Martynia annua L., Martyniaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

English: devil's claw, iceplant, small-fruit devil's claw, tiger's-claw

French: tête de mort

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Herbs to 2 m tall, branched, viscid-pubescent. Leaves with petioles 10-17 cm long; blades ovate-orbicular, 8-15 x 7-16 cm, base cordate, apex rounded or acute, margin irregular, undulate to toothed, venation palmate from base, crispose glandular-hirsute below, glabrate, above. Inflorescence to 8 cm long; pedicels 1-2 cm long, bracts ovate, 1 cm long; calyx 1.5 cm long; corolla 3-5 cm long, white to pink or with purple and yellow blotches. Capsule 2-3.5 cm long, slightly compressed, hooked beak 3-5 mm long, viscid-pubescent; seeds compressed, 1 cm long, black, shiny, but striate and foveolate" (Howard, 1989; p. 339).

Habitat/ecology:  "Disturbed areas such as stockyards, rubbish dumps, around buildings and roadsides.  Invades disturbed ground where it prevents the regeneration of native species" (Smith, 2002; p. 63).  "Damp or dry thickets, fields, hedgerows, and clarings, sea level to 2,400 m" (Standley et al., 1974).

In New Caledonia, "mauvaise herbe peu commun en cultures et pâturages" (MacKee, 1994; p. 100).

Propagation:  "The seed remains inside the pod which attaches itself by its spines to vehicles, machinery, humans and animals" (Smith, 2002; p. 63).

Native range:  Greater Antilles, Central 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 invasive	Tassin, Jacques (2005)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 100) Vouchers cited: Franc 803, Schmid 3418, Thomas in MacKee 38695

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)	Northern Territory	introduced invasive	Smith, Nicholas M. (2002) (p. 63)
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	introduced invasive	Smith, Nicholas M. (2002) (p. 63)
El Salvador El Salvador	El Salvador (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Guatemala Guatemala	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Honduras Honduras	Honduras (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	introduced invasive	Smith, Nicholas M. (2002) (p. 63)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	introduced invasive	Smith, Nicholas M. (2002) (p. 63)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Nicaragua Nicaragua	Nicaragua (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Comments:  "A declared noxious weed in Western Australia and the Northern Territory. The clawed fruits cause injury and discomfort to animals having been known to work their way into soft body parts." (Smith, 2002; p. 63).

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

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

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

References:

Howard, Richard A. 1979. Flora of the Lesser Antilles: Leeward and Windward Islands. Vol. 3, Monocotyledoneae. Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University. 586 pp.

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

Macbride, J. Francis. 1936. Flora of Peru. Field Museum of Natural History, Botanical Series, Vol. XIII. 1936-1971, 6 parts.

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

Standley, Paul C./Williams, Louis O./Gibson, Dorothy Nash. 1974. Flora of Guatemala. Fieldiana: Botany. Vol. 24, Part X, Nos. 3-4. Chicago Natural History Museum. pp. 153-466.

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

Tassin, Jacques. 2005. Jacques Tassin (IAC-CIRAD), personal communication.

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