Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER)

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Brugmansia suaveolens
(Willd.) Bercht.+ Presl., Solanaceae
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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Datura suaveolens Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: angel's trumpet, night bells, trumpet flower, white angel's-trumpet

Fijian: mbo ni wai, mbondavui, mbua ni wai, ndavui, uvuuvu

Spanish: floripondio

Habit:  shrub

Description: 

Genus: "Large shrubs or small trees, unarmed, the indument sparse to dense, the hairs simple; leaves alternate, petiolate, simple, the blades entire or shallowly lobed; inflorescence composed of a solitary, inclined or pendulous flower; flowers perfect, large, actinomorphic or subzygomorphic, pedicellate; calyx tubular, not circumscissile, 5-lobed or spathaceous, caducous or persisting as an envelope about fruit; corolla single or double, large, long-infundibular or tabular and flaring distally, the tube long and slender, the limb strongly plicate in bud, the lobes 5, cuspidate or acuminate; stamens 5, the filaments slender, inserted on distal part of corolla tube, the anthers linear, basifixed, free or coherent, longitudinally dehiscent; ovary 2-locular, glabrous, the ovules numerous, the style slender, elongate, the stigma 2-lobed; fruit a 4-valved, indehiscent capsule, lanceolate-ellipsoid, unarmed, the seeds numerous, compressed, obocoid-semicircular, coarsely rugose-tuberculate, comparatively large (7-12 x 5-8 mm)" (Smith, 1991; pp. 33-34).

Species:  "A shrub 1-3 m high.  The corolla is white, the tube being greenish toward base" (Smith, 1991; pp. 33-34).

Habitat/ecology:  In Fiji, "occurring from near sea level to about 600 m, sometimes cultivated and becoming a village weed, or sometimes naturalized in dense forest along streams" (Smith, 1991; pp. 33-34). In New Caledonia, "localement abondant en stations fraîches et humides; n'est pas signalé comme cultivé" (MacKee, 1994; p. 131).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Tropical and subtropical America (Smith, 1991; pp. 33-34).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. &
Island group
Location Cited status &
Cited as invasive &
Cited as cultivated &
Cited as aboriginal introduction?
Reference &
Comments
Australia (Pacific offshore islands)
Norfolk Islands
Norfolk Island introduced
invasive
Orchard, Anthony E., ed. (1994) (p. 10)
"A native of Brazil, widely cultivated and naturalised in 1 or 2 places on the Island". Vouchers cited: G. Uhe 1142 (K), R.M. Laing (CHR)
Chile (offshore islands)
Juan Fernández Islands
Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island) introduced
invasive
cultivated
Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011)
Chile (offshore islands)
Juan Fernández Islands
Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island) introduced
cultivated
Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (pp. 476, 522, 551)
Voucher cited: Danton I(5/347)1692. "En RC, está presente en varios jardines del pueblo de San Jaun Bautista".
Cook Islands
Southern Cook Islands
Mangaia Island   McCormack, Gerald (2013)
Cook Islands
Southern Cook Islands
Rarotonga Island   McCormack, Gerald (2013)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands)
San Cristóbal Group
San Cristóbal Island introduced
cultivated
Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Observed in survey, no herbarium record.
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands)
Santa Cruz Group
Santa Cruz Island introduced
cultivated
Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Fiji
Fiji Islands
Viti Levu Island introduced
invasive
cultivated
Smith, Albert C. (1991) (pp. 33-34)
Vouchers cited: Smith 4499, Smith 8846, DA 12116, Smith 7199
French Polynesia
Society Islands
Moorea Island introduced
invasive
Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013)
Naturalisée
French Polynesia
Society Islands
Tahiti Island introduced
invasive
Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013)
Naturalisée
French Polynesia
Tuamotu Archipelago
Niau Atoll introduced
cultivated
Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013)
Voucher cited: J. Florence 10191 (PAP). "Ornementale rare".
State of Hawaii
Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands introduced
cultivated
Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral/Imada, Clyde T. (2000) (p. 30)
New Caledonia
Îles Loyauté (Loyalte Islands)
Îles Ouvéa (Ouvea Atoll) introduced
invasive
cultivated
MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 131)
Voucher cited: Däniker 2206
New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia Islands introduced
invasive
Gargominy, Oliver/Bouchet, Philipe/Pascal, Michel/Jaffre, Tanguy/Tourneu, Jean-Christophe (1996) (p. 383)
Localement abondante.
New Caledonia
New Caledonia Archipelago
Île Grande Terre introduced
invasive
Tassin, Jacques (2005)
New Caledonia
New Caledonia Archipelago
Île Grande Terre introduced
invasive
cultivated
MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 131)
Vouchers cited: Franc 2349, MacKee 5592, Blanchon 335
New Zealand (offshore islands)
Kermadec Islands
Raoul Island introduced
invasive
Sykes, W. R. (1977) (pp. 142-143)
New Zealand (offshore islands)
Kermadec Islands
Raoul Island introduced
Sykes, W. R./West, C. J. (1996) (p. 456)
New Zealand (offshore islands)
Kermadec Islands
Raoul Island introduced
invasive
Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 1219)
"In and around a small ravine near the main area of human habitation".
Tonga
Vava‘u Group
Vava‘u Island introduced
Yuncker, T. G. (1959) (p. 239)
Brugmansia arborea (L.) Steudel [?] Cited: Crosby.
Tonga
Vava‘u Group
Vava‘u Island introduced
invasive
Burkill, I. H. (1900) (p. 49)
Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. &
Island group
Location Cited status &
Cited as invasive &
Cited as cultivated &
Cited as aboriginal introduction?
Reference &
Comments
Japan
Japan
Japan introduced
Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 188)
As Datura suaveolens Humb. & Bonpl.
South America (Pacific rim)
South America (Pacific rim)
Perú (Republic of) native
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Taiwan
Taiwan Island
Taiwan Island introduced
cultivated
Ching-I Peng, ed. (2013)
"Long persistent after cultivation".

Control:  If you know of control methods for Brugmansia suaveolens, please let us know.


Need more info? Have questions? Comments? Information to contribute? Contact PIER! (pier@hear.org)

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This page was created on 10 AUG 2002 and was last updated on 12 OCT 2006.