Persicaria glabra (Willd.) M. Gómez, Polygonaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Persicaria densiflora (Meisn.) Moldenke; Polygonum glabrum Willd

Common name(s): [more details]

Austral: tamore

Chinese: guang liao

Hawaiian: kāmole

Maori (Cook Islands): tamore

Tahitian: pitorea, pitorea, putorea, putorea, tamore

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Annual or perennial herbs; stems red, ascending, swollen and often rooting at the nodes, 5-15 dm long, glabrous.  Leaves oblong-lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate, (10-) 14-28 cm long, (2-) 3-6 cm wide, minutely pustulate, otherwise usually glabrous, sometimes with scattered hairs on nerves of lower surface, petioles 0.5-2 cm long, ocreae tubular, usually 20-30 mm long, apex not ciliate, sometimes with a few small bristles ca. 0.5 mm long.  Flowers in open racemes, these sometimes in paniculate inflorescences 5-10 cm long, each flower on a jointed pedicel; tepals white or pinkish, 3-4 mm long, sometimes sparsely so, glandular punctate.  Nuts dark brown to nearly back, broadly ovoid, biconvex or subtrigonous, 2-2.5 mm long, the surface glossy" (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1061, 1064).

The species in Tonga is the same as that in Hawai'i, but has larger flowers (3-4 mm vs. 2-3 mm) than the ones occurring in Tahiti and the Cook Islands.  These two differ from P. dichotomum Bl. which A.C. Smith (1981) equated with them" (Whistler, 1988; p. 34).

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i, "naturalized and sometimes relatively common along streambeds, taro paddies, or in moving water, ca. 260-1,450 m" (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1061, 1064).  "Occasional in wet disturbed places" (Whistler, 1988; p. 34).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Tropical and subtropical Asia and Africa and perhaps tropical America (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1061, 1064).  "Probably indigenous" (Whistler, 1988; p. 34).

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	Fiji Islands		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 95)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island	introduced invasive abo. intro.	Florence, J. (2004) (pp. 336-337)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Adventice
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive abo. intro.	Florence, J. (2004) (pp. 336-337)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Vouchers cited: J. Florence 11507 (PAP), W.A. Whistler & M. Guérin 2 (PAP) Adventice
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (1981) (voucher ID: PTBG 38210) Taxon name on voucher: Persicaria glabra (Willd.) M. Gómez
French Polynesia Tuamotu Archipelago	Tikehau (Tikahau) Atoll	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Adventice
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Raivavae (Raevavae) Island	introduced invasive abo. intro.	Florence, J. (2004) (pp. 336-337)
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Raivavae (Raevavae) Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Voucher cited: J. Florence & W.R. Sykes 11329 (PAP) Adventice
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Rimatara (Rimitara) Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Adventice
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Tubuai Island	introduced invasive abo. intro.	Florence, J. (2004) (pp. 336-337)
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Tubuai Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Adventice
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1064, 1888)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1064, 1888)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1064, 1888)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1064, 1888)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1064, 1888)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands		Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (p. 122) Near rice paddies and in open swampy places.
Tonga Ha‘apai Group	Nomuka Island		Yuncker, T. G. (1959) (p. 106)
Tonga Tonga Islands	Tonga Islands		Whistler, W. A. (1988) (p. 34)
Tonga Tongatapu Group	‘Eua Island		Yuncker, T. G. (1959) (p. 106) Cited: Lister.
Tonga Vava‘u Group	Vava‘u Island		Yuncker, T. G. (1959) (p. 106) Voucher cited: Yuncker 16031
Wallis and Futuna Wallis and Futuna (Horne) Islands	Futuna Island	introduced invasive	Morat, Ph./Veillon, J.-M. (1985) Polygonum imberbe. Morat & Veillon, 1985, cited in Meyer, 2007
Wallis and Futuna Wallis and Futuna (Horne) Islands	Wallis and Futuna Islands		Whistler, W. A. (1988) (p. 34)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Chile (continental) Chile	Chile (Republic 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. 83)
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)
Nicaragua Nicaragua	Nicaragua (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
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)

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

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

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

References:

Florence, J. 2004. Flore de la Polynésie française, Vol. 2. Paris. IRE Editions, Publications Scientifiques, Collection Faune et Flore Tropicales 41. 503 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).

Merrill, Elmer D. 1923. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants, vol. 2 [reprint]. Bureau of Printing, Manila. 530 pp.

Meyer, Jean-Yves. 2007. Rapport de mission sur l'Ile d'Uvea (Wallis & Futuna) du 6 au 17 Novembre 2007: Inventaire preliminaire de la flore vasculaire secondaire [unpublished report]. Délégation à la Recherche, Ministère de l'Education, l'Enseignement Supérieur et la Recherche, B.P. 20981 Papeete, Tahiti, Polynésie française. 39 pp.

Morat, Ph./Veillon, J.-M. 1985. Contribution à la connaissance de la végétation et de la flore de Wallis & Futuna. Bull. Mus. Natn. Hist. Nat., Paris, 4e sér., 7, section B. Adansonia 3 : 259-329.

National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.). 1981. Voucher specimen #PTBG38210(Art Whistler W 4831).

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

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).

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

Yuncker, T. G. 1959. Plants of Tonga. Bishop Museum Bull. 220. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 343 pp.

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