Corchorus aestuans L., Malvaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Corchorus acutangulus Lam.

Common name(s): [more details]

Chamorro: bilimbines chaka, tuban chaka

Chinese: tian ma

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Herbs annual, to 1 m tall. Stem red-brown, slightly yellowish puberulent; branches slender. Petiole 0.9-1.6 cm, with yellowish, long, rigid hairs; leaf blade ovate or broadly ovate, 4.5-6.5 x 3-4 cm, sparsely pilose on both surfaces, glabrescent, basal veins 5-7, lateral veins 3-6 pairs, base rounded, margin serrate, basal pair of teeth usually elongating into filiform or caudate appendages, apex shortly acuminate or acute. Flowers solitary or several together in cymes, axillary or leaf-opposed; peduncle and pedicel very short or absent. Sepals 5, purple-red abaxially, narrowly oblong, ca. 5 mm, semi-foveolately boat-shaped distally, apex awned. Petals 5, yellow, nearly as long as sepals, obovate. Stamens many, yellow, ca. 3 mm. Ovary 3-5-loculed, long cylindrical, puberulent; style rodlike; stigma beaklike, 5-toothed. Capsule cylindrical, angled, 3-5-valved, 1.2-2.5 x ca. 0.5 cm, apex 3-5-angled, awns bifurcate. Seeds separated by transverse septum"  (Flora of China online).

"A small herb or suffruticose plant with erect, sparingly branched stems to about 40 cm tall; leaves green, ovate, acute, serrate; flowers 1-3 in clusters, very shortly pedicellate, very small, leaf-opposed; sepals 5; petals 5, yellow, 2-3 mm long; capsule hexagonal-cylindric" (Stone, 1970; pp. 401-402).

Habitat/ecology:  A weed of waste ground (Stone, 1970; pp. 401-402).  In Papua New Guinea, "a plant of roadsides (and little-used roads), waste land, and grazed grassland, often on sandy or gravelly soil"  (Henty & Pritchard, 1975; p. 154).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Paleotropical weed (Stone, 1970; pp. 401-402). Probably neotropics (GRIN).

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 Yap Islands	Fais Island	introduced invasive	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 157)
Federated States of Micronesia Yap Islands	Fais Island	introduced invasive	Fosberg, F. R./Evans, M. (1969) (p. 9) Voucher cited: Fosberg 46671 (US)
Federated States of Micronesia Yap Islands	Ulithi Atoll	introduced invasive	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 157)
Federated States of Micronesia Yap Islands	Ulithi Atoll		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (1965) (voucher ID: PTBG 24292) Taxon name on voucher: Corchorus aestuans
Federated States of Micronesia Yap Islands	Yap (Waqab) Island	introduced invasive	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 157)
French Polynesia Clipperton Island	Clipperton (Arue, Avera) Island	introduced invasive	Sachet, M.-H. (1962)
French Polynesia Clipperton Island	Clipperton (Arue, Avera) Island		Sachet, M.-H. (1962) (p. 93)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island		Fosberg, F. R. (1997) (p. 146)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Naturalisée
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced invasive	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (pp. 401-402)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced invasive	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 157)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (1982) (voucher ID: PTBG 23844) Taxon name on voucher: Corchorus aestuans
Palau Palau (Belau ) (main island group)	Babeldaob Island	introduced invasive	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 157)
Palau Palau (Belau ) (main island group)	Peleliu (Beliliou) Island		Wagner, W. L./ Herbst, D. R./Weitzman, A./Lorence, D.H. (2013)
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	invasive	Henty, E. E./Pritchard, G. H. (1975) (p. 154) At low levels, widespread but not common.
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 98)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Guadalcanal Island	introduced invasive	Orapa, Warea (2005) Along roadsides between Honiara and Aruliho area.
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Malaita Island	introduced invasive	Orapa, Warea (2005)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Nicaragua (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2013) Widely cultivated.
China China	Hong Kong	native	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 97)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 98)
Japan Japan	Japan	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 186)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced invasive	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 28) Naturalised
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Colombia	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Taiwan Taiwan Island	Taiwan Island	introduced cultivated	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2013) Widely cultivated.
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 98)

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. 19)
British Indian Ocean Territory Chagos Archipelago	Diego Garcia Island	introduced invasive	Whistler, W. Arthur (1996) (p. 30)
British Indian Ocean Territory Chagos Archipelago	Diego Garcia Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (1995) (voucher ID: PTBG 38065) Taxon name on voucher: Corchorus aestuans L.
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Agalega Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Stoddart, D. R. (1983) (p. 138)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Seychelles Islands	introduced	Invasive Species Specialist Group (2017)

Control:  If you know of control methods for Corchorus aestuans, please let us know.