Carmona retusa (Vahl) Masam., Boraginaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Evaluate, score: 4 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Carmona microphylla (Lam.) G. Don; Cordia retusa Vahl

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: ji ji shu

English: Fukien tea, Philippine tea, scorpionbush

Kwara‘ae: aidasi, ailau

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Evergreen shrub to small tree. Leaves in clusters of 3-5, blade obovate or oblanceolate, 1.5-4 cm x .8-2.5 cm, base decurrent onto petiole, coarsely 3-5 toothed towards apex, apex acute to obtuse or rounded, when young both surfaces with stiff white hairs, upper surface becoming scabrid, petiole 1-5 mm long. Flowers 3-12 flowered scorpioid cymes, unbranched or branched once, sepals 4-5, lanceolate, 3-4 mm long; corolla white, rotate, 8-10 mm in diam., lobes 4-5, 3-4 mm long. Fruit globose, 4-5 mm in diameter, ripening brownish orange, pericap thin, pyrene white, bony." (Lorence et al. 1995; p. 25).

"Shrubs or small trees, to 2 m, the twigs glabrous to sparsely strigillose. Leaves mostly fasciculate on short, spur-like branches, occasionally alternate, small, spathulate, to 4.0 cm long and 1.5 cm wide, retuse and/or with 2-7 teeth at apex, the bases attenuate, somewhat coriaceous, uniformly scabrate above, the trichomes with cystolith-like bases; subsessile. Inflorescences mostly solitary and axillary. Flowers small, subsessile to pedicels c. 2 mm long; calyx of 5 sepals, slightly connate basally, spatulate, 3-3.5 mm long, to 4 mm in fruit; corolla salverform, white, tube shallow, 5-lobed, the lobes c. 3 mm long; stamens exserted, the anthers c. 1.2-1.6 mm long, the filaments 1.5 mm long; ovary globose, the style slender and elongate, cleft below the middle (1.5 mm unbranched and 2.5 mm for branches), stigmas scarcely differentiated. Fruit drupaceous, globose, 3.5-4 mm in diameter, 4-seeded, not separating at maturity" (Dassanayake, 1991; pp. 5-6).

Habitat/ecology:  "Sandy soils and scrub forests" (Dassanayake, 1991; pp. 5-6). In Hawai‘i, cultivated as a hedge plant, naturalized in secondary vegetation (Lorence et al., 1995; p. 25).

Propagation:  Seed, bird-dispersed.

Native range:  "All of southern Asia from India to Taiwan and the Philippine Islands, and eastward to New Guinea and the Solomon Islands" (Dassanayake, 1991; pp. 5-6).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Federated States of Micronesia Kosrae Island	Kosrae Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy (2010) (p. 14)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	native	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 229)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy W./Wagner, Warren L. (1995) (p. 25) Voucher cited: T. Flynn & M. Egan 4390 (BISH, PTBG)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy W./Wagner, Warren L. (1995) (p. 25) West Maui. Voucher cited: R. Hobdy 3286 (BISH, US)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim/Loope, Lloyd L. (2003) (p. 25) East Maui. Voucher cited: Starr & Martz 001128-1 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive	Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim/Loope, Lloyd L. (2006) (p. 33) Voucher cited: Starr & Starr 050516-5 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy W./Wagner, Warren L. (1995) (p. 25)
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	native	Dassanayake, M. D., gen. ed. (1991)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands		Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (pp. 374-375) As Ehretia microphylla. In thickets and secondary forests at low and medium latitudes, often common.
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands		Dassanayake, M. D., gen. ed. (1991)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	native	Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. (1988) (p. 55)

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)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Japan Ryukyu Islands	Ryukyu Islands	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 invasive	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 23) Naturalised
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island	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	native	Orchard, Anthony E., ed. (1993) (p. 17)

Additional information:
Report (PDF format) from US Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, Haleakala Field Station, Hawaii "Plants of Hawaii".
Information from the ASEAN Tropical Plant Database.

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

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

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

References:

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.

Dassanayake, M. D., gen. ed. 1991. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon. Vol VII. Amerind Pub. Co., New Delhi. 439 pp.

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

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

Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy. 2010. Checklist of the plants of Kosrae. Unpublished checklist. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 26 pp.

Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy W./Wagner, Warren L. 1995. Contributions to the flora of Hawai‘i. III. New additions, range extensions, and rediscoveries of flowering plants. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Miller, Scott, E., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1994. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 41:19-58.

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

Orchard, Anthony E., ed. 1993. Flora of Australia. Vol. 50, Oceanic islands 2. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.

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.

Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim/Loope, Lloyd L. 2006. New plant records from the Hawaiian Archipelago. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2004-2005. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 87:31-43.

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./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).

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