Syngonium podophyllum Schott, Araceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 15 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

English: African evergreen, arrowhead vine, goosefoot, nephthytis

Habit:  vine

Description:  "Juvenile plant with stems slightly glaucous; petioles sheathed 1/2-2/3 their length; blades simple, cordate, 7-14 cm long, becoming sagittate or hastate, acuminate at the apex, the anterior lobe somewhat constricted at the base, the posterior lobes usually more or less triangular, directed downward or prominently outward; blades on climbing plants 12-27 cm long.  Adult plants with stems sometimes glaucous, sap milky; internodes 2.8-14.5 cm long, 0.5-3.5 cm wide (dry); petioles 15-60 cm long, sometimes glaucous, sheathed 2/3 their length (the sheath free-ending), rounded to obtusely angular above the sheath; blades pedatisect, the surface dark green above, pale below (sometimes glaucescent in South America); leaflets 3-11, united to free; lowermost leaflet variously ariculate at the base, the auricles oblong to oblong-elliptic to broadly elliptic; median leaflet obovate to broadly elliptic, abruptly acuminate at the apex, broadly or narrowly decurrent at the base, 16-38 cm long, 6-17 cm wide; rachis usually angular on blades with more than 3 segments; primary lateral veins 3-4 (-7) pairs on the median leaflet, sunken above, prominently raised beneath; collective veins 2 or 3; tertiary veins all distinct.  Inflorescences 4-11 per axil; peduncle sometimes glaucous somewhat compressed laterally, erect and usually less than 9 cm long at anthesis, pendent, to 13 cm long in fruit; spathe 9-11 cm long; spathe tube sometimes glaucous, narrowly ovoid to ellipsoid, 3-4 cm long, 1.8-2 cm diam., green inside and out; spathe blade greenish white to creamy white or sometimes yellow (in South America) (sometimes green outside and creamy white inside), 6-7.5 cm long, 3-5 cm wide, long-cuspidate at the apex; pistillate portion of the spadix 1-2 cm long, 6-9 mm diam., greenish cream, the flowers irregularly (5-) 6 (-7) sided, adherent, the stigma discoid-capitate, sometimes 2- or 3-lobed; staminate portion of the spadix 4-7 cm long, 7-15 mm diam., cream, the synandrium with anthers usually 4, cross-shaped, 3.5-4 mm wide, partially or completely fused. Infructescences red to reddish orange or yellow (rarely brown) at maturity; syncarp ovoid, brownish, scruffy with darker brown flecks, 3-5 (-7) cm long, 1.5-3.5 cm wide; seeds many, ovoid, 7-11 mm long, 5-7 mm wide, black or brown, enveloped in a soft, grayish, sweet, pulpy mesocarp"  (Croat, 1981; pp. 585-651).

Similar species: Syngonium angustatum Schott

See description for Syngonium angustatum and key to the two species below:

S. podophyllum var. podophyllum:  "Stems glaucous (at least in northern Central America), smooth, lacking any emergences; leaf segments usually somewhat unequal, not of relatively uniform size and shape; petioles subterete or with only an obtuse medial rib; staminate flowers truncate at the apex with an indication of the line of fusion; Mexico to Panama" (Croat, 1981).

S. angustatum:  "Stems not glaucous, sometimes with numerous rough emergences; leaf segments usually slender, of nearly equal size and shape; petioles subterete, usually with a sharp medial rib; rachis usually gradually curved, not angular between each segment; staminate flowers deeply retuse at the apex, showing no indication of the line of fusion; Mexico to Costa Rica"  (Croat, 1981).

Habitat/ecology:  Climbing epiphyte. Grows under shady conditions. Prefers moist, fertile soil.

Propagation:  Mostly, if not exclusively, vegetative

Native range:  Mexico to Brazil (Whistler, 2000; pp. 437-438). A common household plant.

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
American Samoa Manu‘a Islands	Ta‘u Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2000) (pp. 6, 13)
American Samoa Tutuila Islands	Tutuila Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2000) (pp. 6, 12)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Isabela Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Volcán Sierra Negra, Isabela Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Federated States of Micronesia Kosrae Island	Kosrae Island		Lorence, David H./Flynn, Tim (2005) (p. 6)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Hiva Oa Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2008)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Oppenheimer, Hank L. (2006) (p. 10) West Maui. Voucher cited: Oppenheimer, R. Bartlett & G. Hansen H80307 (BISH, PTBG)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 18) Voucher cited: MacKee 22371
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2000) (p. 6) S. podophyllum Vouchers collected: Flynn 6678, Flynn 6697
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara M./Newfield, Melanie/Bull, Cate (2004) (p. 13) S. podophyllum
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	introduced cultivated	Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. (1988) (p. 111)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Costa Rica Costa Rica	Costa Rica (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Ecuador (Mainland) Ecuador	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
El Salvador El Salvador	El Salvador (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Guatemala Guatemala	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Honduras Honduras	Honduras (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Nicaragua Nicaragua	Nicaragua (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Panama Panama	Panama (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Indian Ocean offshore islands) Christmas Island Group	Christmas Island	introduced cultivated	Swarbrick, J. T. (1997) (p. 128) Species uncertain.

Comments:  Plants not specifically identified as S. angustatum or S. podophyllum are listed under Syngonium angustatum.

Additional information:
Photos at University of Florida, Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants.

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

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

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

References:

Charles Darwin Foundation. 2008. Database inventory of introduced plant species in the rural and urban zones of Galapagos. Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos, Ecuador.

Charles Darwin Research Station. 2005. CDRS Herbarium records.

Croat, Thomas B. 1981. A revision of Syngonium (Araceae). Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 68(4):565-651.

Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. 1998. Potential environmental weeds in Australia: Candidate species for preventative control. Canberra, Australia. Biodiversity Group, Environment Australia. 208 pp.

Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. 1988. Flora of the Solomon Islands. Research Bulletin No. 7. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Honiara. 203 pp.

Lorence, David H./Flynn, Tim. 2005. Checklist of the plants of Kosrae. Unpublished checklist. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 23 pp.

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

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

Oppenheimer, Hank L. 2006. New Hawai‘i plant records for 2004. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2004-2005. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 88:10-15.

Space, James C./Flynn, Tim. 2000. Observations on invasive plant species in American Samoa.  USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 51 pp.

Space, James C./Flynn, Tim. 2000. Report to the Government of Niue on invasive plant species of environmental concern.  USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 34 pp.

Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara M./Newfield, Melanie/Bull, Cate. 2004. Report to the Government of Niue and the United Nations Development Programme: Invasive plant species on Niue following Cyclone Heta. UNDP NIU/98/G31 - Niue Enabling Activity. 80 pp.

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral/Imada, Clyde T. 2000. Survey of invasive or potentially invasive cultivated plants in Hawai‘i. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers No. 65. 35 pp.

Swarbrick, J. T. 1997. Environmental weeds and exotic plants on Christmas Island, Indian Ocean: a report to Parks Australia. 101 pp. plus appendix.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2009. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Whistler, W. A. 2000. Tropical ornamentals: a guide. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon. 542 pp.