Paederia foetida L., Rubiaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results: 

High risk, score: 21 (Go to the risk assessment (Pacific))
Reject, score: 19 (Go to the risk assessment (U.S. (Florida)))

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

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: ji shi teng

English: lesser Malayan stinkwort, skunk vine, stink vine

French: liane lingue

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).  "Forests and forest edges, woodland, tropical hammocks.  This highly variable and fast growing species grows naturally in openings of wet evergreen to dry deciduous forests and woodland.  The plant has both climbing and creeping stems, the latter root at the nodes.  The species forms dense curtains of intermingled stems, covering the floor, smothering all vegetation and altering the community structure.  Trees may be killed by the weight of vines.  The plant colonizes rapidly tree-fall gaps and persists once established, preventing natural forest regeneration"  (Weber, 2003; p. 296).

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
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Voucher cited: J. Florence 9133 (PAP) Cultivée
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. (2011)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands		Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (p. 570) In thickets at low and medium altitudes, ascending to 1,500 m.

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. (2011)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
China China	Hong Kong	native	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 269) As Paederia scandens (Lour.) Merr. In thickets. Also var. tomentosa (Blume) Hand.-Mazz.
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Japan Ryukyu Islands	Ryukyu Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
South Korea South Korea	South Korea (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	native	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 65) Common
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

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. (2011)
India (Indian Ocean offshore islands) Nicobar Islands	Nicobar Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island		Waterhouse, B. M./Mitchell, A. A. (1998) (pp. 85-86)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	USA (Florida)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)

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

Planting of this species is prohibited in Miami-Dade County, Florida (U.S.) (Miami-Dade County Dept. of Planning and Zoning, 2010).

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).

Biological:  Biological control information from the publication "Biological control of invasive plants in the eastern United States".

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).
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).
Information from the Global Invasive Species Database.
Information from the book "Identification and biology of non-native plants in Florida's natural areas" (PDF format).
Article from "Wildland Weeds".

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

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

Taxonomic information about Paederia foetida 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.

Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. 2011. Base de données botaniques Nadeaud de l'Herbier de la Polynésie Française (PAP). (online resource).

Langeland, K. A./Burks, K. Craddock. eds. 1998. Identification and biology of non-native plants in Florida's natural areas. Gainesville, FL: University of Florida. 165 pp.

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

McIntyre, Guy. 1991. Weeds of sugar cane in Mauritius, their description and control. Mauritius Sugar Industry Reseach Institute. 151 pp.

Merrill, Elmer D. 1923. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants, vol. 3 [reprint]. Bureau of Printing, Manila. 628 pp.

Miami-Dade County Dept. of Planning and Zoning. 2010. The landscape manual. Draft ninth edition, August 2010. 249 pp.

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. 2011. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

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.

Van Driesche, Roy/Lyon, Suzanne/Blossey, Bernd/Hoddle, Mark/Reardon, Richard. 2002. Biological control of invasive plants in the eastern United States. USDA Forest Service Publication FHTET-2002-04. 413 pp.

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.

Weber, Ewald. 2003. Invasive plants of the World. CABI Publishing, CAB International, Wallingford, UK. 548 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.

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.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).