Malvaviscus arboreus Cav., Malvaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: xiao xuan ling hua

English: Chinese hat, Turk's cap, wax mallow

Maori (Cook Islands): kaute, kaute, kaute makatea, kaute makatea, kaute moe, kaute moe, kaute ‘oporo

Pukapukan: kaute

Spanish: flor de santos, manzanillo, monacillo, obelisco de la sierra, tripa de buey, tulipancillo

Tuamotuan: aute‘umoa

Habit:  shrub

Description:  "Spreading shrub to 2-(3) m high, often spreading vegetatively by layering.  Stems densely clothed in stellate hairs.  Leaves densely clothed in stellate hairs, velvety to tough, ovate to suborbicular, cordate, acute to acuminate, not lobed or shallowly 3-lobed, crenate-serrate, c. 5-15 cm long; petioles c. 2-12 cm long; stipules lanceolate, 3-8 mm long, deciduous.  Flowers axillary, solitary or few in fascicles; pedicels 10-30 mm long; epicalyx segments 7-9, linear, united for lower 1/5-1/4, somewhat less than or ± = calyx; calyx tubular, clothed in stellate hairs; calyx teeth ciliate, triangular, much less than tube; petals scarlet, 20-35 mm long.  Fruit fleshy, red, 1-3 cm diameter."  (Webb et al., 1988)

Malvaviscus penduliflorus (DC.) Schery is naturalized in the tropical Pacific and cultivated and escaping in New Zealand. It is distinguished by the large pendulous flowers, 42-65 mm long (Webb et al., 1988; p. 835).

Habitat/ecology:  In New Zealand an occasional escape from cultivation in waste places (Webb et al., 1988; p. 835).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Tropical and subtropical America (Webb et al., 1988; p. 835).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Cook Islands Northern Cook Islands	Pukapuka Atoll	introduced cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2011)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	‘Atiu Island	introduced cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2011)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Mangaia Island	introduced cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2011)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island	introduced cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2011)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Floreana Group	Floreana Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Isabela Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Volcán Sierra Negra, Isabela Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1981) (p. 433) Vouchers cited: DA 16740, DA 16224.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawaiian Islands	introduced cultivated	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral/Imada, Clyde T. (2000) (p. 24)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 98) Var. mexicanus Schiechtd. Vouchers cited: MacKee 36956, MacKee 46133 Spontané
Tonga Tongatapu Group	Tongatapu Island		Ellison, Joanna C. (1990) (p. 28) On outlier islets of Fukave and Ata.

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 cultivated	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) Cultivated. Fujian (Xiamen), S. Guangdong (Guangzhou), S. Yunnan.
China China	Hong Kong	introduced cultivated	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 99) Ornamental.
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (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)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive cultivated	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 835) Occasional escape from cultivation.
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 58) Cultivated only

Comments:  Reported as possibly an invasive plant in the Galápagos Islands per Charles Darwin Research Station.

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

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

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

References:

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.

Ellison, Joanna C. 1990. Vegetation and floristics of the Tongatapu outliers. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 332. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 36 pp.

Florence, J. 2004. Flore de la Polynésie française, Vol. 2. Paris. IRE Editions, Publications Scientifiques, Collection Faune et Flore Tropicales 41. 503 pp.

Fosberg, F. R. 1997. Preliminary checklist of the flowering plants and ferns of the Society Islands. Ed. by David R. Stoddart. U. Cal. Berkeley.

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, M.-H. 1987. Flora of Maupiti, Society Islands. The Smithsonian Institution. Atoll Research Bulletin 294:1-70.

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

McCormack, Gerald. 2011. Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga.

Sachet, M-H. 1983. Takapoto Atoll, Tuamotu Archipelago: terrestrial vegetation and flora. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 277. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 41 pp. + photos.

Smith, Albert C. 1981. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 2. 810 pp.

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral/Imada, Clyde T. 2000. Survey of invasive or potentially invasive cultivated plants in Hawai‘i. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers No. 65. 35 pp.

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

Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988. Flora of New Zealand, Volume IV: Naturalised pteridophytes, gymnosperms, dicotyledons. Botany Division, DSIR, Christchurch. 1365 pp.

Welsh, S. L. 1998. Flora Societensis: A summary revision of the flowering plants of the Society Islands. E.P.S. Inc., Orem, Utah. 420 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).