Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Hedyotis pumila L. f.

Habit:  herb

Description: 

Genus: "Shrubs, subshrubs, or herbs, rarely climbing shrubs, the stipules interpetiolar, often adnate to petiole bases and sheathing, entire to dentate to fimbriate or divided; inflorescences axillary or terminal, gomerate, capitate, cymose, or thyrsoid, sometimes with flowers solitary; flowers 4 (or 5)-merous, perfect, often heterostylous; calyx limb persistent, the lobes equal, sometimes alternating with secondary teeth; corolla hypocrateriform, infundibular, campanulate, or nearly rotate, thin to fleshy in texture, often pilose in throat, the lobes valvate in bud; stamens variously inserted in corolla tube, the anthers sessile or on short filaments, included or excerted; ovary inferior to partially superior, 2 (-4)-locular, the ovules few-numerous in each locule, attached to a fleshy, peltate placenta; style cylindric to filiform, bifid at apex, the lobes linear to subglobose, included or exserted; fruit dry (rarely fleshy), capsular, with endocarp weakly to strongly sclerified, dehiscing loculicidally apically or nearly to base, if dehiscing only toward apex then frequently also septicidally dehiscent, or dehiscing septicidally only and the fruit separating into 2 closed cocci, or the fruit sometimes indehiscent; seeds subspherical to peltate to angular or angular-alate, the surfaces smooth to alveolate."  (Smith, 1988)

Species:  "A sprawling herb...with a white corolla"  (Smith, 1988; p. 359).

Habitat/ecology:  In Fiji, "well established in Suva but thus far it has not seemed to spread" (Smith, 1988; p. 359).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Indigenous in India, southeastern Asia , and perhaps in western Malesia, spread as a weed in other parts of the tropics"  (Smith, 1988; p. 359).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1988) (p. 359) As Hedyotis pumila. Vouchers cited: DA 3123 (L.2899), DA 7417, DA 10192, DA 4533, DA 17212, DA 11424, DA 2600, DA 9644 (L.4460), DA 16037
Tonga Tonga Islands	Tonga Islands		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 9294)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	uncertain if introduced invasive	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 64) Weed of uncertain origin

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Indian Ocean offshore islands) Christmas Island Group	Christmas Island	introduced invasive	Swarbrick, J. T. (1997) (p. 121)

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

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

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

References:

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.

Smith, Albert C. 1988. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 4. 377 pp.

Swarbrick, J. T. 1997. Environmental weeds and exotic plants on Christmas Island, Indian Ocean: a report to Parks Australia. 101 pp. plus appendix.

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