Cuphea hyssopifolia Kunth, Lythraceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Low risk (based on second screen), score: 5 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

English: cuphea, elphin herb, elphin plant, false heather, Hawaiian heather, Mexican heather

French: corail

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Erect to spreading subshrubs; stems 3-5 dm long, many-branched, puberulent and reddish strigose, the hairs sometimes spreading.  Leaves linear, sometimes the larger ones linear-elliptic, 10-30 mm long, 1.5-4 mm wide, 1-nerved, subsessile.  Flowers solitary in the leaf axils, pedicels 2-7 mm long; floral tube pale green, sometimes becoming purplish toward apex, 5-8 m long, glabrous or with a few stiff hairs; calyx teeth triangular; petals 6, pale purple (or white?), drying pale purple or violet, ca. 3-3.5 mm long; stamens included and inserted in 2 unequal whorls on the floral rube.  Capsules oblong-ovoid, 1-celled, ca. 3.5 mm long.  Seeds reddish brown, suborbicular, ca. 1-1.5 mm in diameter, pitted" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 866).

Habitat/ecology:  "A moderate amount of disturbance is required for false heather to establish and maintain itself. Mowing, animal and vehicular traffic, and light cultivation are typical enabling disturbances. A moist climate (above 1400 mm of annual precipitation) is required for natural stands. It does not tolerate frost or salt (Watkins and Sheehan 1975). Partial shade from trees and light competition from grass and weeds are tolerated, but tall grass and heavy weeds will eliminate it. In Hawaii, false heather is most abundant in moist and partially shaded places above 240 m elevation (Pope 1968). Clayey and medium textured soils with good drainage are best"  (Wildland shrubs of the United States and its territories).  In Hawai‘i, "naturalized primarily in mesic, open, disturbed sites and streambeds" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 866).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Mexico to Guatemala and Honduras" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 866).

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	Rota Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 180)
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Saipan Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 180)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island	introduced cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (p. 284) Voucher cited: DA 16791
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 180)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 866) Voucher cited: Faurie 846 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Imada, Clyde (2007) (p. 37) East Maui. Vouchers cited: P. Welton 2093 (BISH), H. Oppenheimer H100523 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced	Wester, Lyndon (1992) (p. 142)
Marshall Islands Ralik Chain	Kwajalein (Kuwajleen) Atoll	introduced cultivated	Whistler, W. A./Steele, O. (1999) (p. 101) Cultivated.
Marshall Islands Ratak Chain	Majuro (Mãjro) Atoll	introduced cultivated	Vander Velde, Nancy (2003) (p. 103) Planted ornamental.
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 95) Voucher cited: MacKee 26957

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Guatemala Guatemala	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 866)
Honduras Honduras	Honduras (Republic of)	native	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 866)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 866)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive cultivated	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 817) "A minor escape from cultivation, coastal sites, open roadside shrubbery".
Panama Panama	Panama (Republic of)	native	Francis, John K., ed. (2009)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Lavergne, Christophe (2006) "Cultivé/naturalisé".

Additional information:
Fact sheet from "Wildland shrubs of the United States and its territories: thamnic descriptions" (PDF format).

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

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

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

References:

Charles Darwin Foundation. 2008. Database inventory of introduced plant species in the rural and urban zones of Galapagos. Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos, Ecuador.

Charles Darwin Research Station. 2005. CDRS Herbarium records.

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

Francis, John K., ed. 2009. Wildland Shrubs of the United States and its Territories: Thamnic Descriptions General Technical Report IITF-WB-1 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service International Institute of Tropical Forestry and Shrub Sciences Laboratory (online resource).

Imada, Clyde. 2007. New Hawaiian plant records for 2005-2006. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2006. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 96:34-41.

Lavergne, Christophe. 2006. List des especes exotiques envahissantes a La Reunion. Unpublished manuscript (Excel file). .

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

McCormack, Gerald. 2008. Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga.

Smith, Albert C. 1985. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 3. 758 pp.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2009. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Vander Velde, Nancy. 2003. The vascular plants of Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. Smithsonian Institution, Atoll Research Bulletin No. 503:1-141.

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).

Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988. Flora of New Zealand, Volume IV: Naturalised pteridophytes, gymnosperms, dicotyledons. Botany Division, DSIR, Christchurch. 1365 pp.

Wester, Lyndon. 1992. Origin and distribution of adventive flowering plants in Hawai‘i. In: Stone, Charles P.; Smith, Clifford W. and Tunison, J. Timothy. Alien plant invasions in native ecosystems of Hawaii: Management and Research. University of Hawaii, Cooperative National Park Research Studies Unit, Honolulu. University of Hawaii Press. .

Whistler, W. A. 2000. Tropical ornamentals: a guide. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon. 542 pp.

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.