Phyllanthus tenellus Roxb., Euphorbiaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

English: long-stalk phyllanthus, Mascarene Island leaf-flower

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Monoecious annual herbs 0.2-0.5 m tall; branching phyllanthoid, the branches 5-15 cm long, with 10-25 leaves.  Leaves broadly elliptic to obovate, (6-) 10-20 (-24) mm long, (4-) 5-9 (-11) mm wide, petioles 0.5-0.8 mm long, stipules lanceolate, 0.7-1.1 mm long.  Flowers in axillary cymes on the branches, lower ones with 2-3 staminate flowers and 1-2 pistillate flowers, those above with solitary pistillate flowers; staminate flowers on pedicels 0.5-1.5 mm long, calyx lobes 5, 0.4-0.7 mm long, nectary disk 5-lobed, stamens 5, filaments distinct; pistillate flowers on capillary pedicel (2.5-) 3-5 (-8) mm long, calyx lobes 5, 0.6-0.8 mm long, reflexed in fruit, nectary disk subentire, styles distinct, bifid.  Capsules depressed-globose, 1.7-1.9 mm in diameter, explosively dehiscent.  Seeds 0.8-0.9 mm long"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 628).

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i, "naturalized in low elevation, disturbed areas such as yards and other urban sites" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 628).  In French Polynesia, "weedy species of open sites" (Welsh, 1998; p. 112). In New Caledonia, "est une espèce rudérale, vraisemblablement originaire des Iles Mascareignes et introduite il y a une centaine d'années; elle est assez commune à Nouméa et dans certains villages de la côte ouest" (Schmid, 1991; pp. 63-64).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Mascarine Islands (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 628).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Pacific offshore islands) Lord Howe Island	Lord Howe Island	introduced	Pickard, J. (1984) (p. 206)
Australia (Pacific offshore islands) Lord Howe Island	Lord Howe Island	introduced invasive	Orchard, Anthony E., ed. (1994) (p. 19) "An introduced species, native to Madagascar, now widespread as a weed". Vouchers cited: A.C. Beauglehole 5860 (MEL), A.N. Rodd 1738 (K, NSW)
Australia (Pacific offshore islands) Norfolk Islands	Norfolk Island	introduced invasive	Orchard, Anthony E., ed. (1994) (p. 9) "An introduced species, native to Madagascar, now widespread as a weed". Vouchers cited: P.S. Green 1884 (K), W.R. Sykes NI 184 (CHR), W.R. Sykes NI 589 (CHR), W. Laing(CHR)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Mangaia Island		McCormack, Gerald (2008)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island		McCormack, Gerald (2008)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 144)
French Polynesia Gambier Islands	Mangareva (Gambier) Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J. (1997) (pp. 127-129)
French Polynesia Gambier Islands	Taravai Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J. (1997) (pp. 127-129)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J. (1997) (pp. 127-129)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island	introduced invasive	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2008)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Huahine Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J. (1997) (pp. 127-129)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Moorea Island	introduced invasive	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (pp. 112-113) Voucher cited: C. Cartier 135
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island	introduced invasive	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (pp. 112-113) Vouchers cited: BRY 26413, BRY 26424
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J. (1997) (pp. 127-129)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Taha‘a Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R. (1997) (p. 45)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (pp. 112-113) Vouchers cited: Flornece 2257, Florence 6636, BRY 24819
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J. (1997) (pp. 127-129)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tetiaroa Atoll	introduced invasive	Florence, J. (1997) (pp. 127-129)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tetiaroa Atoll	introduced invasive	Sachet, M.-H./Fosberg, F. R. (1983) (p. 45) Voucher cited: Fosberg 63785 (US)
French Polynesia Tubuai (Austral) Islands	Raivavae (Raevavae) Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J. (1997) (pp. 127-129)
French Polynesia Tubuai (Austral) Islands	Rurutu Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J. (1997) (pp. 127-129)
French Polynesia Tubuai (Austral) Islands	Tubuai (Tupuai) Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J. (1997) (pp. 127-129)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Oppenheimer, Hank L./Bartlett, R. T. (2000) (p. 5) Voucher cited: Oppenheimer & Meidell H119819 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 628)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Lāna‘i Island	introduced invasive	Oppenheimer, Hank L./Bartlett, Randal T. (2002) (p. 7) Voucher cited: Oppenheimer H109911 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Oppenheimer, Hank L./Meidell, J. Scott/Bartlett, R. T. (1999) (p. 8) Vouchers cited: Oppenheimer & Duvall H79803 (BISH), Oppenheimer & Bartlett H99802 (BISH) Widespread
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive	Oppenheimer, Hank (2007) (p. 23) Vouchers cited: Oppenheimer, Tangalin & Perlman H5-638 (BISH, PTBG), Oppenheimer H80615 (BISH, PTBG).
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 628) Voucher cited: Degener & Degener 28248 (BISH)
Japan (offshore islands) Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	introduced	Kato, Hidetoshi (2007)
New Caledonia New Caledonia	New Caledonia Islands		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 95)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	Tassin, Jacques (2005)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 54) Vouchers cited: Schlechter 15069, Baumann 5199, MacKee 3908, MacKee 40814, Schmid 5457
Vanuatu New Hebrides Islands	Vanuatu (Republic of)		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 95)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 277)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
British Indian Ocean Territory Chagos Archipelago	Diego Garcia Island	introduced	Stoddart, D. R./Taylor, J. D., eds. (1971) (p. 153) Voucher cited: Wiehe s.n. (MAU)
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 277)

