Cryptostegia grandiflora Roxb. ex R.Br., Asclepiadaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Reject, score: 16 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

English: India rubber vine, Palay rubbervine, panay rubber plant, rubber vine

French: liane de gatope

Habit:  vine

Description:  "Vine to subshrub.  Stems with numerous, small lenticels.  Lamina elliptic to orbicular, up to 10 cm long and 6.3 wide, glabrous; 11-13 secondary veins per side of midrib; tip acute; base cuneate; petiole 7-20.8 mm long, 0.9-3 mm diameter.  Cyme of 1 or 2 fascicles.  Flowers 5-6 cm long, 5-8.8 cm diameter; pedicels 4.2-8.5 mm long, 3-6.2 mm diameter, glabrous.  Calyx lobes lanceolate-ovate, 11.9-18.7 mm long, 5.6-9.8 mm wide.  Corolla pale pink to white; tube 1.9-4.5 cm long, 11.2-17 mm diameter; lobes 21-43 mm long, 13-22.5 mm wide.  Corolline corona of 5 bilobed filaments in throat of tube; each lobe ca 10 mm long overall, bilobed portion ca 8 mm long.  Staminal column 2-3 mm long, 3-4 mm diameter; anthers 4-4.5 mm long, 3-3.5 mm wide.  Translators obtuse, ca 3 mm long and 1.5 mm wide.  Style-head conical, ca 3.5 mm long and 2.5 mm diameter.  Ovaries ca 4 mm long and 2 mm wide.  Follicles fusiform-ovoid, 10-15.4 cm long, 2.1-4 cm diameter; seeds 5.2-9.7 mm long, 1.6-2.8 mm wide; coma white, 18.9-38 mm long." (Marohasy and Forster, 1991; pp. 574-575).

"Woody ornamental lactiferous climber with opposite simple oblong shortly acuminate short-petiolate leaves 4-10 cm long, 3-5 cm wide; cymes of about 6-12 large reddish-purple flowers (sometimes lighter pink-violet); calyx-lobes about 1.2 cm long; corolla about 5 cm long (in bud); follicles 7.5-8.5 cm long.  The flowers resemble those of the purple Allamanda (Allamanda violacea)" (Stone, 1970; p. 487).

Habitat/ecology:  Dry forest, roadsides, moist forest, rainforest openings at low elevations. A aggressive woody climbing shrub which is capable of growing over trees up to 15 m high.  In the open, forms impenetrable thickets. "C. grandiflora occurs in the dry south-west of Madagascar where the annual rainfall is less than 600 mm.  Plants occur naturally in the few vestigial pockets of riverine and seasonally flooded forests; however, most of these natural forest types have been cleared for cultivation or destroyed by fire.  Plants are common in disturbed situations where there is temporary or permanent water, such as along gullies, rivers, creeks, waterholes and in salmarsh areas." (Marohasy and Forster, 1991; pp. 574-575).

In Australia, "found in Queensland in the dry tropical areas often fringing streams and river systems including adjacent hills and pastures.  It smothers vegetation replacing native species, particularly in areas degraded by stock.  Hinders pastoralism and reported to be toxic to livestock."  (Smith, 2002; p. 47). In New Caledonia, "cultivé comme plante ornamentale à Nouméa; infeste sur des étendues importantes des pâturages dans la partie Nord de la côte Ouest, surtout dans la région de Voh" (MacKee, 1994; p. 20); "envahissant dans les pâturages" (Barrau 11, 1953).

Propagation:  Wind- and water-dispersed seeds (Smith, 2002; p. 47).

Native range:  Madagascar.

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) (pp. 219-220)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Fiji Islands	introduced	Meyer, Jean-Yves (2000) (p. 92) "Potential invader".
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island		Fosberg, F. R. (1997) (p. 14)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island		Fosberg, F. R. (1997) (p. 14)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tetiaroa Atoll	introduced cultivated	Sachet, M.-H./Fosberg, F. R. (1983) (p. 65)
French Polynesia Tuamotu Archipelago	Niau Atoll		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1992) (voucher ID: BISH 633771) Taxon name on voucher: Cryptostegia grandiflora Roxb. ex R.Br.
French Polynesia Tuamotu Archipelago	Takapoto Atoll	introduced cultivated	Sachet, M-H. (1983) (p. 33) One vine in village. Voucher cited: Sachet 2042 (US)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced cultivated	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (p. 487)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (pp. 219-220)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1963) (voucher ID: BISH 73093) Taxon name on voucher: Cryptostegia grandiflora Roxb. ex R.Br.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawaiian Islands	introduced cultivated	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral/Imada, Clyde T. (2000) (p. 17)
Marshall Islands Ralik Chain	Kwajalein (Kuwajleen) Atoll	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (pp. 219-220)
Marshall Islands Ralik Chain	Kwajalein (Kuwajleen) Atoll	introduced	Whistler, W. A./Steele, O. (1999) (p. 99) Not seen on this survey and may no longer be present.
Marshall Islands Ralik Chain	Kwajalein (Kuwajleen) Atoll		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1965) (voucher ID: BISH 452831) Taxon name on voucher: Cryptostegia grandiflora Roxb. ex R.Br.
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	Meyer, Jean-Yves (2000) (p. 100)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	Gargominy, Oliver/Bouchet, Philipe/Pascal, Michel/Jaffre, Tanguy/Tourneu, Jean-Christophe (1996) (p. 379) Infeste d'importantes étendues de pâturages dans le Nord de la côte Ouest, surtout dans la région de Voh.
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 20) Vouchers cited: Baumann 7445, Barrau 11, MacKee 8035, Benoit in MacKee 21760, MacKee 21788
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Guadalcanal Island	introduced cultivated	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
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	introduced invasive	Smith, Nicholas M. (2002) (p. 47)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)

