Limnocharis flava (L.) Buchenau, Alismataceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  no

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: huang hua lin

English: limnocharis, sawah-flower rush, sawah-lettuce, velvetleaf, yellow bur-head

Spanish: cebolla de chucho

Habit:  aquatic herb

Description:  "Perennial plants from a short thick erect rhizome, the scapes erect, 20-40 cm high; leaves erect or ascending, not floating, often exceeding the scapes, long-petiolate, the petiole vaginate; leaf blades variable in shape, lanceolate to oblong-elliptic in Central American plants, sometimes broadly ovate in other regions, mostly 8-18 cm long, acute to rounded at the apex, attenuate at the base; inflorescences umbelliform, 2-12-flowered, the pedicels 3-4 cm long, somewhat dilated and trigonous above; flowers yellow, about 1.5 cm broad, the sepals green, broadly ovate, obtuse; petals broadly ovate or suborbicular, longer than the sepals; mature follicles about 1 cm long" (Standley & Steyermark, 1958; p. 84).

Habitat/ecology:  Wet areas. "Fresh water pools, rice paddies and irrigation ditches.  It is a serious weed of rice in Malaysia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka." (Waterhouse & Mitchell, 1998; pp. 49-50). "Forms dense, choking infestations" (Smith, 2002; p. 92).

In New Caledonia, "peu cultivé à présent et introduit paraît-il récemment en provenance d'Indonésie" (MacKee, 1994; p. 94).

Propagation:  "By seed and vegetative shoots.  Water dispersed.  It is an attractive plant and can be spread by aquatic plant enthusiasts.  It is also eaten as a green vegetable in South-East Asia and has been moved by people for this purpose." (Smith, 2002; p. 92).

Native range:  Southern Mexico, Central and South America.

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 94) Voucher cited: MacKee 38728

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)	Queensland	introduced invasive	Waterhouse, B. M (2003) (p. 481) Subject of an eradication program.
Cambodia Cambodia	Cambodia (Kingdom of)	introduced invasive	Waterhouse, B. M./Mitchell, A. A. (1998) (pp. 49-50)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	introduced invasive	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) Naturalized in marshes and shallow water; 600-700 m. Guangdong, S. Yunnan.
China China	Hong Kong	introduced	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 291)
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)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	introduced invasive	Waterhouse, B. M./Mitchell, A. A. (1998) (pp. 49-50)
Indonesia Indonesia	West Papua Province (Indonesia) (western New Guinea Island) (formerly Irian Jaya)	introduced invasive cultivated	Waterhouse, B. M (2003) (p. 481)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	introduced invasive	Waterhouse, B. M./Mitchell, A. A. (1998) (pp. 49-50)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Negara Brunei Darussalam Brunei	Brunei (Negara Brunei Darussalam)	introduced invasive	Waterhouse, B. M./Mitchell, A. A. (1998) (pp. 49-50)
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 invasive	Waterhouse, B. M./Mitchell, A. A. (1998) (pp. 49-50)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced invasive	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 55) Naturalised
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	introduced invasive	Waterhouse, B. M./Mitchell, A. A. (1998) (pp. 49-50)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	introduced invasive	Waterhouse, B. M./Mitchell, A. A. (1998) (pp. 49-50)

Additional information:
Fact sheet from the Government of Queensland, Australia. (PDF format).
Information from the Global Invasive Species Database.

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

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

Taxonomic information about Limnocharis flava 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.

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

Smith, Nicholas M. 2002. Weeds of the wet/dry tropics of Australia - a field guide. Environment Centre NT, Inc. 112 pp.

Standley, Paul C./Steyermark, Julian A. 1958. Flora of Guatemala. Fieldiana: Botany. Vol. 24, Part I. Chicago Natural History Museum. 478 pp.

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

Waterhouse, B. M. 2003. Know your enemy: recent records of potentially serious weeds in northern Australia, Papua New Guinea and Papua (Indonesia). Telopea 10(1):477-485.

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.

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).