Calopogonium caeruleum (Benth.) Hemsl., Fabaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Stenolobium caeruleum Benth.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: calopo, calopogonium, jicama

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Climbing plant with adpressed ferruginous hairs on stems, petioles and peduncles. Stipules caducous; stipels glandular; petioles 2.5-14 cm long, middle leaflet rhomboid, the laterals asymmetrically ovate, 5-14 cm long, 2.4-11 cm wide, apex acute, base obtuse, rounded or truncate, densely appressed pubescent on both surfaces. Flowers several at each node of a spaced many-flowered false raceme to 22 cm long; peduncle 5 cm long; calyx 5 mm long, pubescent with ferruginous hairs, teeth narrowly triangular; corolla blue or purple, about 1 cm long. Fruit oblong, 4-6 cm long, 8-9 mm wide, straight, adpressed pubescent, transversely grooved between the 4-8 seeds; seed oblong, 4-6 mm long, red when fresh, drying dark brown, shiny" (Howard, 1988; pp. 453-454).

Habitat/ecology:  Widely cultivated as a cover crop. "It requires light for good growth, appreciates support, and tends to die back when exposed in the dry season but recovers well after rain. It was originally panted in the full sun where it formed a low dense cover over the soil, but since being increasingly shaded by taller shrubs and trees it now forms an open tangled web up to 1.5 m tall" (Swarbrick, 1997; p. 23).

Propagation:  Seed, viable for several years in the soil (Swarbrick, 1997; p. 23).

Native range:  Mexico, Central America, Greater and Lesser Antilles, South America

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	Kaua‘i Island		Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.) (1987) (voucher ID: BISH 532448) Taxon name on voucher: Calophyllum brasiliense Cambess.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 630)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim/Loope, Lloyd L. (2003) (p. 27) East Maui. Vouchers cited: Starr & Martz 001012-1 (BISH), Oppenheimer & F. Duvall H110041 (BISH) Now common in Eucalyptus forest and pastures.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island		Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.) (1986) (voucher ID: BISH 534794) Taxon name on voucher: Calophyllum brasiliense Cambess.
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	introduced	Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. (1988) (p. 54)

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)
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)
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Indian Ocean offshore islands) Christmas Island Group	Christmas Island	introduced invasive	Swarbrick, J. T. (1997) (pp. 23, 107)

Comments:  A vigorous twining and climbing herb. Dense stands tend to smother other seedlings (Swarbrick, 1997; p. 23).

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

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

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

References:

Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.). 1986. Voucher specimen #BISH534794(Lau, J. 3004).

Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.). 1987. Voucher specimen #BISH532448(Lorence, D.H. 5566).

Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. 1988. Flora of the Solomon Islands. Research Bulletin No. 7. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Honiara. 203 pp.

Howard, Richard A. 1988. Flora of the Lesser Antilles: Leeward and Windward Islands. Vol. 4, Dicotyledoneae-Part 1. Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University. 673 pp.

ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre. 2011. International Legume Database & Information Service. Online searchable database.

Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim/Loope, Lloyd L. 2003. New plant records from the Hawaiian Archipelago. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2001-2002. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 74:23-34.

Swarbrick, J. T. 1997. Environmental weeds and exotic plants on Christmas Island, Indian Ocean: a report to Parks Australia. 101 pp. plus appendix.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. 2011. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

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).

Whistler, W. A. 1995. Wayside Plants of the Islands. Isle Botanica, Honolulu. 202 pp.