Talinum fruticosum (L.) Juss., Portulacaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Portulaca fruticosa L.; Portulaca triangularis Jacq.; Talinum crassifolium (Jacq.) Willd.; Talinum triangulare (Jacq.) Willd.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Ceylon-spinach, Philippine-spinach, Surinam-purslane, waterleaf

French: grand pourprier

Spanish: espinaca de Java, espinaca de Surinam, verdolaga blanca, verdolaga de castilla

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Erect, stout, fleshy perennial herbs 5-10 dm tall.  Leaves elliptic to obovate, 5-15 cm long, 1.5-5 cm wide, apex acute to acuminate, base attenuate.  Flowers in 2-5-branched, racemose inflorescences 3-20 cm long, pedicels ca. 8-11 mm long, bracts subulate, ca. 4-6 mm long; sepals ca. 4-5 mm long; petals yellow (in Hawai‘i) or pink, obovate, up to 10 mm long; stamens 15-40.  Capsules pale yellow, ellipsoid, 6-7 mm long.  Seeds ca. 1.2 mm long, the surface smooth, minutely tuberculate near margins"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1076).

Habitat/ecology:  "Annual herbaceous plant, common in plantation crops, roadsides and shaded areas"  (Cardenas et al., 1972; p. 261).

Propagation:  Seed  (Cardenas et al., 1972; p. 261).

Native range:  Neotropics (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1076).

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	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1076) Voucher cited: K. Nagata 1965 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R. (1995) (p. 25) Voucher cited: Lau 1717 (BISH)
Japan (offshore islands) Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	introduced	Kato, Hidetoshi (2007) As Talinum triangulare (Jacq.) Willd.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Ecuador (Mainland) Ecuador	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Guatemala Guatemala	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Honduras Honduras	Honduras (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Nicaragua Nicaragua	Nicaragua (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 85) Cultivated only

Additional information:
Additional online information about Talinum fruticosum is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

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

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

References:

Cardenas, Juan/Reys, Carlos E./Doll, Jerry D./Pardo, Fernando. 1972. Tropical weeds; malezas tropicales, vol. 1. International Plant Protection Center, Oregon State University, Corvallis. 341 pp.

Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. 2009. A checklist of the total vascular plant flora of Singapore: native, naturalised and cultivated species. Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore. 273 pp.

Kato, Hidetoshi. 2007. Herbarium records of Makino Herbarium, Tokyo Metropolitan University. Personal communication.

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

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R. 1995. Contributions to the Flora of Hawai‘i. IV. New Records and name changes. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Miller, Scott, E., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1994. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 42:13-27.

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).