Cuphea racemosa (L. f.) Spreng., Lythraceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

English: white cuphea

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Annual herb to ca. 50 cm tall, becoming somewhat woody at the base, stems reddish, with glandular hairs.  Leaves opposite, simple, obovate, elliptic, or oblong, to ca. 6 cm long, lower surface with some glandular hairs, margins with fine white hairs.  Flowers in terminal racemes; floral tube with a distinct hump at the base and dark red longitudinal stripes, covered with glandular hairs; corolla white with a pink stripe at the base of each petal, petals 6, ca. 1.5 mm long; stamens 11.  Fruit a capsule, ovoid, ca. 4 mm long, seeds 4."  (McMullen, 1999; p. 253).

Habitat/ecology:  Moist uplands in the Galápagos Islands (McMullen, 1999; p. 253).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Mexico, Cuba and tropical South America (GRIN)

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced invasive	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced invasive	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 106)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

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

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

Taxonomic information about Cuphea racemosa 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.

Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 391 pp.

McMullen, C. K. 1999. Flowering plants of the Galápagos. Comstock Pub. Assoc., Ithaca, N.Y. 370 p.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.