Richardia brasiliensis Gomes, Rubiaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Reject, score: 7 (Go to the risk assessment).

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Mexican clover, richardia, tropical Mexican clover, white-eye

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Annual or short-lived perennial herbs; stems prostrate or occasionally ascending, rarely rooting at the lower nodes, 2-4 dm long, hirsute.  Leaves elliptic to ovate, 1.6-4 (-7.5) cm long, 0.8-2 cm wide, scabrous, apex acute to obtuse, base attenuate, petioles 0.1-1 cm long, stipular sheath ca. 2 mm wide, setae 1.5-5 mm long.  Flowers 20 or more in heads, involucral leaves in 1-2 pairs, sterile axillary flowers rarely also present; calyx usually 6-lobed, the lobes 1.5-3.5 mm long, glabrous or scabrous, margins ciliate; corolla white or rarely rose, funnelform, (4-) 6-lobed, the tube 3-8 mm long, the lobes 1-3 mm long, with tufts of hairs on the lobes; ovary 3-celled.  Mericarps 2-3, broadly obovoid, 2.5-3 (-4) mm long, abaxial face papillose and strigose, adaxial face with a median ridge, glabrous" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1171).

"Richardia brasiliensis has mericarps that are adaxially broadly and openly concave with a slim median keel, whereas those of Richardia scabra are adaxially closed to a narrow groove or sulcus.  These 2 species are otherwise similar in morphology"  (Lorence et al., 1995; pp. 50-51).

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i, "naturalized in dry to mesic, disturbed sites, 20-1,100 m" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1171).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Apparently native to South America" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1171).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island	introduced invasive	McCormack, Gerald (2011) Naturalized but rare.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1171)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1171)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Lāna‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1171)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Imada, Clyde T./James, Shelly A./Kennedy, Barbara H. (2008) (p. 14) West Maui. Voucher cited: H. Oppenheimer H50702 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1171)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Ecuador (Mainland) Ecuador	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	introduced invasive	Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (pp. 68, 78)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 187)
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	introduced invasive	Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (pp. 68, 78)

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

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

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

References:

Imada, Clyde T./James, Shelly A./Kennedy, Barbara H. 2008. New plant records from Herbarium Pacificum for 2007. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2007. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 100:12-16.

McCormack, Gerald. 2011. Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga.

Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro. 2004. Invasive alien species in Japan: the status quo and the new regulation for prevention of their adverse effects. Global Environmental Research 8(2)/2004: 171-191.

Oppenheimer, Hank L. 2006. New Hawai‘i plant records for 2004. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2004-2005. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 88:10-15.

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.

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, D. F. 1993. The major arthropod pests and weeds of agriculture in Southeast Asia. The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra. 141 pp.