Rotala indica (Willd.) Koehne, Lythraceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  no

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Peplis indica Willd.

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: jie jie cai

English: Indian toothcup

Habit:  aquatic herb

Description:  "Herbs, annual, terrestrial or amphibious, to ca. 40 cm. Stem creeping and branched at base, ascending, or erect, terete to weakly 4-angled. Leaves decussate, obovate-elliptic or obovate-oblong, 5-17 x 3-8 mm, base cuneate, margin translucent to opaque, white cartilaginous, apex obtuse. Bracts like foliage leaves or distinctly smaller on axillary spikes. Flowers in axillary spikes or sessile in bracts on main stem; bracteoles linear, reaching sepals or longer. Floral tube 4-merous, pink-red at anthesis, narrowly to broadly campanulate, 1.5-2.5 mm, 4-angled; sepals 4, lanceolate-deltate; epicalyx absent. Petals 4, pink, minute to ca. 1/2 as long as sepals. Stamens 4; anthers reaching sinus of sepals. Ovary ellipsoidal; style ca. 1/2 as long as ovary, slightly exserted. Capsule ellipsoidal, ca. 1 mm in diameter, slightly exserted, 2-valved. Seeds ca. 0.4 mm"  (Flora of China online).

"Terrestrial or aquatic annual herb.  Stems quadrangular, erect or creeping, 10-40 cm long.  Leaves opposite, oblong to ovate, 4-15 mm long, 3-5 mm wide, sessile or shortly petiolate.  Flowers axillary, solitary or in short dense spikes, subtended by linear leafy bracts.  Calyx 2-3 mm long, tubular with 4 triangular lobes.  Petals 4, pinkish or white, tiny and inconspicuous.  Stamens 2-6, attached deep in calyx tube.  Fruit a 2-valved elliptic capsule, 1.5 mm - 0.8 mm, containing numerous tiny, pear-shaped seeds."  (Waterhouse & Mitchell, 1998; pp. 51-52).

Habitat/ecology:  In China (native), "wet places, paddy fields" (Flora of China online).  "Wet areas such as rice fields, river banks, ditches, and waterlogged grasslands. 0-1000 m altitude." (Waterhouse & Mitchell, 1998; pp. 51-52).

Propagation:  "Seeds and plant fragments dispersed by water and externally attached to waterbirds" (Waterhouse & Mitchell, 1998; pp. 51-52).

Native range:  Asia (Waterhouse & Mitchell, 1998; pp. 51-52).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands		Waterhouse, B. M./Mitchell, A. A. (1998) (p. 52)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands		Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (p. 134) A rice-paddy weed and in open damp waste places at low and medium altitudes.

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)		Waterhouse, B. M./Mitchell, A. A. (1998) (p. 52)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang
China China	China (People's Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 311)
China China	Hong Kong	native	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 160) In paddy fields and wet places.
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 311)
North Korea North Korea	North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of)	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011)
South Korea South Korea	South Korea (Republic of)	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011)
South Korea South Korea	South Korea (Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 311)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)		Waterhouse, B. M./Mitchell, A. A. (1998) (p. 52)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011)
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 311)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)		Waterhouse, B. M./Mitchell, A. A. (1998) (p. 52)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)		Waterhouse, B. M./Mitchell, A. A. (1998) (p. 52)

Comments:  "Serious weed of rice in Afghanistan, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Taiwan. Troublesome in the USA." (Waterhouse & Mitchell, 1998; pp. 51-52).

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

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

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

References:

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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