Centaurium spicatum (L.) Fernald, Gentianaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Gentiana spicata L.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: spiked centaury

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Stem strictly upright, 1-4 dm high; the flowers sessile and scattered along one side of the simple or rarely forked spiciform branches; leaves oval and oblong, rounded at base, acutish, tube of the rose-colored or whitish corolla scarcely longer than the calyx, the lobes oblong"  (Fernald, 1950; p. 1157).

Habitat/ecology:  In New Caledonia, "pourrait être indigène, comme il en donne l'impression aujourd'hui, mais ne semble pas avoir été récolte avant 1850. Maintenant très répandu à basse altitude sur la Grande-Terre et aux Iles" (MacKee, 1994; p. 55).

"Borders of sandy salt-marshes" in northeastern US (Fernald, 1950; p. 1157).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Europe and Asia (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
New Caledonia Îles Loyauté (Loyalte Islands)	Île Lifou	possibly native	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 55) Vouchers cited: Deplanche 990, Balansa 1759, MacKee 27206
New Caledonia Îles Loyauté (Loyalte Islands)	Île Maré	possibly native	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 55) Voucher cited: Sarasin 427
New Caledonia New Caledonia	New Caledonia Islands		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 89)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Balabio	possibly native	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 55) Voucher cited: MacKee 29304
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced	Gargominy, Oliver/Bouchet, Philipe/Pascal, Michel/Jaffre, Tanguy/Tourneu, Jean-Christophe (1996) (p. 380) Possibly indigenous. Très répandu à basse altitude sur la Grande-Terre et aux Iles; pourrait être indigène.
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	possibly native	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 55) Vouchers cited: Vieillard 590, MacKee 18069, MacKee 27693, MacKee 27962, MacKee 37317
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île des Pins (Isle of Pines)	possibly native	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 55) Vouchers cited: Pancher 591, MacKee 23584

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

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

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

References:

Fernald, M. L. 1950. Gray's manual of botany, eighth edition. American Book Co. p. 588.

Gargominy, Oliver/Bouchet, Philipe/Pascal, Michel/Jaffre, Tanguy/Tourneu, Jean-Christophe. 1996. Conséquences des introductions d'espèces animales et végétales sur la biodiversité en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Rev. Ecol. (Terre Vie) 51:375-401.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Swarbrick, John T. 1997. Weeds of the Pacific Islands. Technical paper no. 209. South Pacific Commission, Noumea, New Caledonia. 124 pp.

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