Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims, Acanthaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 14 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

English: black-eyed Susan vine

French: oeil de suzanne, suzanne aux yeux noirs

Spanish: ojitos negros, tuya

Habit:  vine

Description:  "Pubescent vine, climbing or trailing; leaves deltoid-ovate or ovate, 4-8 cm long, sagittate or hastate at base, entire or with a few coarse teeth, acute; petioles winged, about as long as blade; peduncles usually longer than petiole; bracteoles about 2 cm long; calyx 2-3 mm long, with 11-14 segments; corolla tube purple, limb yellow orange, rarely white, 2 cm long, 3-4 cm wide across the limb; capsule depressed-globose, about 1 cm wide, the beak 1 cm long; seeds warty and ribbed" (Stone, 1970; p. 536).

Many different varieties and forms with different colored flowers (Fosberg et al., 1993; p. 40).

Habitat/ecology:  Moist areas at low elevations. Climbing, occasionally smothering vine.  In Hawai‘i, cultivated and apparently sparingly naturalized"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 175).  In Fiji, "locally frequent from near sea level to about 900 m as a naturalized weed in thickets, cultivated areas, pastures, villages, and plantations, and along roadsides"  (Smith, 1991; p. 118). In Australia "it tends to be restricted to roadsides and other highly disturbed habitats" (Csurhes & Edwards, 1998; p. 200).  In Papua New Guinea, "sometimes used as a ground cover in coconut plantations, and in places established as a weed" (Henty & Pritchard, 1975; p. 48). In New Caledonia, "Espèce audourd'hui subspontanée plutôt que cultivée" (MacKee, 1994; p. 9).

Propagation:  Seeds, cuttings, and fragments of stems and roots. Cultivated as an ornamental and can spread from dumping of garden cuttings.

Native range:  "Eastern Africa and ranging southward, where it grows in forest margins, black-eyed-Susan vine is now cultivated and widely naturalized throughout the tropics and is also grown extensively as an annual in the temperate zone"  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 93).

