Talinum paniculatum (Jacq.) Gaertn., Portulacaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 16 (Go to the risk assessment).

Other Latin names:  Portulaca paniculatum Jacq.

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: tu ren shen

English: fame flower, jewels of Opar, pink baby's-breath, tall purslane

Fijian: varataisi

Maori (Cook Islands): pī, pī ‘enua, pī mōrī, pī ma‘uke, pī vai-rākau

Spanish: beldroega grande, came gorda, carambola, lechuga de platanera, lechuguilla, matacallos, pasto de monte, puchero

Tahitian: ‘aturi

Tongarevan (spoken): tala pī

Tongarevan (written): tara pī

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Herbs annual or perennial, 30-100 cm. Root few branched, obconic, thick, epidermis black-brown, flesh milky white. Stems branched basally, semiwoody. Leaf blade obovate or obovate-lanceolate, 5-10 x 2.5-5 cm, base narrowly cuneate, apex acute, sometimes retuse, mucronate. Panicle terminal or axillary, large, often dichotomous, long peduncled; bracts lanceolate, ca. 1 mm, membranous, apex acute. Pedicel 5-10 mm. Flowers small, 6-10 mm wide. Sepals purple-red, ovate, caducous. Petals pink or reddish purple, obovate or elliptic, 6-12 mm, apex rounded, rarely retuse. Stamens (10-) 15-20, shorter than petals. Ovary ovoid, ca. 2 mm. Style ca. 2 mm; stigma 3-lobed. Capsule subglobose, ca. 4 mm, papery. Seeds oblate, ca. 1 mm"  (Flora of China online).

"Erect, fleshy perennial herbs 3-8 dm tall.  Leaves elliptic to obovate, 3-11 cm long, 1.5-5 cm wide, apex acuminate or acute, base attenuate.  Flowers in paniculate inflorescences 20-40 cm long, pedicels slender, 10-20 cm long, bracts linear-lanceolate, ca. 3 mm long; sepals broadly elliptic to suborbicular, 2-4 mm long; petals pink to dark pink, broadly elliptic to obovate-elliptic, 3.5-4.5 mm long; stamens 5-15.  Capsules reddish, globose, ca. 3 mm long, 3-valved.  Seeds black, glossy, ca. 0.9-1.2 mm long, the surface minutely tuberculate"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1075).

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i, "often cultivated and sparingly naturalized" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1075). In Fiji, "occurring from sea level to about 50 m elevation as a weed in villages or along roadsides" (Smith, 1981; pp. 279-280). In New Caledonia, "peu commun dans les jardins bien que cité par Jeanneney (1894)" (MacKee, 1994; p. 119).  In Papua New Guinea, "waysides, waste places, garden beds, forest edges.  Cultivated as an ornamental plant; sometimes the leaves are eaten" (Conn, 1995; p. 219).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Tropical America, southwestern United States, and the West Indies" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1075).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Cook Islands Northern Cook Islands	Penrhyn (Tongareva) Island	introduced invasive	McCormack, Gerald (2013)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Aitutaki Atoll	introduced invasive	McCormack, Gerald (2013)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	‘Atiu Island	introduced invasive	McCormack, Gerald (2013)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Mangaia Island	introduced invasive	McCormack, Gerald (2013)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Ma‘uke Island	introduced invasive	McCormack, Gerald (2013)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Ma‘uke Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Florence, J. (2004) (pp. 349-350)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Ma‘uke Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Naturalisée
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Miti‘aro Island	introduced invasive	McCormack, Gerald (2013)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island	introduced invasive	McCormack, Gerald (2013)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Floreana Group	Floreana Island	introduced invasive	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced invasive	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced invasive	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Kandavu Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1981) (pp. 279-280) Voucher cited: DA 2965
Fiji Fiji Islands	Ovalau Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1981) (pp. 279-280) Vouchers cited: Smith 7472, DA 17402, Gillespie 4495, Seemann 15
Fiji Fiji Islands	Taveuni Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1981) (pp. 279-280) Voucher cited: DA 8917
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1981) (pp. 279-280) Voucher cited: DA 1841
French Polynesia Society Islands	Bora Bora Island	introduced	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (pp. 223-224) Voucher cited: Grant 4989
French Polynesia Society Islands	Bora Bora Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Florence, J. (2004) (pp. 349-350)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Bora Bora Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Vouchers cited: J. Florence 12007 (PAP), J. Florence 12126 (PAP), J. Florence 12153 (PAP) Naturalisée
French Polynesia Society Islands	Maiao (Maiaoiti, Mauiti, Tupuaemanu) Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Florence, J. (2004) (pp. 349-350)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Maiao (Maiaoiti, Mauiti, Tupuaemanu) Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Naturalisée
French Polynesia Society Islands	Maupiti (Maurua) Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Florence, J. (2004) (pp. 349-350)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Maupiti (Maurua) Island		Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, M.-H. (1987) (p. 29) Rare, on rock ledges at upper elevations. Vouchers cited: Raynal 17818, Morris 1 (US)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Maupiti (Maurua) Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Voucher cited: J. Raynal 17818 (PAP) Naturalisée
French Polynesia Society Islands	Moorea Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Florence, J. (2004) (pp. 349-350)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Moorea Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Naturalisée
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (pp. 223-224) Vouchers cited: Setchell & Parks 72, BRY 26005, BRY 25468
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Florence, J. (2004) (pp. 349-350)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Voucher cited: J.A. Pancher 661 (PAP) Naturalisée
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1075)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1075)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Oppenheimer, Hank L./Bartlett, R. T. (2000) (p. 8) West Maui. Voucher cited: Oppenheimer H109808 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1075)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 119) Vouchers cited: Pancher s.n., Däniker 2859 (Z), Baumann 7432, MacKee 14713, MacKee 43766 Spontané
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	introduced invasive cultivated	Conn, Barry J., ed. (1995) (pp. 218-219)

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)	El Salvador (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
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	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	introduced invasive cultivated	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2013) "Cultivated, escaping to shaded wet places".
China China	Hong Kong	introduced invasive cultivated	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 79) In wet places, or in thickets, cultivated or naturalized.
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced invasive	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 85) Naturalised
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Colombia		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 358)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Perú (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Seychelles Islands	introduced	Invasive Species Specialist Group (2017)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	United States (other states)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)

Control:  If you know of control methods for Talinum paniculatum, please let us know.