Aglaonema commutatum Schott, Araceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Low risk (based on second screen), score: 1 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Aglaonema elegans Engl.; Aglaonema marantifolium var. maculatum Hook. f.; Aglaonema warburgii Engl.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Chinese evergreen, Philippine evergreen

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Plants erect at first, later becoming ±decumbent; to 1.5 m tall.  Petioles mostly 6-25 (-35) cm long, commonly half as long to one and a half times as long as the blade; sheath membranous; blade oblong-elliptic or lanceolate, sometimes ovate or elliptic, mostly 12-35 (-44) cm long and 3-12 (-18) cm wide, usually about 2-4 times longer than wide; base somewhat asymmetric; apex acuminate; main lateral veins about 5-8; leathery.  Leaf blades often more or less variegated, with bars or spots.  Inflorescence: peduncles 1-6 together, as much as 15-20 cm long; spathe pale green (rarely almost white), mostly 4-9 cm long and 3-4 cm wide, shortly decurrent; stipe about 1 cm long; spadix cylindric, usually 2-6 cm long, included, bearing roughly 10-16 gynoecia in the pistillate part; staminate part commonly 1.5-5 cm long.  Fruits yellow to red, elliptico-obovoid, under 25 mm long" (Stone, 1970; p. 118).

"Stems erect, later decumbent, 0.7-6 feet long, 0.2-2.4 inches in diameter.  Leaf petiole 1-1.5 times as long a blade, usually green, blades usually narrowly oblong-elliptic to lanceolate, 2-3 times longer than wide, dark green to yellow-green, variegated ashy green around veins, base often unequal-sided.  Inflorescences 1-6 in axils; spathe oblong, pale green to white; spadix shortly stalked, slender, usually shorter than spathe.  Fruit ellipsoid to obovoid, yellow to bright red"  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; pp. 596-597).

Habitat/ecology:  "The species naturalizes easily" (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 597).  In Hawai‘i (O‘ahu), naturalized in wet disturbed forest area  (Imada, 2007; p. 35).

Propagation:  Seed. "Perhaps spread by bird dispersal of its yellow to bright red fruit" (Imada, 2007; p. 34).

Native range:  "From the Philippines to northeastern Sulawesi, with some varieties restriced to parts of individual islands" (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 597).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island	introduced cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2011)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Isabela Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Volcán Sierra Negra, Isabela Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Voucher cited: J. Florence 2768 (PAP) Ornementale assez répandue.
French Polynesia Tuamotu Archipelago	Makatea (Ma‘atea) Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Rurutu Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced cultivated	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (p. 118)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 89)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Imada, Clyde (2007) (pp. 34-35) "Roadside in wet disturbed forest area, adjacent to large nursery". Voucher cited: G. Staples 1227 (BISH)
Marshall Islands Ralik Chain	Kwajalein (Kuwajleen) Atoll	introduced cultivated	Whistler, W. A./Steele, O. (1999) (p. 103)
Marshall Islands Ratak Chain	Majuro (Mãjro) Atoll	introduced cultivated	Vander Velde, Nancy (2003) (p. 24) "Ornamental potted plant".
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 17) Vouchers cited: Baumann 7435, MacKee 41739
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	cultivated	Merrill, Elmer D. (1925) (pp. 182-183) Not uncommon in cultivation as an ornamental.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced invasive	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 11) Casual

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
British Indian Ocean Territory Chagos Archipelago	Diego Garcia Island	introduced cultivated	Whistler, W. Arthur (1996) (p. 31)
British Indian Ocean Territory Chagos Archipelago	Diego Garcia Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Rivers, Julie (2004) (pp. 1, 6)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	USA (Florida)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)

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

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

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

References:

Charles Darwin Foundation. 2008. Database inventory of introduced plant species in the rural and urban zones of Galapagos. Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos, Ecuador.

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.

Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. 2011. Base de données botaniques Nadeaud de l'Herbier de la Polynésie Française (PAP). (online resource).

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1987. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian monocotyledonae. Micronesica 20:1-126.

Imada, Clyde. 2007. New Hawaiian plant records for 2005-2006. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2006. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 96:34-41.

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

McCormack, Gerald. 2011. Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga.

Merrill, Elmer D. 1925. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants, vol. 1 [reprint]. Bureau of Printing, Manila. 463 pp.

Rivers, Julie. 2004. Botanical survey update of Diego Garcia, Chagos Archipeligo, British Indian Ocean Territory. Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pacific. 16 pp. plus "List of the higher plants of Diego Garcia".

Stone, Benjamin C. 1970. The flora of Guam. Micronesica 6:1-659.

U. S. Government. 2011. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

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

U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. 2011. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

Vander Velde, Nancy. 2003. The vascular plants of Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. Smithsonian Institution, Atoll Research Bulletin No. 503:1-141.

Whistler, W. A./Steele, O. 1999. Botanical survey of the United States of America Kwajalein Atoll (USAKA) Islands. Prepared for Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education and the U. S. Army Environmental Center. 111 pp.

Whistler, W. Arthur. 1996. Botanical survey of Diego Garcia, Chagos Archipelago, British Indian Ocean Territory. Isle Botanica. 49 pp.