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

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

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

References:

Florence, J. 1997. Flore de la Polynésie française, Vol. 1. Paris. Editions de l'Orstom, Institut Français de Recherche Scientifique pour le Développement en Coopération, Collection Faune et Flore Tropicales 34. 393 pp.

Fosberg, F. R. 1997. Preliminary checklist of the flowering plants and ferns of the Society Islands. Ed. by David R. Stoddart. U. Cal. Berkeley.

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1979. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian dicotyledonae. Micronesica 15:1-295.

Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 391 pp.

Kato, Hidetoshi. 2007. Herbarium records of Makino Herbarium, Tokyo Metropolitan University. Personal communication.

Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. 2008. Flora of the Marquesas Islands. National Tropical Botanical Garden and the Smithsonian Institution. Online database.

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

McCormack, Gerald. 2008. Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga.

Oppenheimer, Hank. 2007. New plant records from Moloka‘i, Lāna‘i, Maui, and Hawai‘i for 2006. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2006. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 96:17-34.

Oppenheimer, Hank L./Bartlett, R. T. 2000. New plant records from Maui, O‘ahu, and the Hawai‘i Islands. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1999. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 64:1-10.

Oppenheimer, Hank L./Bartlett, Randal T. 2002. New plant records from the main Hawaiian Islands. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2000. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 69:1-14.

Oppenheimer, Hank L./Meidell, J. Scott/Bartlett, R. T. 1999. New plant records for Maui and Moloka‘i. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1998. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 59:7-11.

Orchard, Anthony E., ed. 1994. Flora of Australia. Vol. 49, Oceanic islands 1. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.

Pickard, J. 1984. Exotic plants on Lord Howe Island: Distribution in space and time, 1853-1981. J. of Biogeography 11:181-208.

Sachet, M.-H./Fosberg, F. R. 1983. An ecological reconnaissance of Tetiaroa Atoll, Society Islands. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 275. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 67 pp. + photos.

Schmid, Maurice. 1991. Phyllanthus. In: Flore de la Nouvelle-Calédonie et Depéndances 17.

Stoddart, D. R./Taylor, J. D., eds. 1971. Geography and ecology of Diego Garcia Atoll, Chagos Archipelago. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 149. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 237 pp.

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

Tassin, Jacques. 2005. Jacques Tassin (IAC-CIRAD), personal communication.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2009. 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).

Welsh, S. L. 1998. Flora Societensis: A summary revision of the flowering plants of the Society Islands. E.P.S. Inc., Orem, Utah. 420 pp.