Merremia aegyptia (L.) Urb., Convolvulaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Ipomoea aegyptia L.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: hairy merremia, hairy morning glory, hairy woodrose

Hawaiian: koali kua hulu, kuahulu

Habit:  vine

Description:  "Vines; stems twining, herbaceous, up to 4 m or more long, usually reddish hirsute with long, erect to suberect hairs.  Leaves palmately compound with 5 leaflets, these elliptic, both surfaces sparsely pubescent to glabrate, margins entire to dentate, apex and base acuminate to acute.  Flowers in cymes, usually on long peduncles, pedicels 1-2 cm long, bracts scale-like; sepals oblong, ca. 2 cm long, hirsute with yellowish erect hairs, apex acute; corolla white, campanulate, 2-3 cm long, glabrous.  Capsules tan to pale brown, subglobose, 1-2 cm in diameter, subtended and partially surrounded by the somewhat enlarged calyx.  Seeds often 4, usually tan, glabrous"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 563).

Habitat/ecology:  "Naturalised in many tropical regions on disturbed areas associated with settlements and on roadsides" (Smith, 2002; p. 51). In Hawai‘i, "naturalized or perhaps indigenous, common in dry, disturbed sites, 0-100 (-350) m" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 563).

Propagation:  "Shattering capsules disperse seeds around the parent plant. Plants spread by rooting at nodes and fragmentation. Main spread has been intentionally as an ornamental creeper." (Smith, 2002; p. 51).

Native range:  North Africa (Smith, 2002; p. 51).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Darwin Islands	Darwin Island	native	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Española Group	Española Island	native	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Española Group	Gardner por Española Islet, Española Island	native	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Española Group	Oeste Islet, Española Island	native	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Española Group	Osborn Islet, Española Island	native	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Floreana Group	Campéon Islet, Floreana Island	native	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Floreana Group	Floreana Island	native	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Genovesa Group	Genovesa Island	native	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Isabela Island	native	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Marielas Norte Islet, Isabela Island	native	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Marielas Sur Islet, Isabela Island	native	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Volcán Darwin, Isabela Island	native	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Volcán Sierra Negra, Isabela Island	native	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Marchena Group	Marchena Island	native	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Pinta Group	Pinta Island	native	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Pinzón Group	Pinzón Island	native	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	native	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Daphne Mayor Island, Santa Cruz Island	native	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Edeén Island	native	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Punta Bowditch Norte Islet, Santa Cruz Island	native	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Punta Bowditch Sur Islet, Santa Cruz Island	native	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	native	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Fé Group	Santa Fé Island	native	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santiago Group	Albany Island	native	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santiago Group	Beagle Oeste Rock, Santiago Island	native	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santiago Group	Cousins Islet, Santiago Island	native	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santiago Group	Mao Islet, Santiago Island	native	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santiago Group	Rábida Island	native	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santiago Group	Santiago Island	native	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santiago Group	Sombrero Chino Islet, Santiago Island	native	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Wolf Island	Wolf Island	native	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 227)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	probably introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 563)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaho‘olawe Island	probably introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 563)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	probably introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 563)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Lāna‘i Island	probably introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 563)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	probably introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 563)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	probably introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 563)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	probably introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 563)

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 cultivated	Smith, Nicholas M. (2002) (p. 51)
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Nicholas M. (2002) (p. 51)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 235)

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

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

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

Other Latin names:  Ipomoea aegyptia L.

References:

Charles Darwin Research Station. 2005. CDRS Herbarium records.

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

Haselwood, E. L./Motter, G. G. 1983. Handbook of Hawaiian Weeds. Second edition, revised and expanded by Robert T. Hirano. University of Hawaii Press. 491 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.

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

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).