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All., Solanaceae |
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Present on Pacific Islands? yes
Threat only at high elevations? no
Other Latin names: Solanum aculeatissimum Jacq.
Common name(s): [more details]
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English: cockroach berry, devil's apple, soda apple |
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Hawaiian: akaaka, akaka, kīkānia lei |
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Maori (Cook Islands): poroiti taratara, poroiti taratara |
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Spanish: mata cucaracha |
Habit: herb
Description: "Annual or short-lived shrubs up to 1 m tall, with numerous or scattered prickles on most parts, pale or straw-colored, the prickles up to 12 mm long, sparsely pilose with simple, few-celled hairs and minute glandular hairs. Leaves entire, alternate, broadly ovate, up to 11 cm long and 10 cm wide, margins with 5-7 lobes divided 1/2 or less to midrib, apex acute or obtuse, base rounded to subcordate, petioles ca. 5 cm long. Lower flowers perfect, upper flowers sometimes staminate, actinomorphic, 2-4 in clusters on short peduncles 3-4 mm long, arising from an internodal position, pedicels 1-1.5 cm long; calyx tubular, 2-3 mm long, the lobes broadly lanceolate, 2-3 mm long, apex acute; corolla white, deeply divided, the lobes ca. 10 mm long; stamens inserted near base of corolla tube; filaments 1-2 mm long, glabrous; anthers pale yellow, distinct, erect and cohering into a conical structure, 5-6 mm long, opening by apical pores; ovary sparsely pubescent above; style erect, 5-8 mm long; stigma green. Berries bright orange scarlet when mature, the flesh white, dryish, depressed-globose, 2-3.5 cm in diameter. Seeds numerous, flattened, bordered by a distinct narrow wing ca. 1.5 mm wide, 4-5 mm in diameter, testa minutely pitted" (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1269-1270).
Habitat/ecology: Moist disturbed areas. In Hawaii, "naturalized in disturbed areas such as pastures, pond banks, along trails and in mesic forest and diverse mesic forest, 15-850 m" (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1269-1270).
Propagation: Seed
Native range: Eastern Brazil, widely grown for the ornamental fruit and now widely naturalized in tropical regions (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1269-1270).
Presence:
| Pacific | |||
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Country/Terr./St. & Island group |
Location |
Cited status &
Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction? |
Reference &
Comments |
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Cook Islands
Southern Cook Islands |
Atiu Island |
introduced
cultivated |
Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2002) (p. 83) |
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Cook Islands
Southern Cook Islands |
Mauke Island | McCormack, Gerald (2007) | |
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Cook Islands
Southern Cook Islands |
Rarotonga Island | McCormack, Gerald (2007) | |
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Ecuador (Galápagos Islands)
Isabela Group |
Volcan Sierra Negra |
introduced
cultivated |
Charles Darwin Research Station (2005) |
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French Polynesia
Society Islands |
Raiatea (Havai) Island |
introduced
invasive cultivated |
Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 273)
Vouchers cited: BRY 26638, BRY 26628, BRY 26448 |
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State of Hawaii
Hawaiian Islands |
Hawaii (Big) Island |
introduced
invasive cultivated |
Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1269-1270) |
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State of Hawaii
Hawaiian Islands |
Kauai Island |
introduced
invasive cultivated |
Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1269-1270) |
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State of Hawaii
Hawaiian Islands |
Lānai Island |
introduced
invasive cultivated |
Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1269-1270) |
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State of Hawaii
Hawaiian Islands |
Maui Island |
introduced
invasive |
Oppenheimer, Hank L./Bartlett, R. T. (2000) (p. 8)
West Maui. Vouchers cited: Forbes 2467 m (BISH), Oppenheimer H29901 (BISH), O. Degener s.n. (BISH 69955), Crosby & Anerson 1838 (BISH) |
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State of Hawaii
Hawaiian Islands |
Molokai Island |
introduced
invasive cultivated |
Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1269-1270) |
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State of Hawaii
Hawaiian Islands |
Oahu Island |
introduced
invasive cultivated |
Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1269-1270) |
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Samoa
Western Samoa Islands |
Savaii Island |
introduced
invasive |
Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2002) (p. 11) |
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Tonga
Tongatapu Group |
Eua Island |
introduced
invasive |
Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2001) (p. 8) |
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Tonga
Vavau Group |
Vavau Island |
introduced
invasive |
Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2001) (p. 69) |
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Vanuatu
New Hebrides Islands |
Tanna Island |
Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1977) (voucher ID: BISH 415785)
Taxon name on voucher: Solanum capsicoides All. |
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| Pacific Rim | |||
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Country/Terr./St. & Island group |
Location |
Cited status &
Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction? |
Reference &
Comments |
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Australia
Australia (continental) |
Australia (continental) |
Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 340)
As Solanum aculeatissimum Jacq. |
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Indonesia
Indonesia |
Indonesia (Republic of) |
Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 340)
As Solanum aculeatissimum Jacq. |
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Comments: Becoming widespread on Tonga (Space & Flynn, 2001). Seen at Asau, Savaii, Samoa (Space & Flynn, 2002). Mostly present in cultivation in the Cook Islands (Space & Flynn, 2002).
Additional information: Additional online information about Solanum capsicoides is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).
Taxonomic information about Solanum capsicoides may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).
References:
Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1977. Voucher specimen #BISH 415785 (Krauss, N.L.H. 1463).
Charles Darwin Research Station. 2005. CDRS Herbarium records.
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.
McCormack, Gerald. 2007. Cook Islands biodiversity and natural heritage. On-line database.
Oppenheimer, Hank L./Bartlett, R. T. 2000. New plant records from Maui, Oahu, and the Hawaii 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.
Space, James C./Flynn, Tim. 2001. Report to the Kingdom of Tonga on invasive plant species of environmental concern. USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 78 pp.
Space, James C./Flynn, Tim. 2002. Report to the Government of the Cook Islands on invasive plant species of environmental concern. USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 146 pp.
Space, James C./Flynn, Tim. 2002. Report to the Government of Samoa on invasive plant species of environmental concern. USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 83 pp.
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2007. 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 Hawaii 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.