Cuphea ignea A.DC., Lythraceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Parsonia ignea (A. DC) Standl.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: cigar flower, firecracker plant

French: herbe cigarette, herbe piment

Hawaiian: kīkā, pua kīkā

Spanish: fosforitos

Habit:  shrub

Description:  "Spreading shrubs; stems 3-5 dm long, many-branched, subglabrous.  Leaves lanceolate to narrowly ovate or elliptic, 20-45 mm long, 5-12 mm wide, apex acuminate, base narrowly cuneate, petioles 1-7 mm long.  Flowers solitary in the leaf axils, pedicels 5-10 mm long; floral tube scarlet, white, subcylindrical, with a conspicuous subglobose spur, slightly falcate, 20-25 mm long; calyx teeth spreading, the lower ones slightly longer; petals absent; stamens conspicuously exserted unevenly 2-4 mm beyond the floral tube.  Capsules oblong-ovoid, 8-10 mm long.  Seeds reddish brown, suborbicular, ca. 2 mm in diameter"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 866).

Habitat/ecology:  Cultivated and sparingly naturalized in Hawai‘i (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 866).

Propagation:  Seed (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 866).

Native range:  Mexico (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
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive cultivated	Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced cultivated	Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (pp. 480, 526, 553) "Localmente llamada ‘fosforitos’, fue encontrada en un unico jardin del pueblo de San Juan Bautista".
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (pp. 284-285) Voucher cited: DA 3006
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 866) Sparingly naturalized.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 30) Cultivated only

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	Lavergne, Christophe (2006) "Trè's envahissant"
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced invasive	Baret, Stephane/Rouget, Mathieu/Richardson, David M./Lavergne, Christophe/Egoh, Benis/Dupont, Joel/Strasberg, Dominique (2006) (p. 758)

Additional information:
Factsheet from Floridata.

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

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

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

References:

Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John. 2011. Naturalized species in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile. Unpublished spreadsheet.

Baret, Stephane/Rouget, Mathieu/Richardson, David M./Lavergne, Christophe/Egoh, Benis/Dupont, Joel/Strasberg, Dominique. 2006. Current distribution and potential extent of the most invasive alien plant species on La Réunion (Indian Ocean, Mascarene islands). Austral Ecology (2006) 31, 747-758.

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.

Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido. 2006. Nouveau catalogue de la flore vaculaire de l'archipel Juan Fernández (Chile) [Nuevo catálogo de la flora vacular del Archipélago Juan Fernández (Chile)]. Acta Bot. Gallica 153(4):399-587.

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

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. 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).