Argyreia nervosa (Burm.f.) Bojer, Convolvulaceae

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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:  Argyreia speciosa (L. f.) Sweet; Convolvulus nervosus Burm. f.; Convolvulus speciosus L. f.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Hawaiian baby woodrose, baby wood-rose, elephant climber, elephant creeper, elephant vine, silken-cord, silver morning glory, wood rose, woolly morning glory

French: coup d'air, liane à minguet, liane d'argent, liane d'argent à minguet

Habit:  vine

Description:  "Clambering vine to several meters long; herbage velvety pubescent, densely so when young; leaf blades 15-25 (30) cm long, 13-20 (30) cm wide, cordate, acuminate-attenuate apically, cordate basally; flowers in cymes, on long, white-tomentose peduncles; sepals 13-15 mm long, velvety like the herbage; pedicels to 15 cm long; flowers 5-7.5 cm long, the corolla with a short tube and campanulate limb, lavender to pink, the throat darker" (Welsh, 1998; p. 83).

Habitat/ecology:  Climbing vine. It is reportedly valuable for medicinal properties. In New Caledonia, "assez fréquent dans les jardins, surtout à Nouméa une seule récolte notée comme spontanée" (MacKee, 1994; p. 40).

Propagation:  Berries dispersed by frugivorous birds.

Native range:  India; widely cultivated (GRIN).

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		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1929) (voucher ID: BISH 140571) Taxon name on voucher: Argyreia nervosa (Burm.f.) Bojer
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1929) (voucher ID: BISH 140572) Taxon name on voucher: Argyreia nervosa (Burm.f.) Bojer
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island	introduced cultivated	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 83) Voucher cited: Moore 777
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 83) Voucher cited: Grant 5432
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Cultivée
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy W./Wagner, Warren L. (1995) (p. 32) Vouchers cited: T. Flynn 1203 (PTBG), D. Lorence & T. Flynn 7432 (BISH, PTBG, US)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Oppenheimer, Hank L. (2004) (p. 10) East Maui. Voucher cited: Oppenheimer H110209 (BISH, PTBG)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Lau, Alex/Frohlich, Danielle (2012) (p. 13) Voucher cited: OED 2009050603 (BISH)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 40) Vouchers cited: Baumann 11068, Webster & Hildreth 14753, MacKee 20160
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	introduced cultivated	Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (pp. 371-372) Planted here and there but not as yet naturalized.
Tonga Tongatapu Group	‘Eua Island	introduced invasive	Yuncker, T. G. (1959) (p. 228) Voucher cited: Yuncker 15340
Tonga Tongatapu Group	‘Eua Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1953) (voucher ID: BISH 140573) Taxon name on voucher: Argyreia nervosa (Burm.f.) Bojer

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
China China	Hong Kong	introduced cultivated	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 221) Ornamental.
Japan Japan	Japan	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 187)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 15) Cultivated only

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	introduced invasive cultivated	Lavergne, Christophe (2006) "Cultivé/naturalisé"
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Seychelles Islands	introduced	Invasive Species Specialist Group (2017)

Comments:  Invasive in northern Queensland.  "It thrives around Townsville (-15 deg. latitude) which has a comparatively low rainfall, more a dry monsoon area and rampages around Cooktown (-19 deg. latitude) where the summer rainfall can be measured in metres, giving it quite a broad climate range.  I believe that it occurs on a range of soil types.  It is most definitely an environmental weed. Given the situations I have personally observed it I believe that it would have some degree of shade tolerance in it's earlier life stages.  it will definitely reproduce by vegetative fragmentation.  Given it's distribution around Cooktown I believe that the seeds would be dispersed in floodwaters.  It is extremely likely to be bird and pig dispersed"  (Louise Hucks, Northern Australia Quarantine Strategy, Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, pers. com.).

Control:  If you know of control methods for Argyreia nervosa, please let us know.