Stylosanthes scabra Vogel, Fabaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  no

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Low risk (based on second screen), score: 1 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

English: seca, shrubby stylo

Habit:  shrub

Description:  "Low shrub with trifoliate leaves, small yellow pea flowers and stipules. Erect, woody annual or short-lived perennial, 1-2 m high, covered in soft, bristly and sticky hairs which give a rusty appearance to the plant.  Leaflets 9-17 mm long, 3.5-8 mm wide, patchy red-resinous below.  Pod hairy with small hook 1.5-2 mm long"  (Smith, 2002; pp. 65-66).

"A tall (up to 2 m), shrubby, perennial legume, erect to suberect, with strong, woody stems, usually densely hairy and viscid, making them sticky under hot, dry conditions. Stems vary in colour from pale green to dark blue-green, brown or reddish depending on the strain. Leaves trifoliate. Leaflets hairy on both surfaces, varying in shape from elliptic to oblong-lanceolate and in colour from pale green to dark green and dark blue-green. Stipules obovate, bristly hairy, 15 to 25 mm long including teeth. Inflorescence a broad, loosely formed and shortly elongate spike, occurring singly in the leaf axils. Fruit a biarticulating pod, the upper articulation carrying a short, slightly curved beak (residual stigma), and short viscid hairs. Seeds small (up to 2 mm long), pale to light brown, unsymmetrically reniform, the radical ends prominent" (Mohlenbrock, 1957, cited by FAO).

Habitat/ecology:  "Grow on a wide range of soils including lighter, poorer quality soils.  Suited to warm humid areas with high rainfall.  Establish on disturbed sites, along roadsides and around settlements." (Smith, 2002; pp. 65-66).

Propagation:  "Large amounts of seed produced and dispersed by stock and animal movement, as a contaminant of hay, and by vehicles and machinery, e.g. slashers and graders" (Smith, 2002; pp. 65-66).

Native range:  Caribbean and South America (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island	introduced abo. intro.	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2008)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (2004) (voucher ID: PTBG 42497) Taxon name on voucher: Stylosanthes scabra
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Kennedy, Barbara H./James, Shelley A./Imada, Clyde T. (2010) (p. 21) Voucher cited: L. Pratt 2824 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Frohlich, Danielle/Lau, Alex (2012) (p. 39) Voucher cited: T. Flynn 7438 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Lāna‘i Island	introduced invasive	Herbst, Derral R./Staples, George W./Imada, Clyde T. (2004) (p. 8) Vouchers cited: K. Nagata 3475 (BISH), R. Hobdy 2879 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Herbst, Derral R./Staples, George W./Imada, Clyde T. (2004) (p. 8) Voucher cited. H. Oppenheimer & F. Duvall H50209 (BISH, PTBG)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive	Herbst, Derral R./Staples, George W./Imada, Clyde T. (2004) (p. 8) Vouchers cited: M.Evans M-113 (BISH), N. Pekelo Jr. 24 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Herbst, Derral R./Staples, George W./Imada, Clyde T. (2004) (p. 8) Voucher cited: W. Char & G. Buelow NARS 34 (BISH)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Northern Territory	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Nicholas M. (2002) (pp. 65-66)
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Nicholas M. (2002) (pp. 65-66)
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (Republic of)	uncertain if native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
Ecuador (Mainland) Ecuador	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)	uncertain if native	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)

Additional information:
Information from FAO.

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

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

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

References:

Frohlich, Danielle/Lau, Alex. 2012. New plant records for the Hawaiian Islands 2010-2011. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2011. Part II: Plants. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 113:27-54.

Herbst, Derral R./Staples, George W./Imada, Clyde T. 2004. New Hawaiian plant records for 2002-2003. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2003. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 78:3-12.

ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre. 2011. International Legume Database & Information Service. Online searchable database.

Kennedy, Barbara H./James, Shelley A./Imada, Clyde T. 2010. New plant records from Herbarium Pacificum for 2008. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2008. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 107:19-26.

Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. 2008. Flora of the Marquesas Islands. National Tropical Botanical Garden and the Smithsonian Institution. Online database.

Queensland Herbarium. 2002. Invasive Naturalised Plants in Southeast Queensland, alphabetical by genus. Modified from: Batianoff, George N. and Butler, Don W. (2002). Assessment of Invasive naturalized plants in south-east Queensland. Appendix. Plant Protection Quarterly 17, 27-34. 11 pp.

Smith, Nicholas M. 2002. Weeds of the wet/dry tropics of Australia - a field guide. Environment Centre NT, Inc. 112 pp.

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