Melochia corchorifolia D. Don, Malvaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Reject, score: 10 (Go to the risk assessment).

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: ma song zi

English: chocolate weed

Hindi: bundahia, bundava, bundaya

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Herb or undershrub, 1.5-2 ft. or more, with hollow stems, erect or sometimes prostrate; flowers small, white or sometimes yellowish or pinkish.  Flowers in terminal clusters; stems with lines of stellate hairs on the young parts; leaves ovate, rounded or very slightly cuneate at base, acute, 3-6 cm long, up to 4 cm broad, 5-nerved at the base, nearly glabrous; petiole 1/3-1/2 as long as the blade; bracts linear, ciliate" (Hutchinson & Dalziel, 1958; p. 318).

"A coarse herb or subshrub 0.3-2.5 m high...  Its calyx is pale green, its petals usually white to pink (rarely yellow, purple or violet), its filaments and styles white to yellow or green, and its anthers yellow.  Its capsules at length become purplish or black and its seeds blackish brown" (Smith, 1981; p. 387).

"A small shrub with ovate-oblong serrate leaves 3-8 cm long, stellate-pubescent beneath; petioles 2-3 cm long; inflorescences axillary, densely congested; calyx-lobes lanceolate, pubescent; corolla pink (or white), petals spathulate; ovary pubescent; capsule glabrate, 5 mm thick"  (Stone, 1970; p. 422).

Habitat/ecology:  In Fiji, "sparingly naturalized on waste land and in cultivated areas near sea level"  (Smith, 1981; p. 387). In New Guinea, "a weed of pastures, headlands and roadsides. From low altitudes to about 700 m" (Henty & Pritchard, 1975; p. 153).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Tropical Asia (Stone, 1970; p. 422). "Widespread in the Old World tropics and subtropics, now pantropical" (Smith, 1981; p. 387).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 168)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island		Glassman, S. F. (1952) (p. 66)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced invasive	Herrera, Katherine/Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy/Balick, Michael J. (2010) (p. 109) Naturalized
Fiji Fiji Islands	Vanua Levu Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1981) (p. 387) Vouchers cited: DA 3129, DA 8678, DA 10511, DA 11482
Fiji Fiji Islands	Vanua Levu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1953) (voucher ID: BISH 33063) Taxon name on voucher: Melochia corchorifolia L.
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1981) (p. 387) Vouchers cited: DA 7237, DA 14442, DA 8678
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced invasive	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (p. 422) Voucher cited: G.E.S. 240
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 168)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (year unknown) (voucher ID: BISH 183466) Taxon name on voucher: Melochia corchorifolia L.
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	native	Henty, E. E./Pritchard, G. H. (1975) (p. 153) Widely spread but not often common, from low altitudes to about 700 m.
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. (2011)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands		Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (pp. 46-47) At low and medium altitudes in the settled areas; a weed in waste places, open grasslands, fallow fields, etc.
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 94)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	native	Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. (1988) (p. 91)

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	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Cambodia Cambodia	Cambodia (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	uncertain if introduced invasive	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 60) Weed of uncertain origin
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 233)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Agalega Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Stoddart, D. R. (1983) (p. 138)

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

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

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

References:

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 0. Voucher specimen #BISH 183466 (Thompson, J.B. 240).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1953. Voucher specimen #BISH 33063 (Bharat, S. 3129).

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.

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

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Stoddart, D. R. 1983. List of the recorded vascular flora of Agalega. In: Sachet, M. H., D. R. Stoddart, and F. R. Fosberg. Floristics and ecology of Western Indian Ocean islands. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 273. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 253 pp.

Glassman, S. F. 1952. The flora of Ponape. Bishop Mus. Bull. 209: 1-152.

Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. 1988. Flora of the Solomon Islands. Research Bulletin No. 7. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Honiara. 203 pp.

Henty, E. E./Pritchard, G. H. 1975. Weeds of New Guinea and their control. 2nd edition. Department of Forests, Division of Botany, Botany Bull. No. 7. Lae, Papua New Guinea. 180 pp.

Herrera, Katherine/Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy/Balick, Michael J. 2010. Checklist of the vascular plants of Pohnpei with local names and uses. Allertonia, in press. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 146 pp.

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.

Hutchinson, J./Dalziel, M. D./Keay, R. W. J. 1954. Flora of West Tropical Africa, second edition. Crown Agents, London.

Merrill, Elmer D. 1923. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants, vol. 3 [reprint]. Bureau of Printing, Manila. 628 pp.

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

Stone, Benjamin C. 1970. The flora of Guam. Micronesica 6:1-659.

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

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

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).