Ammannia coccinea Rottb., Lythraceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

Chamorro: astetema

Chinese: chang ye shui xian cai

English: purple ammania, red stem, toothcup, valley redstem

Spanish: amania escarlata, palo de agua

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Stems ascending or spreading 3-5 dm long, spongy when growing in water.  Leaves linear-oblong to linear-lanceolate, 2-10 cm long, 0.8-1.5 cm wide, base truncate-auriculate.  Flowers 2-5, subsessile, peduncles about as long as pedicels; floral tube 2.5-5 mm long, enlarging in fruit; petals purple to pink, 1-2 mm long, caducous; style persistent, 1.5-3 mm long.  Capsules ca. 4 mm long, enclosed by the persistent floral tube when mature"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 865).

"Low herbs, slightly woody at root and stem-base, stems erect, to 50 cm tall; leaves linear-lanceolate, 2-5 cm long, 3-6 mm wide, acute, the base sessile and somewhat auriculate-clasping; flowers axillary in fascicles, pedicels scarcely 1 mm long; calyx 2.5 mm  long, elongating to 4 mm in fruit; petals pink, obovate, very tiny; stamens very slightly exserted; capsule globose, enclosed by calyx, 3-4 mm thick"  (Stone, 1970; p. 434).

Habitat/ecology:  "Annual herbaceous aquatic plant commonly found in rice fields and poorly drained soils"  (Cardenas et al., 1972; p. 219). In Hawai‘i, "sparingly naturalized in wet sites such as taro paddies"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 865).  In Guam, "in ditches, grassy marshes, etc."  (Stone, 1970; p. 434).

Propagation:  Seed (Cardenas et al., 1972; p. 219).

Native range:  United States, Mexico, Central America and northern South America (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Saipan Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 180)
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Saipan Island	introduced	Raulerson, L. (2006) (p. 49)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced invasive	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (p. 434)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 180)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Raulerson, L. (2006) (p. 49)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 865) Voucher cited: Herbst 5949 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 865, 1884) Misidentified as Ammannia auriculata Willd.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 865, 1884) Misidentified as Ammannia auriculata Willd., voucher cited: Hosaka s.n. (BISH)
Japan (offshore islands) Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	introduced	Kato, Hidetoshi (2007)

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)
El Salvador El Salvador	El Salvador (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Guatemala Guatemala	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Honduras Honduras	Honduras (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 22)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 186)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Nicaragua Nicaragua	Nicaragua (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Panama Panama	Panama (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island	introduced invasive	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) Naturalized. S.W. Taiwan.
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 22)

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

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

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

References:

Cardenas, Juan/Reys, Carlos E./Doll, Jerry D./Pardo, Fernando. 1972. Tropical weeds; malezas tropicales, vol. 1. International Plant Protection Center, Oregon State University, Corvallis. 341 pp.

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

Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 391 pp.

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

Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro. 2004. Invasive alien species in Japan: the status quo and the new regulation for prevention of their adverse effects. Global Environmental Research 8(2)/2004: 171-191.

Raulerson, L. 2006. Checklist of Plants of the Mariana Islands. University of Guam Herbarium Contribution 37:1-69. .

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.

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).

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