Episcia reptans Mart., Gesneriaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

English: flame violet, red violet, scarlet violet

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Stolons brownish, leaves broadly elliptic, to 5 in. long, 2 1/2 in. wide, heavily embossed, erect-hairy, dark green with pale green or silvery pattern along midrib and lateral nerves; flowers 3-4 on pedicels to 1 in. long from a short peduncle, sepals oblong, 1/2 in. long, recurved at apex, toothed, red-flushed, corolla tube 1 1/2 in. long, hairy, pale red outside, pink with obscure lines inside, lobes to 1/2 in long, pale red outside, blood-red inside"  (Bailey & Bailey, 1976).

Habitat/ecology:  (no habitat/ecology info known by PIER)

Propagation:  Stolons; capacity for reproduction from seed not known.

Native range:  "Guyana to Peru"  (Bailey & Bailey, 1976).

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 Kosrae Island	Kosrae Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy (2010) (p. 18)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (1997) (voucher ID: PTBG 27785) Taxon name on voucher: Episcia reptans Martius
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (1997) (voucher ID: PTBG 33540) Taxon name on voucher: Episcia reptans
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 254)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 55) Voucher cited: MacKee 25726
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Lorence, David H./LaRosa, Anne Marie (2009) (p. 6)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Koror Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Lorence, David H./LaRosa, Anne Marie (2009) (p. 6)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Ngerkebesang Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Lorence, David H./LaRosa, Anne Marie (2009) (p. 6) Voucher: Lorence 9720 (PTBG, BISH, BNM, NY, US)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Ngerkebesang Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (2008) (voucher ID: PTBG 13) Taxon name on voucher: Episcia reptans

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)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Ecuador (Mainland) Ecuador	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

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

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

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

References:

Bailey, L. H./Bailey, E. Z. 1976. Hortus third: A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada. Macmillan, New York. 1290 pp.

Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. 2011. Base de données botaniques Nadeaud de l'Herbier de la Polynésie Française (PAP). (online resource).

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

Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy. 2010. Checklist of the plants of Kosrae. Unpublished checklist. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 26 pp.

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

National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.). 2008. Voucher specimen #PTBG13(David H. Lorence 9720).

Space, James C./Lorence, David H./LaRosa, Anne Marie. 2009. Report to the Republic of Palau: 2008 update on Invasive Plant Species. USDA Forest Service, Hilo, Hawai‘i. 227 pp.

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