Justicia carnea Lindley, Acanthaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 12 (Go to the risk assessment).

Other Latin names:  Jacobinia carnea Hooker

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Brazilian plume, flamingo flower, jacobinia, pink jacobinia, pink plume-flower

Spanish: cola de pavo real, vara de la justicia

Habit:  shrub

Description:  "Shrub 1-2 m tall, stems squarish and tending to be grooved, thinly to moderately tomentose, young growth tomentose; leaves large, to 30 x 10 cm or even longer, ovate, strongly but gradually acuminate, base obtuse, then abruptly decurrent for some distance on petiole, under surface thinly puberulent, especially on nerves, much less so on upper surface, petioles 3-10 cm long, usually wide-spreading; spikes terminal, very showy, up to 12 (-15) cm long, to 9 cm wide, in very luxuriant specimens tending to be inconspicuously paniculate, bracts overlapping foliaceous, to 3 x 1.5 cm, smaller upward, lower ones tending to be acuminate, upper rounded at apex, tomentulose on nerves, bracteoles linear, ciliate, 1-2 cm long; calyx divided almost to base, lobes 5, linear-lanceolate, somewhat unequal, up to 9 mm long, ciliate towards the acute apex; corolla pink to rose-purple, about 6 cm long, straight or slender, slightly ampliate upward, upper lip erect, curved over the anthers at tip, apex only minutely notched or not at all, lower lip reflexed to almost a right-angle, clawed, claw about 6-7 mm, limb expanded, oblong-obovate and deeply trilobed and recurved, the whole corolla thinly glandular-pilose; stamens not quite equaling corolla, filaments strongly curved at summit, anthers broadly oblong, somewhat curved, about 2-5 mm long, dark purple, cells slightly offset, style tip slightly exerted from upper lobe, stigma only very slightly enlarged; capsule not seen" (Fosberg et al., 1993; pp. 33-34).

Habitat/ecology:  "Moist, well-drained soils in sunny or partially shaded places are preferred" (Whistler, 2000; p. 292).

Propagation:  Cuttings, which root readily (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 87).

Native range:  Brazil and neighboring areas.

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive cultivated	Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced cultivated	Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (pp. 487, 533, 554) As Justicia magnifica Pohl. "Este arbusto decorativo se encuentra solamente en algunos jardines del pueblo de San Juan Bautista donde se desarrolla bien sin mostrar por lo tanto una tendencia a multiplicarse".
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island	introduced	Meyer, Jean-Yves (2000) (p. 89) "Potential invader", lowlands. Adventive per Bill Sykes.
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island		Sykes, Bill (year unknown)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Meyer, Jean-Yves/Lavergne, Christophe (2004) (p. 337)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1930) (voucher ID: BISH 127617) Taxon name on voucher: Justicia carnea Lindley
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008) Observed in survey, herbarium record pending.
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Fiji Islands		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1927) (voucher ID: BISH 17341) Taxon name on voucher: Justicia carnea Lindley
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) As Jacobinia carnea (J. Lindley) G. Nicholson Naturalisée
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1955) (voucher ID: BISH 127616) Taxon name on voucher: Justicia carnea Lindley
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Rapa Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) As Jacobinia carnea (J. Lindley) G. Nicholson Naturalisée
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Tubuai Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) As Jacobinia carnea (J. Lindley) G. Nicholson. Voucher cited: J. Florence & W.R. Sykes 11126 (PAP) Naturalisée
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Tubuai Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1992) (voucher ID: BISH 643729) Taxon name on voucher: Justicia carnea Lindley
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 141)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Parker, James L./Parsons, Bobby (2012) (p. 65) Voucher cited: J. Parker & R. Parsons BIED143 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Oppenheimer, Hank L. (2004) (p. 9) East Maui. Voucher cited: Oppenheimer H110210 (BISH, PTBG)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (pp. 8-9) Vouchers cited: Baudouin 311, de Pompéry s.n., MacKee 21968

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
China China	Hong Kong	introduced cultivated	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 253) Ornamental.
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 52) Cultivated only

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced invasive	Meyer, Jean-Yves/Lavergne, Christophe (2004) (pp. 345, 348)

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

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

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

References:

Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John. 2011. Naturalized species in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile. Unpublished spreadsheet.

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1927. Voucher specimen #BISH 17341 (Gillespie, J.W. 2806).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1930. Voucher specimen #BISH 127617 (Wilder, G.P. 800).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1955. Voucher specimen #BISH 127616 (Barrau, J. 466).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1992. Voucher specimen #BISH 643729 (Florence 11126).

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

Charles Darwin Research Station. 2005. CDRS Herbarium records.

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.

Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido. 2006. Nouveau catalogue de la flore vaculaire de l'archipel Juan Fernández (Chile) [Nuevo catálogo de la flora vacular del Archipélago Juan Fernández (Chile)]. Acta Bot. Gallica 153(4):399-587.

Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. 2011. Base de données botaniques Nadeaud de l'Herbier de la Polynésie Française (PAP). (online resource).

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, M.-H./Oliver, R. L. 1993. Flora of Micronesia. Part 5. Bignoniaceae--Rubiaceae. Smithsonian Contrib. Bot. 81: 1-135.

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

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

Meyer, Jean-Yves. 1998. Mécanismes et gestion des invasions biologiques par des plantes introduites dans des forêts naturales à Hawai‘i et Polynésie Française: une étude de cas [Mechanisms and management of biological invasions by alien plants in Hawaiian and French Polynesian natural forests: a case study]. Dèlégation à la Recherche, B.P. 20981 Papeete, Tahiti, Polynésie Française. Unpublished report.

Meyer, Jean-Yves. 2000. Preliminary review of the invasive plants in the Pacific islands (SPREP Member Countries). In: Sherley, G. (tech. ed.). Invasive species in the Pacific: A technical review and draft regional strategy. South Pacific Regional Environment Programme, Samoa. 190 pp.

Meyer, Jean-Yves/Lavergne, Christophe. 2004. Beautés fatales: Acanthaceae species as invasive alien plants on tropical Indo-Pacific Islands. Diversity and Distributions 10 (2004): 333-347.

Oppenheimer, Hank L. 2004. New Hawaiian plant records for 2003. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2003. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 79:8-20.

Parker, James L./Parsons, Bobby. 2012. New plant records from the Big Island for 2010-2011. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2011. Part II: Plants. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 113:65-74.

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.

Sykes, Bill. 0. Bill Sykes, pers. com.

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

Whistler, W. A. 2000. Tropical ornamentals: a guide. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon. 542 pp.

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.