Flueggea virosa (Roxb. ex Willd.) Voigt, Phyllanthaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 7 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Phyllanthus virosus Roxb. ex Willd.; Securinega virosa (Roxb. ex Willd.) Baill.

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: bai fan shu

English: common bushweed

Habit:  shrub

Description:  "Shrubs up to 4 m high, dioecious; side branches, especially lower ones often with thorny end. Stipules 1.1-1.7 by 0.7-0.8 mm, margin often fimbriate, persistent. Leaves distichous; petiole 3-6 mm long, c. round; blade elliptic to obovate, 1-8 by 0.6-5 cm, length/width ratio c. 1.6, papery; base usually attenuate, margin flat, apex rounded to slightly acuminate, above dark green, underneath glaucously papillate, light greenish; venation indistinct on both sides, nerves 6-13. Inflorescences fascicles. Flowers: sepals outer two smaller than inner 3. Staminate flowers c. 1.5 mm in diameter, greenish to yellowish, pendulous, sweet scented; pedicel 2-6.5 mm long, pale light greenish; sepals 0.7-1.2 by 0.3-1.1 mm, light greenish with white margin; filaments 1.2-2 mm long, white, anthers 0.3-0.5 by 0.2-0.3 mm, light yellow; disc glands fleshy, yellow; pistillode 1.5-2.3 mm long, basally connate, deeply divided into 3 branches, apical 0.3-0.7 mm bent and stigma-like. Pistillate flowers c. 2 mm in diameter; pedicel 2-12 mm long; sepals 0.7-1 mm diameter, disc annular, thin, entire, 0.7-1 mm in diameter; ovary c. 1 by 0.8 mm wide; style 0.5-0.7 mm long, stigmas 0.8-1.1 mm long, upper third split. Fruits globular, 3.4-5.2 mm in diameter, white. Seeds 2.2-2.4 by 1.2-1.8 mm, with thin sarcotesta"  (Flora of Thailand: Euphorbiaceae; also quoted in Starr, Starr & Loope, 2004; p. 22).

Also see description in Flora of China online.

Habitat/ecology:  In Thailand (native), in "open evergreen forest, mixed deciduous forest, deciduous or moist scrub jungle, old clearings, road sides; often common; soil: mainly limestone, also sand and granite as bedrock. Altitude: 10-700 m"  (Flora of Thailand: Euphorbiaceae).  In China (native), "scrub on slopes; 100-2000 m"  (Flora of China online).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Tropical Africa and Asia to Japan and Australia and Polynesia"  (Flora of Thailand: Euphorbiaceae).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim/Loope, Lloyd L. (2004) (p. 22) East Maui. Voucher cited: Starr & Martz 001128-2 (BISH)
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

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)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Australia Australia (continental)	New South Wales	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Australia Australia (continental)	Northern Territory	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Cambodia Cambodia	Cambodia (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced invasive	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 43) Naturalised
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Comoros Comoro Islands	Comoro Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011) Naturalized
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011) Naturalized

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

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

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

References:

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.

Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim/Loope, Lloyd L. 2004. New plant records from the Hawaiian Archipelago. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2003. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 79:20-30.

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

U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. 2011. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

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