Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Centratherum chinense Less.; Conyza patula Aiton; Cyanthillium patulum (Aiton) H. Rob.; Vernonia chinensis (Less.) Less.

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: xian xia hua

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Herbs, annual, 30-90 cm tall. Root vertical, with many fibrous rootlets. Stems erect, many branched, branches spreading, terete, conspicuously striate, gray puberulent and glandular. Lower leaves withered by anthesis; middle and upper leaves: petiole 1-2 cm, upper part winged; leaf blade ovate, ovate-elliptic, rarely orbicular, 2-9 x 1-5 cm, abaxially densely adpressed gray pubescent and glandular, adaxially green, sparsely puberulent or glabrous, lateral veins 4- or 5-paired, ascending, base broadly cuneate into petiole, margin crenate-mucronate toothed, repand, or subentire, apex obtuse or rather acute; upper leaves gradually smaller. Synflorescences terminal, panicles broad, often flat-topped. Capitula usually 2 or 3 clustered at tips of branches, 8-10 mm in diameter; peduncle 5-25 mm, densely sericeous-villous; bracteoles absent. Involucre compressed spheroidal, 6-7 x 8-10 mm, base rounded, ± concave; phyllaries 4- or 5-seriate, green or rather purple, with straw-colored margins, lanceolate, 3-4 mm, subleathery, sericeous-villous and glandular, apex subspinelike-acuminate, outermost spreading, median and inner narrowly oblong-lanceolate, ca. 6 mm, spiculate. Receptacle slightly convex, foveolate. Florets 75-100; corolla reddish purple, tubular, 4-5 mm; lobes linear-lanceolate, puberulent and glandular, apex acute. Achenes subcylindric, 1-1.5 mm, 4- or 5-angled, glabrous, glandular. Pappus 1-seriate, white; setae 2-3 mm, scabrid, easily deciduous"  (Flora of China online).

"Erect branching herbs; stems ribbed; leaves mostly ovate-elliptic, cuneate at base, acute or obtuse, apiculate, subentire or obscurely toothed, villous dorsally, up to 10-12 cm long and 4-5 cm wide, on petioles up to 2.5 cm long; heads many, paniculate-corymbose, 40-100-flowered; bracts of involucre lanceolate, puberulent, 4-5-seriate, 6-7 mm long; corollas slightly exserted, violet or rarely paler to white, 4-5 mm long; anthers and style-branches violet; achenes obovoid-oblong, mostly 5-angled, glabrous, glandular, 1-1.5 mm long; pappus hairs 2-3 mm long, 1-seriate, caducous, white" (Stone, 1970; p. 595).

Description from the Digital Flora of Taiwan.

Habitat/ecology:  In China (native), "open places on slopes, fields, and roadsides" (Flora of China online).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Tropical Asia (Stone, 1970; p. 595).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced invasive	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (pp. 594-595)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 292)
Papua New Guinea Bismarck Archipelago	Bismarck Archipelago	invasive	Peekel, P. G. [translated by E. E. Henty] (1984) (p. 555) A weed of plantations and rubbish heaps.
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native invasive	Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (p. 594) A common weed in the settled areas at low and medium altitudes.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Cambodia Cambodia	Cambodia (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2013) Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Taiwan, Yunnan
China China	Hong Kong	native	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 289) In wasteland.
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2013)
Japan Japan	Japan	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 190)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	uncertain if introduced invasive	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 89) Weed of uncertain origin
Taiwan Taiwan Island	Taiwan Island	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Taiwan Taiwan Island	Taiwan Island	native	Ching-I Peng, ed. (2013) "An uncommon weed in the south".
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)

Control:  If you know of control methods for Vernonia patula, please let us know.