Sauropus androgynus (L.) Merr., Euphorbiaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Evaluate, score: 4 (Go to the risk assessment).

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: shou gong mu

English: chekkurmanis, star-gooseberry

Habit:  shrub

Description:  "Shrubs 1-3 m tall, erect, monoecious, glabrous throughout; branchlets angular when young, terete with age, slender, green. Stipules lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, 1.5-3 mm; petiole 2-4 mm; leaf blade ovate-lanceolate, oblong-lanceolate, or lanceolate, 3-10 x 1.5-3.5 cm, submembranous or thinly papery, base cuneate, rounded, or truncate, apex acuminate; venation pinnate, lateral veins 5-7 pairs, elevated abaxially, flattened adaxially, reticulate veins obscure. Inflorescence axillary, 1- or 2-flowered, or several male and female per cluster. Male flowers: pedicels slender, 5-7.5 mm; calyx shallowly disk-shaped, 5-12 mm in diameter, shallowly 6-fid; sepals obovate; disk segments 6, opposite to sepals, incurved distally, covering anthers; stamens 3; fila-ments connate; anthers extrorse. Female flowers usually solitary, axillary; pedicel 6-8 mm; calyx red, 6-lobed; sepals obovate or obovate-triangular, 5-6 x 3-5.5 mm, base attenuate into a short claw; disk absent; ovary depressed globose, ca. 0.7 x 1.5 mm, 3-locular; styles 3, bifid. Fruiting pedicel 0.5-1 cm; persistent calyx red; capsule white, depressed globose or globose, ca. 1.2 x 1.7 cm, thinly crustaceous. Seeds black, triquetrous, ca. 7 x 5 mm"  (Flora of China online).

Habitat/ecology:  In China (native), "slopes with brushwood, sunny forest margins; 100-400 m"  (Flora of China online).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "India and S China, through Indo-China and Malesia, to the Philippines and New Guinea"  (Flora of Australia online).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Frohlich, Danielle/Lau, Alex (2008) (pp. 5-6) Voucher cited: D. Frohlich & A. Lau s.n. (BISH 726888)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island		Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.) (1973) (voucher ID: BISH 402881) Taxon name on voucher: Sauropus androgynus (L.) Merr.
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	introduced cultivated	Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. (1988) (p. 107)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	native	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 77) Common
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Indian Ocean offshore islands) Christmas Island Group	Christmas Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Swarbrick, J. T. (1997) (p. 126) garden remnant
Australia (Indian Ocean offshore islands) Christmas Island Group	Christmas Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Australian Biological Resources Study (2011) Vouchers cited: D.A. Powell 41 (K), B.A. Mitchell 87 (CBG, K), R. Shivas 808 (PERTH), D.J. & B.P. Du Puy CI66 (CBG, K) Uncommon, having escaped from cultivation and become naturalised in a few areas.
Australia (Indian Ocean offshore islands) Cocos (Keeling) Islands	Cocos (Keeling) Islands	introduced invasive	Australian Biological Resources Study (2011) Voucher cited: I.R. Telford 10072 & C. Howard (CBG, K) Naturalised on Home Is. in disturbed strand forest.

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

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

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

References:

Australian Biological Resources Study. 2011. Flora of Australia Online. Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra.

Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.). 1973. Voucher specimen #BISH402881(Ishikawa, S. 232).

Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. 2009. A checklist of the total vascular plant flora of Singapore: native, naturalised and cultivated species. Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore. 273 pp.

Frohlich, Danielle/Lau, Alex. 2008. New plant records from O‘ahu for 2007. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2007. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 100:3-12.

Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. 1988. Flora of the Solomon Islands. Research Bulletin No. 7. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Honiara. 203 pp.

Swarbrick, J. T. 1997. Environmental weeds and exotic plants on Christmas Island, Indian Ocean: a report to Parks Australia. 101 pp. plus appendix.

U. S. Government. 2011. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

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

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