Alysicarpus bupleurifolius (L.) DC., Fabaceae

Click on an image for links to BIGGER PICTURES

Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Hedysarum bupleurifolium L.; Hedysarum gramineum Retz.

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: chai hu lian jia dou

English: sweet alys

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Stem 30-60 cm long, erect, with a line of hairs. Stipules 6-9 mm long, scarious. Leaf unifoliolate, petiole 1.5-2.5 mm long, petiolules small, stipels minute, caducous, leaflet 8 mm-6.8 cm long, 3-8 mm broad, glabrous or minutely hairy along the midrib on the under surface. Inflorescence a lax raceme, flowers in distant pairs. Bracts 6-8 mm long, scarious. Pedicel c. 2 mm long. Calyx 6-7 mm long, teeth less than half the length of calyx, acute, sparsely hairy. Corolla red. Pods 9-13 mm long, stalked, slightly moniliform, joints 4-8, glabrous, smooth"  (Flora of Pakistan).

Habitat/ecology:  (no habitat/ecology info known by PIER)

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  China and southeast Asia to Papua New Guinea and the Philippines (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 102)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Lorence, David H./LaRosa, Anne Marie (2009) (p. 4) Voucher: Lorence 9813 (PTBG, BNM)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (2008) (voucher ID: PTBG 106) Taxon name on voucher: Alysicarpus bupleurifolius
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (1998) (voucher ID: PTBG 24384) Taxon name on voucher: Alysicarpus bupleurifolius (L.) DC.
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (1996) (voucher ID: PTBG 45069) Taxon name on voucher: Alysicarpus bupleurifolius
Palau Palau (main island group)	Malakal Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 102)
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (p. 292) In open grasslands, fallow rice paddies, etc., in the settled areas at low altitudes, locally abundant.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
China China	Hong Kong	native	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 138)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	possibly introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)

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

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

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

References:

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

ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre. 2011. International Legume Database & Information Service. Online searchable database.

Merrill, Elmer D. 1923. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants, vol. 2 [reprint]. Bureau of Printing, Manila. 530 pp.

National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.). 2008. Voucher specimen #PTBG106(David H. Lorence 9813).

Space, James C./Lorence, David H./LaRosa, Anne Marie. 2009. Report to the Republic of Palau: 2008 update on Invasive Plant Species. USDA Forest Service, Hilo, Hawai‘i. 227 pp.

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

Wu, Te-lin. 2001. Check List of Hong Kong Plants. Hong Kong Herbarium and the South China Institute of Botany. Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department Bulletin 1 (revised). 384 pp.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).