Alternanthera caracasana H.B.K., Amaranthaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Alternanthera peploides (Willd. ex Roem. & Schult.) Urb.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: mat chaff flower

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Perennial herbs; stems prostrate, sometimes rooting at the nodes, 1-5 dm long, moderately to densely pilose, the hairs multicellular.  Leaves oblanceolate to obovate or suborbicular, (0.8-) 1.5-2 (-3) cm long, 0.5-1.2 cm wide, sparsely pilose, petioles 0.3-1.5 cm long, moderately pilose.  Flowers in sessile, densely pubescent spikes, bract 3-4 mm long, tipped with a spine ca. 0.5-0.7 mm long, bracteoles ca. 3 mm long, acuminate, bract and bracteoles densely pilose at least below; sepals unequal, the 2 abaxial ones 3.5-4.2 mm long, spine-tipped, the spine less than 1 mm long, other sepals spineless, the adaxial one ca. 3 mm long, the 2 inner ones 2-2.5 mm long, all sepals pilose, the adaxial one only at base; stamens 5, all fertile.  Utricles 1-1.5 mm long, enclosed by the sepals"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 183).

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i, "naturalized in dry areas, roadsides, lawns, and beach parks" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 183). In New Caledonia, "bords de route, peu commun" (MacKee, 1994; p. 11).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Native to Africa, the Canary Islands, and the Western Hemisphere" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 183).

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) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced invasive	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 183)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Lāna‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 183)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 183)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 183)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 183) Voucher cited: Degener 8670 (BISH)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 11) Vouchers cited: MacKee 26494, MacKee 46094

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Costa Rica Costa Rica	Costa Rica (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Ecuador (Mainland) Ecuador	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

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

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

Taxonomic information about Alternanthera caracasana 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.

Charles Darwin Research Station. 2005. CDRS Herbarium records.

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

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

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).