Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

English: amaranth

Marquesan: ea ea mata

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Erect or decumbent, from 6 in. to nearly 2 ft. high. Leaves petiolate, ovate or almost rhomboidal, obtuse, 1/2 in to near 2 in. long. Cymes or clusters dense or at length rather loose, the lower ones axillary, the upper ones forming a long loose spike leafy at the base, either simple or rarely with a few short branches. Bracts and bracteoles shorter than the perianth or about as long, scarcely pointed. Segments of the fruiting perianth 5, narrow, erect, slightly spathulate, shortly but finely pointed, about 3/4 line long, white and scarious on the margins, dark in the centre, those of the male flowers usually 3 only and not dilated upwards. Pericarp membranous, rugose, not ribbed, indehiscent or bursting irregularly, loose over the seed with a short thick summit about as long as the perianth. Styles 2 or rarely 3" (Bentham, 1866; p. 215).

Habitat/ecology:  In Australia (native), "Grows in vine thicket and monsoon forest on red stony basaltic soil, also in sandy and gravelly soil on rocky slopes and in riverbeds"  (Australia's Tropical Rainforest Plants).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Australia, Indonesia (Lesser Sunda Islands), Papua New Guinea (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Hiva Oa Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J. (2004) (pp. 60-61)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Hiva Oa Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Adventice
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J. (2004) (pp. 60-61)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Adventice
New Caledonia Récifs D'Entrecasteaux (D'Entrecasteaux Reefs)	Île Surprise	introduced	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 11) Voucher cited: Blanchon 435 (NOU)
New Caledonia Îles Loyauté (Loyalte Islands)	Îles Loyauté (Loyalty Islands)	introduced invasive	Tassin, Jacques (2005)
New Caledonia Îles Loyauté (Loyalte Islands)	Île Lifou	introduced	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 11) Voucher cited: Hoff 1419 (NOU)
New Caledonia New Caledonia	New Caledonia Islands	introduced invasive	Gargominy, Oliver/Bouchet, Philipe/Pascal, Michel/Jaffre, Tanguy/Tourneu, Jean-Christophe (1996) (p. 379) Rudérale, nombreuses localités
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	Tassin, Jacques (2005)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 11) Vouchers cited: Vieillard 1063 s.loc., Pancher, s.n., Balansa 1028, MacDaniels 2049, MacKee 18131, MacKee 26372
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	introduced invasive	Womersley, John S., ed. (1978) (pp. 24-25)
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Western Samoa Islands		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 88)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 88)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	native	Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. (1988) (p. 46)

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)	Australia (continental)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) South Australia, Western Australia
Australia Australia (continental)	Northern Territory	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Lesser Sunda Islands

Control:  If you know of control methods for Amaranthus interruptus, please let us know.