Buddleja asiatica Lour., Scrophulariaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 9 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: bai bei feng

English: dog tail

Hawaiian: huelo ‘ilio

Habit:  shrub

Description:  "Shrubs 1-2 (-5) m tall. Leaves thin chartaceous, lanceolate, 5-12 cm long, 1-3.5 cm broad, acuminate, cuneate at base, margins entire, crenate or serrulate, gray-white or fulvous-tomentose beneath, costa and veins instinct above, raised beneath, veins 8-10 per side, arcuate-ascending, anastomosing near margins, reticulations indistinct; petioles 0-5 mm long; stipules narrow. Inflorescences of terminal and axillary slender drooping paniculate spikes, 8-14 cm long, densely fulvous or gray-tomentose; calyx campanulate, 3-4 mm long, lobes triangular-oblong; corolla tubular, straight, to 1 cm long, white, pubescent or glabrescent without, lobes short; stamens inserted above middle of tube. Capsules ellipsoid, 7-8 mm long"  (Digital Flora of Taiwan).

"Shrub 2-3 m tall, the branches lax, young growth stellate-pubescent; leaves serrulate, dull, often somewhat olive-gray green, tawny or whitish pubescent beneath, acuminate-caudate; petiole 3-9 mm long; flowers in dense terminal and axillary elongate bracteate, often nodding spikes, up to 20 cm long, dull white; calyx 1-2 mm long, pubescent; corolla white, villous; ovary 2-3-celled; capsule 3-4 mm long, subglobose, calyx persistent at base, with many seeds about 0.3 mm long (microscopically winged)" (Stone, 1970; p. 473).

Habitat/ecology:  "Very common in mesic to wet pastures, forests, roadsides and waste areas of Hawai‘i up to 4000 ft. elevation"  (Motooka et al., 2003).  In Hawai‘i, "naturalized in mesic to wet, primarily disturbed areas, on lava and cinder, and in wet forest, 100-1,200 m"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 415).  In Papua New Guinea (native), "a pioneer species mostly associated with disturbed areas, such as disused food gardens, roadsides and old gold mining sites, or secondary vegetation.  In general, it occupies open situations such as grasslands, gravel-beds of rivers, lava streams, and landslips.  It has a wide altitudinal tolerance, occurring from 80 to 2900 m altitude"  (Conn, 1995; p. 129).

Propagation:  Wind-borne seeds.

Native range:  Eastern Asia, widespread in cultivation and as a weed.

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. 210)
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Saipan Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1950) (voucher ID: BISH 156424) Taxon name on voucher: Buddleja asiatica Lour.
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Tinian Island	introduced	Raulerson, L. (2006) (p. 55)
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Tinian Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1980) (voucher ID: BISH 588145) Taxon name on voucher: Buddleja asiatica Lour.
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (p. 473) Voucher cited: Stone 3803 (GUAM)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 210)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1968) (voucher ID: BISH 23005) Taxon name on voucher: Buddleja asiatica Lour.
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1953) (voucher ID: BISH 156425) Taxon name on voucher: Buddleja asiatica Lour.
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1981) (voucher ID: BISH 490177) Taxon name on voucher: Buddleja asiatica Lour.
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1961) (voucher ID: BISH 506978) Taxon name on voucher: Buddleja asiatica Lour.
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1961) (voucher ID: BISH 698978) Taxon name on voucher: Buddleja asiatica Lour.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 415-416)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wood, K. R. (2006) (p. 16) Voucher cited: K.R. Wood & T. Menard 10922 (BISH, PTBG)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Lāna‘i Island	introduced invasive	Oppenheimer, Hank L./Bartlett, Randal T. (2002) (p. 5) Voucher cited: Oppenheimer H109929 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 415-416)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 415-416)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 415-416)
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	native cultivated	Conn, Barry J., ed. (1995) (p. 129)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (p. 316) In thickets, on recent slides in open places, etc.; chiefly at medium altitudes, sometimes at sea level, and ascending to 2,000 m.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
China China	Hong Kong	native	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (pp. 240-241) In thin forests or thickets.
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 20) Cultivated only
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island	native	Ching-I Peng, ed. (2011) "On mountain slopes at low elevations (600-1,400 m), common".
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Comments:  See also B. davidii and B. madagascariensis.

Control: 

Chemical:  "Sensitive to glyphosate and hormone-type herbicides. Very sensitive to triclopyr ester applied to basal bark (10% product in oil) and triclopyr amine in foliar application at 2% in water". (Motooka et al., 2003).

Additional information:
Excerpt from the book "Weeds of Hawaii‘s Pastures and Natural Areas; An Identification and Management Guide" (Motooka et al., 2003). (PDF format).

Additional online information about Buddleja asiatica is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

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

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

References:

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1950. Voucher specimen #BISH 156424 (Fosberg, F.R. 31290).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1953. Voucher specimen #BISH 156425 (Fosberg, F.R. 35318).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1961. Voucher specimen #BISH 506978 (Stone, B.C.M. 3803).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1961. Voucher specimen #BISH 698978 (Stone, B.C.M. 3803).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1968. Voucher specimen #BISH 23005 (Cushing-Falanruw, M.V. 905).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1980. Voucher specimen #BISH 588145 (Fosberg, F.R. 59899).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1981. Voucher specimen #BISH 490177 (Teraoka, W. 397).

Ching-I Peng, ed. 2011. Digital flora of Taiwan (online resource).

Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. 2009. A checklist of the total vascular plant flora of Singapore: native, naturalised and cultivated species. Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore. 273 pp.

Conn, Barry J., ed. 1995. Handbooks of the flora of Papua New Guinea, vol. 3. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne. 292 pp.

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

Merrill, Elmer D. 1923. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants, vol. 3 [reprint]. Bureau of Printing, Manila. 628 pp.

Motooka, Philip/Castro, Luisa/Nelson, Duane/Nagai, Guy/Ching, Lincoln. 2003. Weeds of Hawaii‘s Pastures and Natural Areas; An Identification and Management Guide. College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii at Manoa. 184 pp.

Motooka, Philip/Ching, Lincoln/Nagai, Guy. 2002. Herbicidal Weed Control Methods for Pasture and Natural Areas of Hawaii. Cooperative Extension Service, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawai‘i. CTAHR free publication WC-8.

Oppenheimer, Hank L./Bartlett, Randal T. 2002. New plant records from the main Hawaiian Islands. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2000. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 69:1-14.

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. 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).

Wood, K. R. 2006. New plant records and rediscoveries within the Hawaiian Islands. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2004-2005. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 88:15-19.

Wu, Te-lin. 2001. Check List of Hong Kong Plants. Hong Kong Herbarium and the South China Institute of Botany. Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department Bulletin 1 (revised). 384 pp.

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