Norantea guianensis Aubl., Marcgraviaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  no

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 7 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

English: norantea, red-hot poker

Habit:  vine

Description:  "Large woody vine, climbing up to 9 m with adventitious roots. Leaves glossy green, smooth and thick; young leaves orangey or reddish. Flowers small and insignificant, borne along middle axis of elongated terminal racemes up to 0.6m long. Narrowly heart-shaped and hollow structures are modified extrafloral nectaries (nectar pouches), mature from orange to dark red. Flowers pollinated by hummingbirds and other small perching birds. Fruits are globose berries that split open to expose seeds embedded in brightly-coloured fleshy pulp"  (National Parks of Singapore).

"A woody climber with alternate, leathery, elliptic to obovate leaves, 4-6 in. x 2-3.25 in., it bears terminal racemes to 4 feet long consisting of red-orange flowers, mostly hidden among similarly colored nectar-producing tubular appendages open at the top; these appendages (modified bracts) make up the visible bulk of the inflorescence.  The fruit is a dehiscent capsule containing many tiny seeds"  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 393).

Habitat/ecology:  "It can thrive in hot, dry conditions in full sun or in moist, protected sites in partial shade"  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 394).

Propagation:  Seed, probably dispersed by animals (National Parks of Singapore).

Native range:  Trinidad and Tobago and tropical South America (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (year unknown) (voucher ID: PTBG 56408) Taxon name on voucher: Norantea guianensis
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island		Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.) (1962) (voucher ID: BISH 484526) Taxon name on voucher: Norantea guianensis

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Ecuador (Mainland) Ecuador	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 64)

Additional information:
Photos at Flore de Guyane.

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

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

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

References:

Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.). 1962. Voucher specimen #BISH484526(Krajina, V.J. s.n.).

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.

National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.). 0. Voucher specimen #PTBG56408(Natalia Tangalin 1610).

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. 2005. A tropical garden flora: plants cultivated in the Hawaiian Islands and other tropical places. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 908 pp.

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