Spergula arvensis L., Caryophyllaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Reject, score: 20 (Go to the risk assessment).

Other Latin names:  Spergula maxima Weihe

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: da zhua cao

English: corn spurry, devil's gut, field spurry, pickpurse, sandweed, starwort, stickwort

French: spargoute des champs, spourier

Spanish: esparcilla

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Annual herbs; stems ascending, 2-4 dm long, unbranched to many-branched, sparsely glandular puberulent.  Leaves clustered at the nodes in 2 opposite sets of 6-8 leaves each, narrowly linear to subulate, 10-30 mm long, ca. 0.5 mm wide, glandular puberulent, stipules small, connate.  Pedicels slender, 7-15 mm long; sepals ovate, obtuse, 2-3 mm long, glandular puberulent; petals white, slightly shorter to slightly longer than sepals; stamens (5) 10.  Capsules ovoid, 3-4 mm long.  seeds blackish, globose, ca. 1 mm in diameter, minutely white papillose and white-margined or very narrowly winged"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 525).

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i, "sparingly naturalized on disturbed or cultivated ground"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 525).  In New Caledonia, "mauvaise herbe peu commune des jardins"  (MacKee, 1994; p. 28).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Native to Europe, widely naturalized"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 525).

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	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 525)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 525)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 525)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 28) Voucher cited: Létocart in MacKee 40679
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	introduced invasive	Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (p. 139) Recently introduced and thoroughly naturalized at Pauai, altitude about 2,400 m.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Canada Province of British Columbia	Canada (British Columbia)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)
Canada Canada	Canada (country)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	introduced invasive	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) "Grasslands, riverbanks. This plant is a weed of wheat fields, and is used as fodder".
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 182)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (Oregon)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (California)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (Washington)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	United States (other states)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	USA (Florida)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)

Additional information:
Fact sheet from the University of Alaska Anchorage (PDF format).

Additional online information about Spergula arvensis is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

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

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

References:

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Merrill, Elmer D. 1923. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants, vol. 2 [reprint]. Bureau of Printing, Manila. 530 pp.

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.

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.

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).

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