Hamelia patens Jacq., Rubiaceae

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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:  Hamelia erecta Jacq.; Hamelia nodosa M. Martens & Galeotti

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: chang ge mu

English: firebush, hummingbird bush, redhead, scarletbush

French: fleur-corail

Spanish: bálsamo, busunuvo, Doña Julia, pata de pájaro

Habit:  shrub

Description:  "Shrub or treelet usually 6-12 (-20) feet tall.  Leaves often whorled; blades ovate-elliptic to obovate-elliptic, 2-7 inches long, membranous to papery, secondary veins 7-10 on each side of midrib; stipules triangular to awl-shaped, to 0.25 inch long.  Inflorescence many-flowered.  Flowers 0.5-1 inch long; calyx lobes ovate, corolla tubular, orange to red, lobes narrow, erect or spreading.  Fruit ca 0.25 inch long, red or black" (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 490).

"A showy, fast-growing, semi-woody evergreen shrub that can get up to 15 ft (4.6 m) tall under ideal conditions, but usually stays much smaller. It has whorled leaves, usually with three but occasionally as many as seven at each node. The leaves are elliptic to oval, about 6 in (15 cm) long, and gray-pubescent underneath with reddish veins and petioles. They are reflexed upward from the midvein. Throughout the year produces showy terminal clusters (cymes) of bright reddish-orange or scarlet tubular flowers, each about 0.75 in (1.9 cm), long. Even the flower stems are red. The clusters of fruit also are showy. Each fruit is a juicy berry with many small seeds, ripening from green to yellow to red and finally to black"  (Floridata).

Habitat/ecology:  "Firebush grows in deforested areas, in thickets with other brushy species, in forest openings, or in the understory of low basal-area forest stands. The species is found in moist and wet areas that receive from about 1600 to about 3000 mm of precipitation. Firebush prefers loamy or clayey soil. It grows on soils derived from volcanic and sedimentary parent materials and is most common in areas with limestone rocks"  (Wildland shrubs of the United States and its territories).

"Hardy and adaptable, it grows in a wide array of soil types and pH ranges, including alkaline limestone soils, and is moderately fast growing when watered well and fertilized.  It tolerates light salt spray if planted back from the beachfront and prefers full or filtered sun"  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 490).

Propagation:  Seed, cuttings or air layers (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 490).  The berries are eaten by birds (Floridata).  "Layering occurs whenever stems come in contact with the ground"  (Wildland shrubs of the United States and its territories).

Native range:  "The native range of firebush extends from southern Florida and Bermuda, through the Bahamas, the Greater and Lesser Antilles, Trinidad and Tobego, and from Mexico through Central America and South America to Paraguay and Argentina (Little and others 1974)"  (Wildland shrubs of the United States and its territories).

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 cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Raulerson, L. (2006) (p. 65)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island		Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.) (1927) (voucher ID: BISH 66638) Taxon name on voucher: Hamelia patens Jacq.
Marshall Islands Ratak Chain	Majuro (Mãjro) Atoll	introduced cultivated	Vander Velde, Nancy (2003) (p. 119) Potted plant.
Palau Palau (main island group)	Koror Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Lorence, David H./LaRosa, Anne Marie (2009) (p. 3)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Peleliu Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Lorence, David H./LaRosa, Anne Marie (2009) (p. 3) Voucher cited: Lorence 9745 (PTBG, BISH, BNM, NY, US)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Peleliu Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (2008) (voucher ID: PTBG 37) Taxon name on voucher: Hamelia patens

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
China China	China (People's Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) Cultivated in gardens in Fujian, Yunnan, Xinjiang. "In S. China and in cultivation in general this species does not set fruit".
China China	Hong Kong	introduced cultivated	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 263) Ornamental.
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Costa Rica Costa Rica	Costa Rica (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)
El Salvador El Salvador	El Salvador (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Guatemala Guatemala	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Honduras Honduras	Honduras (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Nicaragua Nicaragua	Nicaragua (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Panama Panama	Panama (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)	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. 47) Cultivated only

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Maldives Maldive Islands	Malè Atoll		Fosberg, F. R. (1957) (p. 34)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	USA (Florida)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Additional information:
Fact sheet from "Wildland shrubs of the United States and its territories: thamnic descriptions" (PDF format).

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

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

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

References:

Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.). 1927. Voucher specimen #BISH66638(MacDaniels, L.H. 457).

Charles Darwin Foundation. 2008. Database inventory of introduced plant species in the rural and urban zones of Galapagos. Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos, Ecuador.

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.

Fosberg, F. R. 1957. The Maldive Islands, Indian Ocean. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 58. Pacific Science Board, National Academy of Sciences, Washington. 37 pp.

Francis, John K., ed. 2009. Wildland Shrubs of the United States and its Territories: Thamnic Descriptions General Technical Report IITF-WB-1 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service International Institute of Tropical Forestry and Shrub Sciences Laboratory (online resource).

National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.). 2008. Voucher specimen #PTBG37(David H. Lorence 9745).

Raulerson, L. 2006. Checklist of Plants of the Mariana Islands. University of Guam Herbarium Contribution 37:1-69. .

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.

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. 2005. A tropical garden flora: plants cultivated in the Hawaiian Islands and other tropical places. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 908 pp.

U. S. Government. 2011. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

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

Vander Velde, Nancy. 2003. The vascular plants of Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. Smithsonian Institution, Atoll Research Bulletin No. 503:1-141.

Wu, Te-lin. 2001. Check List of Hong Kong Plants. Hong Kong Herbarium and the South China Institute of Botany. Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department Bulletin 1 (revised). 384 pp.

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