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Moldenke, Verbenaceae |
No image available for this species |
Present on Pacific Islands? yes
Primarily a threat at high elevations? no
Common name(s): [more details]
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Hawaiian: oī, ōwī |
Habit: herb
Description: "Annual or perennial herbs up to 20 dm tall, becoming somewhat woody toward base; stems dichotomously branched, younger stems moderately to densely short-pubescent. Leaves opposite, membranous or chartaceous, elliptic to ovate or narrowly ovate, 1.5-10 cm long, 1-5 cm wide, upper surface puberulent to strigillose or scaberulous, lower surface sparsely to moderately strigillose over entire surface, margins serrate to crenate-serrate, the teeth angled forward, apex sharply acute to acuminate, petioles 0.3-1 cm long. Spikes slender, 15-45 cm long, up to ca. 3 mm in diameter, somewhat flaccid, usually short-pubescent throughout, the furrows nearly as wide as the rachis, bracts narrowly lanceolate, ca. 5 mm long; calyx ca. 6 mm long, the teeth subequal; corolla pale blue to blue, pale violet, or lavender, occasionally white" (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1321-1322).
"This species is reported to hybridize with Stachytarpheta jamaicensis" (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1321-1322).
Keys to the species (Smith, 2002; pp. 42-43):
S. australis: Lower leaf surfaces, rachis and calyx hairy; flowers pale blue or almost white.
S. cayennensis: Lower leaf surfaces, rachis and calyx hairless; rachis slender 1-3 mm diameter; leaves membranous; flowers blue to almost white.
S. jamaicensis: Lower leaf surface, rachis and calyx hairless; rachis stout, 3-5 mm diameter; leaves fleshy; flowers mauve, blue, violet or purple.
Habitat/ecology: "Snakeweeds invade disturbed areas, e.g. creek lines and roadsides; also monsoon vine forests where soil has been disturbed by pigs and buffalo. Can invade overgrazed pastures." (Smith, 2002; pp. 42-43). In Hawaii, "naturalized in usually mesic, disturbed sites, 170-1,340 m" (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1321-1322).
Propagation: "Usually spread intentionally as ornamental plants. Seeds are also dispersed on vehicles, by the movement of soil in refuse from gardens and by rainwater. In Queensland [Australia] they have been spread in fodder, hay and in contaminated pasture seed." (Smith, 2002; pp. 42-43).
Native range: "Apparently native from Cuba and Mexico south to Peru and Argentina, now widely naturalized in tropical and subtropical areas" (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1321-1322).
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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State of Hawaii
Hawaiian Islands |
Hawaii (Big) Island |
introduced
invasive |
Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1322-1323, 1896) |
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State of Hawaii
Hawaiian Islands |
Kauai Island |
introduced
invasive |
Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1322-1323, 1896) |
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State of Hawaii
Hawaiian Islands |
Lānai Island |
introduced
invasive |
Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1322-1323, 1896) |
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State of Hawaii
Hawaiian Islands |
Maui Island |
introduced
invasive |
Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1322-1323, 1896) |
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State of Hawaii
Hawaiian Islands |
Oahu Island |
introduced
invasive |
Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1322-1323, 1896) |
| 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) |
Northern Territory |
introduced
invasive cultivated |
Smith, Nicholas M. (2002) (pp. 42-43) |
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Australia
Australia (continental) |
Queensland |
introduced
invasive cultivated |
Smith, Nicholas M. (2002) (pp. 42-43) |
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Indonesia
Indonesia |
Indonesia (Republic of) | Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 351) | |
Comments: A declared noxious weed in Western Australia (Smith, 2002; pp. 42-43).
Additional information:
Additional online information about Stachytarpheta australis is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).
Information about Stachytarpheta australis as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).
Taxonomic information about Stachytarpheta australis 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.
Smith, Nicholas M. 2002. Weeds of the wet/dry tropics of Australia - a field guide. Environment Centre NT, Inc. 112 pp.
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).