Verbena rigida Spreng., Verbenaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

English: veined verbena, verbena

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Stiff, tufted, rhizomatous or stoloniferous, usually low perennial herbs; stems erect to spreading, forming spreading clumps, 1.5-10 dm long, branched, scabrous or hirsute.  Leaves opposite, rigid, oblong to oblong-lanceolate or oblong-oblanceolate, 7.5-10 cm long, 1-2.5 cm wide, both surfaces scabrous to hispidulous and upper surface also rugose, margins somewhat revolute, coarsely serrate, apex acute, base subcordate and somewhat clasping the stem.  Flowers in short, dense, cylindrical spikes 1-5 cm long, these usually 3 in a decussate arrangement, glandular pubescent throughout, bracts lanceolate or subulate-lanceolate, as long as or up to 2-3 times longer than calyx; calyx red or green, cylindrical, 4-6 mm long, 5-toothed, the teeth subequal; corolla showy, usually purple to magenta, ca. 9-12 mm long" (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1325-1326).

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i, "apparently cultivated and escaped or perhaps naturalized on the Parker Ranch near Waimea" (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1325-1326).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Central Brazil to northern Argentina, widely cultivated and naturalized (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1325-1326).

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) (pp. 1325-1326) Uncommon per Wagner et al.. Vouchers cited: Ewart III 193, Hosaka 2247, Stemmermann et al. 7136 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Frohlich, Danielle/Lau, Alex (2008) (p. 10) Voucher cited: OISC s.n. (BISH 727460). Plants removed by O‘ahu Invasive Species Committee.
New Caledonia Îles Loyauté (Loyalte Islands)	Îles Loyauté (Loyalty Islands)	introduced invasive	Tassin, Jacques (2005)
New Caledonia Îles Loyauté (Loyalte Islands)	Île Lifou	introduced	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 140) Voucher cited: Hoff 1303 (NOU)
New Caledonia New Caledonia	New Caledonia Islands		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 98)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	Tassin, Jacques (2005)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 140) Vouchers cited: Franc 2114, Däniker 7a, MacKee 5680, Glanchon 1641, Suprin 1019 (NOU)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île des Pins (Isle of Pines)	introduced invasive	Tassin, Jacques (2005)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île des Pins (Isle of Pines)	introduced	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 140) Voucher cited: Toutain 3796 (NOU)

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)	Australia (continental)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 379)
Chile (continental) Chile	Chile (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
China China	Hong Kong	introduced cultivated	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 232)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 188)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive cultivated	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 1279) "Cultivation escape around gardens, especially by hedges, on roadsides and waste places, occasionally on arable land".

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	MacDonald, I. A. W./Thebaud, C./Strahm, W. A./Strasberg, D. (1991) (pp. 51-61)

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

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

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

References:

Frohlich, Danielle/Lau, Alex. 2008. New plant records from O‘ahu for 2007. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2007. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 100:3-12.

Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 391 pp.

MacDonald, I. A. W./Thebaud, C./Strahm, W. A./Strasberg, D. 1991. Effects of alien plant invasions on native vegetation remnants on La Reunion (Mascarenes Islands, Indian Ocean). Environmental Conservation 18 (1):51-61.

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

Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro. 2004. Invasive alien species in Japan: the status quo and the new regulation for prevention of their adverse effects. Global Environmental Research 8(2)/2004: 171-191.

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. 2005. A tropical garden flora: plants cultivated in the Hawaiian Islands and other tropical places. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 908 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, John T. 1997. Weeds of the Pacific Islands. Technical paper no. 209. South Pacific Commission, Noumea, New Caledonia. 124 pp.

Tassin, Jacques. 2005. Jacques Tassin (IAC-CIRAD), 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./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).

Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988. Flora of New Zealand, Volume IV: Naturalised pteridophytes, gymnosperms, dicotyledons. Botany Division, DSIR, Christchurch. 1365 pp.

Wu, Te-lin. 2001. Check List of Hong Kong Plants. Hong Kong Herbarium and the South China Institute of Botany. Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department Bulletin 1 (revised). 384 pp.