Paederia foetida L., Rubiaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 21 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Paederia scandens (Lour.) Merr.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: lesser Malayan stinkwort, skunk vine, stink vine

Hawaiian: maile kā kahiki, maile pilau

Habit:  vine

Description:  "Twining, malodorous vines; stems to 2-7 m long, puberulent in lines or sometimes glabrous.  Leaves opposite, oblong-lanceolate to ovate, 4.5-14 cm long, 2-5 cm wide, glabrous except lower surface with tufts of hairs in axils of primary veins, margins entire, ciliate when young, becoming glabrate, apex acuminate or acute, base cuneate to rounded or subcordate, petioles 2-5 cm long, stipules ca. 1.5-1.7 mm long, short-acuminate, short-fimbriate-ciliate to ciliate.  Flowers in cymes 2-12 cm long, sometimes several grouped together " with subtending leaves and forming panicles up to 30 cm long; hypanthium ca. 1.5 mm long; calyx lobes deltate, ca. 0.4-0.5 mm long; corolla white to pale yellow with a dark rose purple center, the tube ca. 7-11 mm long, densely floccose externally, purplish within with long, clavate, purple hairs, the lobes scarcely spreading, margins crisped-undulate; stamens inserted at different levels, included.  Fruit yellowish brown to red, glossy, subglobose, 4-6 mm in diameter"  (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1160, 1891).

Habitat/ecology:  "Waste places and cultivated land; secondary forest; at low altitudes.  A serious weed of young sugarcane.  Scrambles over trees and bushes."  (Waterhouse & Mitchell, 1998; pp. 85-86).

In Hawai‘i, "naturalized and often locally common in disturbed mesic forest, coastal sites, dry forest and subalpine woodland, sea level to 1,830 m" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1160); "smothers trees and smaller vegetation"  (Motooka et al., 2003).  In New Caledonia, "cette espèce qui fleurit rarement est plantée dans quelques jardins; elle s'échappe parfois et couvre densément des arbustes en terrains vagues" (MacKee, 1994; p. 123).

Propagation:  "Seeds probably dispersed by birds and animals.  Vegetative propagation from rhizomes."  (Waterhouse & Mitchell, 1998; pp. 85-86).

Native range:  India to Malaysia

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	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1160)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1160)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Starr, Forest/Martz, Kim/Loope, Lloyd L. (1999) (p. 14) East Maui. Voucher cited: Starr & Martz 980807-12 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Oppenheimer, Hank L. (2003) (p. 23) West Maui. Voucher cited: Oppenheimer H100045 (BISH, PTBG)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1160)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 123) Vouchers cited: Botton in Veillon 1125 (NOU), MacKee 23610 Spontané
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	uncertain if native	Waterhouse, B. M./Mitchell, A. A. (1998) (pp. 85-86)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Cambodia Cambodia	Cambodia (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Japan Ryukyu Islands	Ryukyu Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
South Korea South Korea	South Korea (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)

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 cultivated	Swarbrick, J. T. (1997) (p. 122) Possibly naturalized.
India (Indian Ocean offshore islands) Andaman Islands	Andaman Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
India (Indian Ocean offshore islands) Nicobar Islands	Nicobar Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island		Waterhouse, B. M./Mitchell, A. A. (1998) (pp. 85-86)

Comments:  An aggressive weed species on Christmas Island (Indian Ocean) and Mauritius.

Control: 

Chemical:  "Difficult where maile pilau climbs over desirable plants. Sensitive to triclopyr and perhaps to other hormone-type herbicides. If non-targets are to be saved, only ground covering parts can be treated. Large stumps will probably require follow-up treatment, e.g. stump bark applications.  May be controlled with directed applications of foliage to avoid supporting vegetation, though some non-target damage is likely.   May be controlled with basal bark applications with 20% triclopyr ester product in oil, taking care to only treat vines and not contact supporting vegetation"  (Motooka et al., 2003).

Additional information:  Information from the book "Weeds of Hawaii‘s Pastures and Natural Areas; An Identification and Management Guide" (Motooka et al., 2003). (PDF format).
Report (PDF format) from US Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, Haleakala Field Station, Hawaii "Plants of Hawaii".
Photos and additional information at University of Florida, Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants.
Information from "Invasive plants of Asian origin established in the United States and their natural enemies, volume 1" (PDF format).

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

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

References:

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

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.

Motooka, Philip/Ching, Lincoln/Nagai, Guy. 2002. Herbicidal Weed Control Methods for Pasture and Natural Areas of Hawaii. Cooperative Extension Service, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawai‘i. CTAHR free publication WC-8.

Oppenheimer, Hank L. 2003. New plant records from Maui and Hawai‘i Counties. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2001-2002. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 73:3-30.

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

Starr, Forest/Martz, Kim/Loope, Lloyd L. 1999. New plant records from East Maui for 1998. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1998. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 59:11-15.

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

U. S. Government. 2006. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2007. 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).

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.

Zheng, Hao/Wu, Yun/Ding, Jianqing/Binion, Denise/Fu, Weidong/Reardon, Richard. 2004. Invasive plants of Asian origin established in the United States and their natural enemies, volume 1. FHTET-2004-05. U.S. Forest Service, Morgantown.