Nicandra physalodes (L.) Gaertn., Solanaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: jia suan jiang

English: apple of Peru, shooflyplant

French: nicandra

Spanish: capulí cimarró, capuli cimarron, capuli de la costa, cimarró, toccoro

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Erect annual herbs up to 2 m tall, glabrous or sparsely pubescent.  Leaves narrowly to broadly ovate, 4-20 cm long, 2-10 cm wide, upper surface with sparse, short, inflated, eglandular hairs, lower surface glabrous or nearly so, margins widely, irregularly, and shallowly dentate or subentire, apex acute to acumunate, base cuneate to attenuate, petioles 2-6 cm long, narrowly winged above.  Pedicels 1-2 cm long, recurved; calyx lobes ovate, 1-2 cm long, apex acute to acuminate, base sagittate and often mucronate at basal tips, the lobes appressed along the margins to form longitudinal wings; corolla pale blue or mauve with a blue spot on the paler base of each lobe, the lobes 1-2.5 cm long, 0.5-1.5 cm wide, margins entire, obtuse; style thick, erect, 3-6 mm long.  Berries pale yellowish, dryish, globose, 1-2 cm in diameter, enclosed in the accrescent, scarious, reticulate calyx.  Seeds numerous, subdiscoid to broadly reniform, 1.2-2.1 mm long, testa reticulate-foveolate" (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1260-1261).

Habitat/ecology:  "A weed of crop lands throughout the world in temperate and tropic zones"  (Motooka et al., 2003).  In Hawai‘i, "naturalized in dry to mesic, disturbed habitats, 3-830 m" (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1260-1261). In New Caledonia, "mauvaise herbe peu commune des cultures" (MacKee, 1994; p. 131).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Peru

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Pacific offshore islands) Norfolk Islands	Norfolk Island	introduced invasive	Orchard, Anthony E., ed. (1994) (p. 10) "A native of Peru which is now widespread as a weed of arable land in warm temperate and subtropical areas". Vouchers cited: W.R. Sykes NI 140 (CHR); 1898, I. Robinson (NSW); 1902, J.H. Maiden & J.L. Boorman (NSW); J.D. McComish 193 (NSW)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Floreana Group	Floreana Island	introduced invasive	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Isabela Island	introduced invasive	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Volcán Sierra Negra, Isabela Island	introduced invasive	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced invasive	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced invasive	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008) Observed in survey, no herbarium record.
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santiago Group	Santiago Island	introduced invasive	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1260-1261)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1260-1261)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Lāna‘i Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Oppenheimer, Hank (2010) (p. 38) Voucher cited: Oppenheimer & Perlman H50807 (BISH, PTBG)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1260-1261)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1260-1261)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1260-1261)
New Caledonia Matthew Island	Île Matthew	introduced invasive	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 131) Voucher cited: Monzier s.n. (NOU)
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. 131) Vouchers cited: Baumann 5248, MacKee 27092, Cherrier in MacKee 35906, Cherrier in MacKee 43544
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced	Whistler, W. A. (1988) (p. 36) Rare. Not seen by author. Voucher cited: Sykes 1235
Tonga Tongatapu Group	Tongatapu Island		Whistler, W. A. (1988) (p. 36) Voucher cited: Buelow 1905

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)	New South Wales		Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James (1997) (p. 505)
Australia Australia (continental)	Northern Territory		Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James (1997) (p. 505)
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland		Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James (1997) (p. 505)
China China	China (People's Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James (1997) (p. 505)
China China	Hong Kong	introduced cultivated	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 218) Ornamental.
Costa Rica Costa Rica	Costa Rica (Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James (1997) (p. 509)
El Salvador El Salvador	El Salvador (Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (pp. 247-248)
Guatemala Guatemala	Guatemala (Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James (1997) (p. 509)
Honduras Honduras	Honduras (Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James (1997) (p. 509)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James (1997) (p. 505)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)		Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James (1997) (p. 505)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 188)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)		Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James (1997) (p. 505)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 1228) "Gardens, waste places, rubbish heaps, open, modified scrub, and occasionally in crops".
Nicaragua Nicaragua	Nicaragua (Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James (1997) (p. 509)
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)		Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James (1997) (p. 505)

Control: 

Chemical: "Susceptible to hormone-type herbicides, especially at young stages of growth, and probably to tebuthiuron, as are other solanaceous species"  (Motooka et al., 2003).

Additional information:
Excerpt from the book "Weeds of Hawaii‘s Pastures and Natural Areas; An Identification and Management Guide" (Motooka et al., 2003). (PDF format).

Additional online information about Nicandra physalodes is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

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

Taxonomic information about Nicandra physalodes 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.

Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James. 1997. World weeds: natural histories and distribution. John Wiley & Sons. 1129 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.

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

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.

Motooka, Philip/Castro, Luisa/Nelson, Duane/Nagai, Guy/Ching, Lincoln. 2003. Weeds of Hawaii‘s Pastures and Natural Areas; An Identification and Management Guide. College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii at Manoa. 184 pp.

Oppenheimer, Hank. 2010. New Hawaiian plant records from Maui County for 2008. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2008. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 107:33-40.

Orchard, Anthony E., ed. 1994. Flora of Australia. Vol. 49, Oceanic islands 1. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.

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.

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).

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.

Whistler, W. A. 1988. Checklist of the weed flora of western Polynesia. Technical Paper No. 194, South Pacific Commission, Noumea, New Caledonia. 69 pp.

Wiggins, I. L./Porter, D. M. 1971. Flora of the Galapágos Islands. Stanford University Press. 998 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).