Fallopia convolvulus (L.) Love, Polygonaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Polygonum convolvulus L.

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: wan shou wu

English: black bindweed, cornbind, wild buckwheat

French: faux liseron, renouée liseron, vrillée sauvage

Japanese: sobakazura

Spanish: albohol de castilla, chilillo, enredadera, polígono trepador

Habit:  herb

Description:  "A finely pilose-papillos annual herb; stems twining, slender, 1.5-10 m long, branched.  Leaves ovate-sagittate or lanceolate-sagittate, acute or acuminate at apex, cordate at base, 3-7 cm long, 2.5-5 cm wide, membranaceous, petiolate; papillose, the margins obliquely truncate, not ciliate.  Flowers nodding, greenish white, loosely arranged in terminal panicles or axillary small fascicles; perianth 2-3 mm long, expanding after anthesis and including the nuts; pedicels slender, articulate.  Nuts obovate-conical, acute, trigonous, 3-4 mm long, dull, black, punctate" (Li et al., 1976; p. 267).

"Slightly roughish annual, stem soon twining, or sometimes merely procumbent; leaves cordate, ovate, dull green; flowers in short axillary clusters or axillary and terminal interrupted or moniliform spike-like racemes; pedicels mostly shorter than puberulent green or purplish-tipped calyx; fruiting calyx subrhomboid-ovoid, 4-5 mm long, trigonous, with scarcely developed keels; achene minutely roughened, dull" (Fernald, 1950; p. 588).

Habitat/ecology:  "Weed of cultivated and waste ground" (Fernald, 1950; p. 588).  In Taiwan, naturalized, "twining upon hedges and shrubs in waste places" (Li et al., 1976; p. 267). In Hawai‘i, "single collection on barren, disturbed ground in a pasture, Haleakala National Park, Maui" (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1063-1064). In New Caledonia, "mauvaise herbe peu commune des cultures" (MacKee, 1994; p. 117).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Europe (Fernald, 1950; p. 588).  Europe and W. Asia (Li et al., 1976; p. 267). Europe and western Asia, now widely naturalized throughout tropical and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1063-1064).  Europe, North Africa, Asia; naturalized elsewhere (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Pacific offshore islands) Norfolk Islands	Norfolk Island	introduced invasive	Orchard, Anthony E., ed. (1994) (p. 10) "A rare weed, native to temperate Eurasia, now widely naturalised". Voucher cited: P. Ralston 72 (A)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1063-1064) Voucher cited: R. Nagata s.n. (BISH)
New Caledonia New Caledonia	New Caledonia Islands		Fernald, M. L. (1950)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	Tassin, Jacques (2005)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 117) Voucher cited: MacKee 35068
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands		Hafliger, Toni J./Wolf, Matthias (1988) (p. 275)

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)	Australia (continental)		Hafliger, Toni J./Wolf, Matthias (1988) (p. 275)
Chile (continental) Chile	Chile (Republic of)		Hafliger, Toni J./Wolf, Matthias (1988) (p. 275)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) "Thickets in valleys, stream banks; 100-3600 m".
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 181)
North Korea North Korea	North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
South Korea South Korea	South Korea (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
South Korea South Korea	South Korea (Republic of)		Hafliger, Toni J./Wolf, Matthias (1988) (p. 277)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)		Hafliger, Toni J./Wolf, Matthias (1988) (p. 275)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 968) "A common weed of cultivation".
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

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

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

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

References:

Fernald, M. L. 1950. Gray's manual of botany, eighth edition. American Book Co. p. 588.

Hafliger, Toni J./Wolf, Matthias. 1988. Dicot weeds, vol. 1. CIBA-GEIGY Ltd., Basle, Switzerland. 335 pp.

Li, Hui-lin/Liu, Tang-shui/Huang, Tseng-chieng/Koyama, Tetsuo/DeVol, Charles E., eds. 1976. Flora of Taiwan, Volume 2. Epoch Pub. Co., Taipei. 722 pp.

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

Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro. 2004. Invasive alien species in Japan: the status quo and the new regulation for prevention of their adverse effects. Global Environmental Research 8(2)/2004: 171-191.

Orchard, Anthony E., ed. 1994. Flora of Australia. Vol. 49, Oceanic islands 1. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.

Tassin, Jacques. 2005. Jacques Tassin (IAC-CIRAD), personal communication.

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).

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.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).