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]

English: redhead, scarletbush

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:  "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).

Native range:  Florida (US); Mexico through Central and 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 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 (BNM, PTBG)

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. (2009)
Costa Rica Costa Rica	Costa Rica (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Ecuador (Mainland) Ecuador	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
El Salvador El Salvador	El Salvador (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Guatemala Guatemala	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Honduras Honduras	Honduras (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Nicaragua Nicaragua	Nicaragua (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Panama Panama	Panama (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)

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 and Florida) United States (other states)	USA (Florida)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)

Additional information:
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).

Other Latin names:  Hamelia erecta Jacq.; Hamelia nodosa M. Martens & Galeotti

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.

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

Raulerson, L. 2006. Checklist of Plants of the Mariana Islands. University of Guam Herbarium Contribution 40:1-69. .

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. (In press).

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. 2009. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2009. 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.