Hyptis brevipes Poit., Lamiaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  no

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: duan bing diao qiu cao

Spanish: chibolita

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Plants annual, or perhaps sometimes more enduring, usually erect and 30-60 cm. high, sparsely or much branched, the stems hirsute with more or less appressed, white hairs; leaves slender-petiolate, membranaceous, lanceolate to rhombic-ovate, mostly 4-6 cm. long, acute or acuminate, cuneately narrowed at the base and decurrent, irregularly and rather coarsely serrate, the teeth very unequal, rather thinly villous-hirsute on both surfaces; flowers white or purplish white, capitate, the heads globose, 10-12 mm. broad or sometimes larger, on peduncles 3-15 mm. long, the bracts lanceolate, spreading or reflexed, 4-6 mm. long, almost concealed by the flowers; calyx at anthesis 2.5-3 mm. long, the tube in fruit 2-3.5 mm. long, tubular, the teeth setaceous, spinose, erect, 1.5-2.5 mm. long, hispidulous; corolla tube 2.5-3 mm. long; nutlets smooth"  (Standley & Williams, 1973; pp. 249-250).

"Erect herb 0.5-1.5 m tall.  Stems with a single deep longitudinal groove.  Leaves opposite, narrowly lanceolate to oblong, 4-8 - 1-2.5 cm, with toothed margins; petiole 0.5-1 cm, hairy.  Flowers in pale green globose heads, on axillary stalks 5-12 mm long; flower heads 6-8 mm diameter, expanding to 8-14 mm diameter in fruit, bracts linear to narrowly lanceolate, 4-6 mm long.  Calyx gland-dotted, tubular, 3-5 mm long in fruit.  Corolla irregular, 5-lobed, 3-4 mm long, white.  Anthers purple.  Fruit a brownish black, minutely wrinkled nutlet, 0.7 mm long"  (Waterhouse & Mitchell, 1998; pp. 47-48).

Habitat/ecology:  In Guatemala (native), "moist or wet fields or thickets, sometimes in rocky places or in oak forest, 1,200 m. or less"  (Standley & Williams, 1973; p. 249).  "Weed of waste places, becoming abundant in fallow ground. Prefers a wet tropical climate, less common in regions with a seasonal wet/dry regime. 0-1200 m altitude. Weed of plantation crops, rice, fallow ground and forest margins. Potential pasture weed" (Waterhouse & Mitchell, 1998; pp. 47-48).

Propagation:  "Seeds dispersed by wildlife and human activities" (Waterhouse & Mitchell, 1998; pp. 47-48).

Native range:  Southern Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, West Indies, South America  (Standley & Williams, 1973; p. 249).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	introduced invasive	Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (pp. 66, 77)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	introduced invasive	Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (p. 416) A weed in open areas, fallow rice paddies, etc., at low and medium altitudes.

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 invasive	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) Open waste areas at low elevations. Hainan.
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Costa Rica Costa Rica	Costa Rica (Republic of)	native	Standley, Paul C./Williams, Louis O. (1973) (pp. 249-250)
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	Standley, Paul C./Williams, Louis O. (1973) (pp. 249-250)
Guatemala Guatemala	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	Standley, Paul C./Williams, Louis O. (1973) (pp. 249-250)
Honduras Honduras	Honduras (Republic of)	native	Standley, Paul C./Williams, Louis O. (1973) (pp. 249-250)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	introduced invasive	Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (pp. 66, 77)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	introduced invasive	Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (pp. 66, 77)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	Waterhouse, B. M./Mitchell, A. A. (1998) (p. 48)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	Standley, Paul C./Williams, Louis O. (1973) (pp. 249-250)
Nicaragua Nicaragua	Nicaragua (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Panama Panama	Panama (Republic of)	native	Standley, Paul C./Williams, Louis O. (1973) (pp. 249-250)
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced invasive	Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (pp. 66, 77)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced invasive	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 50) Naturalised
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island	introduced invasive	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) Open waste areas at low elevations.
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 189)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	introduced invasive	Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (pp. 66, 77)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	introduced invasive	Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (pp. 66, 77)

Comments:  "Principal weed in Malaysia" (Waterhouse & Mitchell, 1998; pp. 47-48).

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

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

Taxonomic information about Hyptis brevipes 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.

Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 391 pp.

Merrill, Elmer D. 1923. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants, vol. 3 [reprint]. Bureau of Printing, Manila. 628 pp.

Standley, Paul C./Williams, Louis O. 1973. Flora of Guatemala. Fieldiana: Botany. Vol. 24, Part IX, Nos. 3-4. Chicago Natural History Museum. 207 pp.

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

Waterhouse, B. M./Mitchell, A. A. 1998. Northern Australia Quarantine Strategy: weeds target list. Second edition. Australian Quarantine & Inspection Service, Miscellaneous Publication No. 6/98. 110 pp.

Waterhouse, D. F. 1993. The major arthropod pests and weeds of agriculture in Southeast Asia. The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra. 141 pp.

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