Comments:  A major environmental weed of central and northern Queensland, Australia. A declared noxious weed there as well as in the Northern Territory and Western Australia (Smith, 2002; p. 47).

Invasive in the Virgin Islands (Fred Kraus, communication to Aliens listserver).

See also Cryptostegia madagascariensis.

Control: 

Physical. Hand treatment is practical only on a small scale.

Chemical: "Overall spraying with a hand wand gives effective control of scattered young plants up to 1.5 meters high, but results are affected by time of application and the formulations used.  Apply ester 2,4-D, dicamba as the dimethylamine salt or picloram + 2,4-D as the tri-isopropanolamine salts in autumn, using water as the carrier and thoroughly wetting both the foliage and the stems.  In general, dicamba and picloram give better results but are more expensive and more environmentally damaging than 2,4-D.  Of the application methods available for the treatment of large mature plants, a modified basal bark application gives better results than application to the upper stems which, in turn, is more effective than overall foliage sprays.  In basal bark treatments, sever the stems about 50 cm above the ground and apply ester 2,4-D, picloram, triclopyr or mixtures of these herbicides, or with hexazinone or metsulfuron alone with a spotgun, thoroughly wetting the butts all around.  Cut stump treatments also give good results.  In this technique, sever the stems at ground level and swab the cut surfaces immediately with one or other of the herbicides suggested for basal bark treatments.  Stem injection treatments with picloram or hexazinone also give good results"  (Parsons and Cuthbertson, 1992; pp. 176-179).

Rubber vine may require more than one treatment and may take up to two years to die.

Biological: Release of Euclasta whalleyi in Australia not effective (Julien,1992; p. 4).

Additional information:  Report (PDF format) from US Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, Haleakala Field Station, Hawaii "Plants of Hawaii".
Rubber vine "wanted" poster from Maui Invasive Species Committee, Hawai‘i.
Rubber vine (Cryptostegia grandiflora) factsheet (PDF format) from Queensland (Australia) Dept. of Natural Resources.

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

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

References:

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1963. Voucher specimen #BISH 73093 (Fosberg, F.R. 43479).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1965. Voucher specimen #BISH 452831 (unknown s.n.).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1992. Voucher specimen #BISH 633771 (Florence 10106).

Charles Darwin Research Station. 2005. CDRS Herbarium records.

Fosberg, F. R. 1997. Preliminary checklist of the flowering plants and ferns of the Society Islands. Ed. by David R. Stoddart. U. Cal. Berkeley.

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

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.

Julien, M. H. (ed.). 1992. Biological control of weeds: A world catalogue of agents and their target weeds (third edition). CAB International, Wallingford, UK. 186 pp.

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

Marohasy, J./Forster, P. I. 1991. A taxonomic revision of Cryptostegia R. Br. (Asclepiadaceae: Periplocoideae). Aust. Syst. Bot. 4.

Meyer, Jean-Yves. 2000. Preliminary review of the invasive plants in the Pacific islands (SPREP Member Countries). In: Sherley, G. (tech. ed.). Invasive species in the Pacific: A technical review and draft regional strategy. South Pacific Regional Environment Programme, Samoa. 190 pp.

Orapa, Warea. 2005. Warea Orapa, Weed Mangement Officer, Secretariat of the Pacific Community, pers. com. (Trip Report, Solomon Islands, 19 April to 10 May, 2005).

Parsons, W. T./Cuthbertson, E. G. 1992. Noxious weeds of Australia. Inkata Press, Melbourne/Sydney. 692 pp.

Sachet, M-H. 1983. Takapoto Atoll, Tuamotu Archipelago: terrestrial vegetation and flora. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 277. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 41 pp. + photos.

Sachet, M.-H./Fosberg, F. R. 1983. An ecological reconnaissance of Tetiaroa Atoll, Society Islands. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 275. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 67 pp. + photos.

Smith, Nicholas M. 2002. Weeds of the wet/dry tropics of Australia - a field guide. Environment Centre NT, Inc. 112 pp.

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral/Imada, Clyde T. 2000. Survey of invasive or potentially invasive cultivated plants in Hawai‘i. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers No. 65. 35 pp.

Stone, Benjamin C. 1970. The flora of Guam. Micronesica 6:1-659.

U. S. Government. 2006. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2007. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Whistler, W. A./Steele, O. 1999. Botanical survey of the United States of America Kwajalein Atoll (USAKA) Islands. Prepared for Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education and the U. S. Army Environmental Center. 111 pp.