Mikania cordata (Burm. f.) B. L. Rob., Asteraceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  no

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Eupatorium cordatum Burm. f.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: heartleaf hempvine, mile-a-minute

French: liane marzoge, liane Pauline, liane raisin

Kwara‘ae: kwalo ngingilo

Samoan: fue saina, fue sega

Habit:  vine

Description:  "A fast growing, creeping or twining, perennial vine; stems branched, pubescent to glabrous, ribbed, from 3 to 6 m long; leaves opposite, cordate or triangular-ovate, blade 3 to 12 cm long, 2 to 6 cm wide, on a slender petiole 1 to 8 cm long, base broadly cordate, tip acuminate, margins crenate, dentate, or entire, surfaces nearly glabrous, three- to seven-veined from base; flowers in small heads in open, nearly flat-topped (corymbose) panicles; axillary and terminal heads 6 to 9  mm long, four-flowered; involucral bracts four, obtuse or acute, 5 to 6 mm long, glabrous or subglabrous with one additional smaller bract about 3 mm long; corolla white or yellowish white, about 5 mm long; anthers bluish gray or grayish black; style white; fruit an achene, linear-oblong, 2 to 3 mm long, five angled, blackish brown, glandular; pappus of 40 to 45 bristles, about 4 mm long, white at first, reddish afterwards.  May be distinguished by the following characteristics: 40 to 45 reddish pappus bristles, corollas white, and heads 7 to 7.5 mm long (usually longer than those in M. micrantha, which are 4.5 to 6 mm long)" (Holm et al., 1977; p. 320, 322).

"Perennial, fast-growing, creeping or twining vine with ribbed stems 3-6 m long.  Leaves opposite, heart-shaped; leaf blades 3-12 cm long, entire or toothed; petiole 1-6 cm long.  Floral heads 6-9 mm long, clustered in open, nearly flat-topped panicles; four yellowish-white florets per head, surrounded by 4 bracts 5-6 mm long.  Achenes linear, 2-3 mm long and brownish black.  Pappus of 40-45 bristles, c. 4 mm long; white turning reddish at maturity"  (Waterhouse & Mitchell, 1998; pp. 25-26).

"M. cordata is very similar to M. micrantha but can be distinguished by the membranous outgrowths of young vegetative shoots which are hairy and the involucral bracts which are about 2 mm longer than on M. micrantha"  (Csurhes & Edwards, 1998; pp. 47-48).

Habitat/ecology:  "Grows most frequently in places receiving high rainfall, probably 1,500 mm or more; prefers rich, damp soil; rarely grows in dry areas; and thrives in open, disturbed places.  For that reason it is common in young secondary forests, in forest clearings, in plantation tree crops, fallow or neglected lands, and along rivers and streams, waste areas, steep hillsides, and even mountainsides from whence winds probably spread the seeds to new areas.  The species will grow in partial shade, but cannot tolerate dense shade" (Holm et al., 1977; p. 324).

"Disturbed forests, forest clearings, plantation crops, pastures, water courses, roadsides, fallow land.  0->2000 m altitude (Papua New Guinea).  A serious weed of plantation crops (rubber, coffee, cocoa and oil palms) and pastures in Indonesia and Malaysia.  In Papua New Guinea it is not as troublesome as M. micrantha." (Waterhouse & Mitchell, 1998; pp. 25-26).

Propagation:  "Large amounts of seed transported by the wind or by adhering to human clothing or the hair of animals.  Vegetative reproduction can occur from broken stem fragments that may be dislodged and transported by machinery or by rainfall run-off.  In Mauritius, Craig and Evans (1946) reported rapid spread of M. cordata caused by the movement of broken stem fragments by streams and floods."  (Csurhes & Edwards, 1998; pp. 47-48).

Native range:  Southeast Asia and East Africa (Csurhes & Edwards, 1998; pp. 47-48).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Papua New Guinea Bougainville Islands	Bougainville Island		Foreman, D. B. (1971) (p. 37)
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. 77) Not troublesome in New Guinea as a weed.
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)
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Western Samoa Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
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. 92)

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)	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)	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 190)
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. 61) Weed of uncertain origin
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island	native	Ching-I Peng, ed. (2011) "Widespread from north to south, at forest edges".
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

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

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

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

References:

Ching-I Peng, ed. 2011. Digital flora of Taiwan (online resource).

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.

Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. 1998. Potential environmental weeds in Australia: Candidate species for preventative control. Canberra, Australia. Biodiversity Group, Environment Australia. 208 pp.

Foreman, D. B. 1971. A check list of the vascular plants of Bougainville, with descriptions of some common forest trees. Botany Bulletin No. 5. Division of Botany, Department of Forests. Lae, New Guinea. 194 pp.

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.

Holm, Leroy G./Plucknett, D. L./Pancho, J. V./Herberger, J. P. 1977. The world’s worst weeds: distribution and biology. East-West Center/University Press of Hawaii. 609 pp.

Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro. 2004. Invasive alien species in Japan: the status quo and the new regulation for prevention of their adverse effects. Global Environmental Research 8(2)/2004: 171-191.

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

U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. 2011. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

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.