Xanthosoma robustum Schott, Araceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Evaluate, score: 3 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Xanthosoma roseum Schott

Common name(s): [more details]

Hawaiian: ‘ape

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Plants very large and conspicuous, the caudex usually procumbent, often 1-4 meters long and 10-20 cm thick; petioles 40-180 cm long or much longer, vaginate to the middle; leaf blades sagittate-ovate, often two meters long but usually shorter, short-cuspidate, the basal lobes half as long as the anterior one, the blades glabrous, grass green above, pale beneath; tube of the spathe 6-10 cm long, 6 cm broad, oblong-ovoid, greenish, the limb twice as long, ovate-lanceolate, acute, greenish or whitish outside, white or pink within, 12-25 cm long and 10-25 cm wide; spadix stipitate 8 mm, slightly shorter than the spathe, the pistillate portion 3-4.5 cm long, almost 2 cm thick" (Standley & Steyermark, 1958; pp. 360-361).

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i "commonly naturalized in wet places" (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 613). In Guatemala, "wet soil, usually in marshy or boggy ground, in the open, in thickets, or in thin forest, 900 meters or lower, most plentiful at low elevations. The plant grows most often in boggy soil near stream banks, where it sometimes forms wide colonies" (Standley & Steyermark, 1958; pp. 360-361).

Propagation:  Seed?

Native range:  Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Imada, Clyde T./Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2000) (p. 10) As Xanthosoma roseum Schott. Voucher cited: C. Imada 99-32 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawaiian Islands	introduced cultivated	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2005) (p. 613)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Staples, G. W./Woolliams, K. R. (1997) (pp. 13-16) As Xanthosoma roseum Schott. Voucher cited: T. Flynn 3768 (PTBG)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Oppenheimer, Hank L./Bartlett, R. T. (2000) (p. 2) As Xanthosoma roseum Schott. Vouchers cited: Eest Maui: Degener 20102 (BISH), Oppenheimer H69912 (BISH). West Maui: Oppenheimer H79907 (BISH).
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Staples, G. W./Woolliams, K. R. (1997) (pp. 13-16) As Xanthosoma roseum Schott. Vouchers cited: K. Woolliams s.n. (BISH sheets 641379, 641380), Waimea Arboretum staff [D. Orr] s.n. (BISH sheets 642260-642266), G. Staples 1131 (BISH)
United States (other Pacific offshore islands) Midway Atoll	Sand Island	introduced cultivated	Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim/Loope, Lloyd (2008) (pp. B-15)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Costa Rica Costa Rica	Costa Rica (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Guatemala Guatemala	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	Standley, Paul C./Steyermark, Julian A. (1958) (pp. 360-361)
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)

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

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

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

References:

Charles Darwin Foundation. 2008. Database inventory of introduced plant species in the rural and urban zones of Galapagos. Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos, Ecuador.

Imada, Clyde T./Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. 2000. New Hawaiian plant records for 1999. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1999. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 63:9-16.

Oppenheimer, Hank L./Bartlett, R. T. 2000. New plant records from Maui, O‘ahu, and the Hawai‘i Islands. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1999. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 64:1-10.

Standley, Paul C./Steyermark, Julian A. 1958. Flora of Guatemala. Fieldiana: Botany. Vol. 24, Part I. Chicago Natural History Museum. 478 pp.

Staples, G. W./Woolliams, K. R. 1997. An overlooked naturalized aroid for the Hawaiian flora. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Miller, Scott, E., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1996. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 49:13-16.

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.

Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim/Loope, Lloyd. 2008. Botanical survey of Midway Atoll. Prepared for: United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 27 pp. plus appendices.

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