Piper lolot C.DC., Piperaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

English: lolo pepper, lolot

French: poivre lolot

Pohnpeian: peper lolo

Vietnamese: la lot

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Dioecious shrub or subshrub, 1.5-3.5 feet tall.  Leaf blades of two forms, lowermost broadly ovate with cordate base; uppermost ovate to oblong-ovate with rounded, unequal-sided base, 2-5 inches long, upper side glabrous, underside finely puberulent on major veins, apex acute to tapering, secondary veins 5-7 pairs.  Inflorescence: male unknown, female 0.5-0.75 inches long, bracts shield-shaped, glabrous.  Female flowers: ovary glabrous, stigmatic lobes 3 (rarely 4 or 5).  Fruit globose"  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 456).

Habitat/ecology:  Plants growing and spreading at the Pohnpei Botanical Garden behind the Visitors Bureau. There is about 1/3 of an acre. This plants are growing very well under trees in the shade. (Konrad Englberger, pers. com.)

Propagation:  Seed and vegetatively (Staples & Herbst, 2005, p. 456; Staples, Herbst & Imada, 2000, p. 27).

Native range:  Vietnam, cultivated elsewhere (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Herrera, Katherine/Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy/Balick, Michael J. (2010) (p. 123) Voucher cited: D.H. Lorence 9487 (COM, NY, PTBG) Invasive
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Englberger, Konrad (2009) Decision on possible eradication pending 16 March 2009.
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (2006) (voucher ID: PTBG 44891) Taxon name on voucher: Piper lolot
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Fatu Hiva Island	introduced	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2008)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Ua Pou (Huapu, Uapou, Uapu) Island	introduced	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2008) Voucher cited: D. H. Lorence 9322 (PAP, PTBG, US)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island		Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.) (2001) (voucher ID: BISH 685826) Taxon name on voucher: Piper lolot C. DC.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island		Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.) (1985) (voucher ID: BISH 490551) Taxon name on voucher: Piper lolot C. DC.

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

Comments:  Commonly cultivated for use as a condiment in Vietnamese cooking.  Unrooted stem cuttings are also sold for use as an aquarium ornamental (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 456).

Control: 

Physical:  "Physical removal is effective if done repeatedly for an extended period"  (Englberger, 2009; p. 10).

Chemical:  "Two to three applications with glyphosate (Roundup) at a high concentration can control the plant"  (Englberger, 2009; p. 10).

Biological:  Reportedly affected by a mosaic virus (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 456).

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

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

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

References:

Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.). 1985. Voucher specimen #BISH490551(Nagata, K.M. 1351).

Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.). 2001. Voucher specimen #BISH685826(Starr, F. 010703-1).

Englberger, Konrad. 2009. Konrad Englberger, Personal Communication.

Englberger, Konrad. 2009. Invasive weeds of Pohnpei: A guide for identification and public awareness. Conservation Society of Pohnpei. 29 pp.

Herrera, Katherine/Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy/Balick, Michael J. 2010. Checklist of the vascular plants of Pohnpei with local names and uses. Allertonia, in press. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 146 pp.

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

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. 2005. A tropical garden flora: plants cultivated in the Hawaiian Islands and other tropical places. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 908 pp.

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral/Imada, Clyde T. 2000. Survey of invasive or potentially invasive cultivated plants in Hawai‘i. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers No. 65. 35 pp.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.