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	cultivated	Yuncker, T. G. (1945) (p. 63) Voucher cited: Yuncker 9203 (BISH)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island	cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2013)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island		Sykes, Bill (year unknown)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Koro Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1991) (pp. 118-119) Voucher cited: Smith 1099
Fiji Fiji Islands	Koro Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1934) (voucher ID: BISH 698177) Taxon name on voucher: Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims
Fiji Fiji Islands	Ovalau Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1991) (pp. 118-119) Voucher cited: Smith 7477
Fiji Fiji Islands	Ovalau Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1953) (voucher ID: BISH 127878) Taxon name on voucher: Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims
Fiji Fiji Islands	Taveuni Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1991) (pp. 118-119) Vouchers cited: Smith 8119, DA 8931
Fiji Fiji Islands	Taveuni Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1953) (voucher ID: BISH 127877) Taxon name on voucher: Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims
Fiji Fiji Islands	Vanua Levu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1991) (pp. 118-119) Vouchers cited: DA 14365, Greenwood 205A
Fiji Fiji Islands	Vanua Levu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1965) (voucher ID: BISH 127880) Taxon name on voucher: Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1991) (pp. 118-119) Vouchers cited: Greenwood 205, DA 10302, Smith 5015, DA 11325, DA 10950, DA 11036, DA 11050, DA 10937, DA 10600, Bryan 200
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1957) (voucher ID: BISH 33848) Taxon name on voucher: Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1958) (voucher ID: BISH 33849) Taxon name on voucher: Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1924) (voucher ID: BISH 127881) Taxon name on voucher: Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1947) (voucher ID: BISH 127882) Taxon name on voucher: Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims
French Polynesia Gambier Islands	Mangareva (Gambier) Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Hiva Oa Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Moorea Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1967) (voucher ID: BISH 698178) Taxon name on voucher: Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island		Fosberg, F. R. (1997) (p. 2)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island		Fosberg, F. R. (1997) (p. 2)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Voucher cited: J. Florence 6649 (PAP) Ornementale se naturalisant.
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (p. 536)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 259)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (year unknown) (voucher ID: BISH 127887) Taxon name on voucher: Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 175) Sparingly naturalized.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 175) Sparingly naturalized.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Lāna‘i Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim/Loope, Lloyd L. (2010) (p. 61) Voucher cited: Starr & Starr 070403-02 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 175) East Maui Sparingly naturalized.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Oppenheimer, Hank L. (2003) (p. 4) West Maui. Voucher cited: Oppenheimer H120002 (BISH, PTBG) Sparingly naturalized.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 175) Sparingly naturalized.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 175) Voucher cited: Mann & Brigham s.n. (BISH)
Japan (offshore islands) Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands	Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	introduced invasive	Toyoda, Takeshi (2003) (p. 289) Naturalized
Japan (offshore islands) Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands	Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	introduced	Kato, Hidetoshi (2007)
Nauru Nauru Island	Nauru Island	introduced	Meyer, Jean-Yves (2000) (p. 99) "Potential invader".
Nauru Nauru Island	Nauru Island	introduced cultivated	Thaman, R. R./Fosberg, F. R./Manner, H. I./Hassall, D. C. (1994) (p. 83)
New Caledonia New Caledonia	New Caledonia Islands		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 97)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 9) Vouchers cited: Cribs 611, Schlechter 14855, MacKee 19524, Toutain 3365
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced	Whistler, W. A. (1988) (p. 6) An uncommon ornamental.
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced cultivated	Yuncker, T. G. (1943) (p. 109) Voucher cited: Yuncker 9803 (BISH). Not seen in 1965 per Sykes (1970).
Papua New Guinea Bismarck Archipelago	Bismarck Archipelago	introduced invasive cultivated	Peekel, P. G. [translated by E. E. Henty] (1984) (p. 512) Used to cover trellises and sometimes ± naturalized.
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	introduced invasive	Henty, E. E./Pritchard, G. H. (1975) (p. 48) From low altitudes to about 1000 m, not generally common but well established in a number of localities.
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (1989) (voucher ID: PTBG 14259) Taxon name on voucher: Thunbergia alata
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	introduced invasive	Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (p. 468) Thoroughly naturalized in waste places and thickets at low altitudes.
Pitcairn Islands Pitcairn Islands	Pitcairn Island	introduced	St. John, H. (1987) (p. 50) Voucher cited: Fosberg 11253
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Upolu Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2002) (p. 68)
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Upolu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1921) (voucher ID: BISH 127870) Taxon name on voucher: Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Upolu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1929) (voucher ID: BISH 127871) Taxon name on voucher: Thunbergia alata Bojer ex Sims
Tonga Tonga Islands	Tonga Islands	introduced cultivated	Yuncker, T. G. (1959) (p. 242) "Occasional in villages".
Tonga Tongatapu Group	Tongatapu Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2001) (p. 57)
Vanuatu New Hebrides Islands	Vanuatu (Republic of)		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 97)

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)	Queensland	introduced invasive cultivated	Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. (1998) (p. 200)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Costa Rica (Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 362)
China China	Hong Kong	introduced invasive cultivated	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 255) Ornamental; cultivated or naturalized.
Japan Japan	Japan	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 189)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced invasive	Meyer, Jean-Yves/Lavergne, Christophe (2004) (p. 346)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced invasive	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 86) Naturalised

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced invasive	Meyer, Jean-Yves/Lavergne, Christophe (2004) (p. 346)
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 362)
French Territory of Mayotte Mayotte Islands	Mayotte Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Comité français de l'Union Internationale pour la Conservation de la Nature en France (2013)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Seychelles Islands	introduced invasive	Meyer, Jean-Yves/Lavergne, Christophe (2004) (p. 346)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Seychelles Islands	introduced	Invasive Species Specialist Group (2017)

Comments:  A pest in Hawai‘i, but doesn't seem to be causing much problem in Micronesia. Apparently no longer present in Niue (Sykes, 1970; p. 39).

Control:  If you know of control methods for Thunbergia alata, please let us know.