Blutaparon vermiculare (L.) Mears, Amaranthaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 7 (Go to the risk assessment).

Other Latin names:  Caraxeron vermicularis (L.) Raf.; Gomphrena vermicularis L.; Philoxerus vermicularis (L.) Sm.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: saltweed, samphire, silverhead, silverweed

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Plants perennial or occasionally annual, 3-20 dm. Stems mostly prostrate with ascending branches, much-branched, glabrous. Leaf blades linear to linear lanceolate or oblanceolate, 15-55 x 2-12 mm. Inflorescences: heads white or pinkish (drying silvery white), globose or cylindric, 7-30 x 7-10 mm; bracteoles slightly shorter than flowers. Flowers very short-pedicellate; tepals connate basally, white, oblong, dorsiventrally compressed, thickened basally, 3-5 mm, chartaceous, apex of outer tepals obtuse, apex of inner tepals acute, spinose-tipped, densely villose. Utricles indehiscent or splitting irregularly, included in tepals, 1.3 mm. Seeds 0.8-1 mm"  (Flora of North America online).

Habitat/ecology:  In North America (native), "saline soils, sands of beaches, dunes, sand bars; 0-10 m"  (Flora of North America online).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  The Americas, West Africa, western Angola (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R. (1995) (pp. 14-15) Voucher cited: Char s.n. (BISH)

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)
Guatemala Guatemala	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Panama Panama	Panama (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	United States (other states)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011) Texas
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	USA (Florida)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

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

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

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

References:

Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. 2011. Flora of North America North of Mexico (online edition).

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. 1995. Contributions to the Flora of Hawai‘i. IV. New Records and name changes. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Miller, Scott, E., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1994. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 42:13-27.