Indigofera hirsuta L., Fabaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Reject, score: 8 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

English: hairy indigo, hirsute indigo, rough hairy indigo

Habit:  shrub

Description:  "Low spreading plant, woody at the base, shoots with dark brown, spreading hairs.  Leaves odd-pinnate, leaflets 5 or 7, silky-white tomentose below, elliptic-obovate, larger terminal one to just over 2 cm long. Racemes dense; peduncle, pedicels, and calyx brown pubescent.  Corolla small, salmon-red.  Pod cylindrical, ca 1.5 cm long, with spreading dark brown hairs.  Seeds nearly square or rectangular in outline." (Sykes, 1970; p. 156).

Habitat/ecology:  In Niue, "a casual adventive that was persisting in an old pasture.  It was flowering and seeding prolifically where the ground cover was fairly light" (Sykes, 1970; p. 156).  "Uncommon in waste places" (Whistler, 1988; p. 25).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Africa and Madagascar to southern Asia and eastward to northern Australia, now widely introduced and naturalized elsewhere" (Smith, 1985; p. 184).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
American Samoa Tutuila Islands	Tutuila Island		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 93)
American Samoa Tutuila Islands	Tutuila Island		Whistler, W. A. (1988) (p. 25) Uncommon per Whistler. Voucher cited: Whistler 2969
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (p. 184) Vouchers cited: DA 9562, DA 9669 (FDA 13250)
Nauru Nauru Island	Nauru Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 112)
Nauru Nauru Island	Nauru Island	introduced invasive	Thaman, R. R./Fosberg, F. R./Manner, H. I./Hassall, D. C. (1994) (p. 149) Vouchers cited: Fosberg 58614 (US), Fosberg 58730 (US), Thaman & Manner 136 (SUVA), Swarbrick 9545 (BRIU)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 85) Voucher cited: Pancher s.n.
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced cultivated	Sykes, W. R. (1970) (p. 156) Persisting from cultivation per Sykes. Voucher cited: CHR 150553
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island	introduced invasive	Miles, Joel E. (2007) Eradication program underway as of June, 2007.
Papua New Guinea Bismarck Archipelago	Bismarck Archipelago	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2008)
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. (2008)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2008)

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	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2008)
Cambodia Cambodia	Cambodia (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2008)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2008)
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (pp. 191-192)
Costa Rica Costa Rica	Costa Rica (Republic of)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2008)
El Salvador El Salvador	El Salvador (Republic of)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2008)
Guatemala Guatemala	Guatemala (Republic of)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2008)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2008)
Indonesia Indonesia	Irian Jaya (West Papua) (Indonesia) (western New Guinea Island)	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2008)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2008)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2008)
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2008)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2008)
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2008)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2008)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2008)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Indian Ocean offshore islands) Christmas Island Group	Christmas Island	native	Orchard, Anthony E., ed. (1993) (p. 18)
Australia (Indian Ocean offshore islands) Cocos (Keeling) Islands	Cocos (Keeling) Islands	native	Orchard, Anthony E., ed. (1993) (p. 37)
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2008)

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

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

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

References:

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1979. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian dicotyledonae. Micronesica 15:1-295.

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.

ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre. 2008. International Legume Database & Information Service. Online searchable database.

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

Miles, Joel E. 2007. Personal communication.

Orchard, Anthony E., ed. 1993. Flora of Australia. Vol. 50, Oceanic islands 2. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.

Smith, Albert C. 1985. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 3. 758 pp.

Swarbrick, John T. 1997. Weeds of the Pacific Islands. Technical paper no. 209. South Pacific Commission, Noumea, New Caledonia. 124 pp.

Sykes, W. R. 1970. Contributions to the flora of Niue. New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Bulletin 200, Wellington. 321 pp.

Thaman, R. R./Fosberg, F. R./Manner, H. I./Hassall, D. C. 1994. The flora of Nauru. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. Atoll Research Bulletin 392:1-223.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2008. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Whistler, W. A. 1988. Checklist of the weed flora of western Polynesia. Technical Paper No. 194, South Pacific Commission, Noumea, New Caledonia. 69 pp.