis A. H. Moore; Spilanthes uliginosa Sw.

Common name(s): [more details]

Fijian: mbotembotekoro

Habit:  herb

Description: 

Genus: "Erect or decumbent annual or perennial herbs with fascicled roots and opposite leaves; flowering heads small, heterogamous and radiate (ours) or homogamous and discoid, pedunculate, terminal or axillary, usually solitary, the phyllaries 4-24, 1 (ours)-3-seriate, the receptacle high-conic, with obtuse to acuminate, often stramineous paleae loosely enclosing the disk achenes; ray flowers (when present), female, fertile, the corolla limb often inconspicuous, 2- or 3-lobed; disk flowers many to very numerous, fertile, the corolla tubular, 4 (ours)- or 5-lobed, the anther bases with short, acute to acuminate tails, the style branches obtuse; achenes triangular (ray flowers) or compressed (disk flowers), narrowly obovoid or ellipsoid, the pappus obsolete or composed of 1-10 soft, rudimentary bristles"  (Smith, 1991; pp. 287-288).

Species:  Coarse herb 0.2-1 m high.  "The ray and disk flowers are bright yellow distally" (Smith, 1991; pp. 287-288).

Habitat/ecology:  In Fiji, "often locally abundant from near sea level to about 100 m as a naturalized weed in villages, pastures, and cultivated areas, on open hillsides and the rocky shores of rivers, and along roadsides" (Smith, 1991; pp. 287-288). In New Caledonia, "commun à l'état spontané, surtout en fossé humides" (MacKee, 1994; p. 38).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Tropical America (Smith, 1991; pp. 287-288).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
American Samoa Tutuila Islands	Tutuila Island		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 97)
American Samoa Tutuila Islands	Tutuila Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (1991) (voucher ID: PTBG 12114) Taxon name on voucher: Acmella uliginosa
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 290)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced invasive	Herrera, Katherine/Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy/Balick, Michael J. (2010) (p. 71) Vouchers cited: F.R. Fosberg 58508 (BISH), S.F. Glassman 2906 (BISH), M. Takamatsu 766 (BISH) Naturalized
Fiji Fiji Islands	Ovalau Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1991) (pp. 287-288) Vouchers cited: Smith 7484, Smith 7390
Fiji Fiji Islands	Vanua Levu Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1991) (pp. 287-288) Vouchers cited: DA 10492, DA 11478, Degener & Ordonez 13827, DA 11526
Fiji Fiji Islands	Vanua Mbalavu Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1991) (pp. 287-288) Voucher cited: DA 10238
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1991) (pp. 287-288) Vouchers cited: Webster & Hildreth 14343, DA 10547, Greenwood 1025, DA 7788, DA 9601, Greenwood 1025A, DA 11821, DA 7679, DA 10632, DA 10562, Meebold 16483
Japan (offshore islands) Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	introduced	Kato, Hidetoshi (2007)
Marshall Islands Ralik Chain	Jaluit (Jãlwõj) Atoll	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 290)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 38) Vouchers cited: Schlechter 14774, Compton 37, Buchholz 1414, MacKee 3907, MacKee 4876, MacKee 11455, MacKee 27978, MacKee 31959
New Guinea (Indonesia and Papua New Guinea) New Guinea Island	New Guinea Island	probably native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	probably native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 97)
Tonga Tonga Islands	Tonga Islands		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 97)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Honduras Honduras	Honduras (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	probably native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	uncertain if introduced invasive	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 9) Weed of uncertain origin
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	probably native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

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

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

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

References:

Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. 2009. A checklist of the total vascular plant flora of Singapore: native, naturalised and cultivated species. Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore. 273 pp.

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1979. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian dicotyledonae. Micronesica 15:1-295.

Herrera, Katherine/Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy/Balick, Michael J. 2010. Checklist of the vascular plants of Pohnpei with local names and uses. Allertonia, in press. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 146 pp.

Jansen, Robert K. 1985. The systematics of Acmella (Asteraceae-Heliantheae). Sys. Bot. Monogr. 8:1-115.

Kato, Hidetoshi. 2007. Herbarium records of Makino Herbarium, Tokyo Metropolitan University. Personal communication.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Smith, Albert C. 1991. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 5. 626 pp.

Swarbrick, John T. 1997. Weeds of the Pacific Islands. Technical paper no. 209. South Pacific Commission, Noumea, New Caledonia. 124 pp.

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