Spermacoce verticillata L., Rubiaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Borreria verticillata (L.) G. Mey.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: shrubby false-buttonweed

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Plants perennial, glabrous or nearly so, usually erect and simple or sparsely branched, often copiously branched from the base, usually 40 cm. high or less, the stems tetragonous; stipule sheath very short, the setae about 1.5 mm. long; leaves sessile or nearly so, linear or lance-linear, mostly 1.5-4 cm. long and 1.5-6 mm. broad, commonly 1-nerved, often with fascicles of smaller leaves in the axils; flower heads chiefly terminal but sometimes arising also from the upper leaf axils, the terminal heads subtended by 2 or 4 leaflike bracts; hypanthium pilose above, the 2 sepals narrowly triangular, 1.5 mm. long or less; corolla white, 3 mm. long, hispidulous outside at the apex, the lobes about equaling the tube; anthers exserted; capsule 2.5 mm. long; seeds brown"  (Standley & Williams, 1974; 24/11 pp. 22-23).

"Annual herb with straggling, rather flexuous stems, to ca. 60 cm high. Leaves linear or linear-lanceolate, glabrous, mostly less than 2.5 cm long. Flowers white, very small, borne in sessile clusters at the upper stem nodes. Fruit a small capsule. Seeds reddish-brown" (Sykes, 1970; p. 175).

Habitat/ecology:  In Guatemala (native), "a widely distributed and in many localities a common weedy plant, usually at low elevations but ascending to about 2,000 m., in thickets or savannas, meadows, or in waste or cultivated ground"  (Standley & Williams, 1974; 24/11 pp. 22-23).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Mexico; British Honduras to Panama; southward through most of South America; West Indies"  (Standley & Williams, 1974; 24/11 pp. 22-23).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
French Polynesia Society Islands	Huahine Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) As Spermacoce verticillata C. Linnaeus. Voucher cited: J. Florence & R. Tahuaitu 11636 (PAP) Adventice
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Voucher cited: P. Morat 6384 (PAP) Adventice
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (1982) (voucher ID: PTBG 37188) Taxon name on voucher: Spermacoce verticillata
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced invasive	Sykes, W. R. (1970) (p. 175) Voucher cited: CHR 170396
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 89)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Costa Rica (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	Standley, Paul C./Williams, Louis O. (1975)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Honduras (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Nicaragua (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Panama (Republic of)	native	Standley, Paul C./Williams, Louis O. (1975)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	Standley, Paul C./Williams, Louis O. (1975)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Colombia	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Perú (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)

Control:  If you know of control methods for Spermacoce verticillata, please let us know.