Xenostegia tridentata (L.) D. F. Austin & Staples, Convolvulaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Convolvulus tridentatus L.; Ipomoea angustifolia Jacq.; Merremia tridentata (L.) Hallier f.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: African morningvine

Palauan: kebeas

Habit:  vine

Description:  "Herbs repent or twining, with a stout root. Stems wiry, to 4 m, ± angular to narrowly winged, glabrous. Petiole 1-3 mm or absent; leaf blade narrowly oblong, linear-oblong, to linear, dilated toward base, 2.5-8 cm x 4-15 mm, subglabrous, base hastate, ± clasping stem, basal lobes dentate, gradually attenuate to apex, apex acute or obtuse, mucronulate. Cymes 1-3-flowered; peduncle (1-)5-6 cm, slender, pubescent basally, glabrescent distally; bracts minute, subulate. Pedicel 6-8 mm. Sepals ovate-lanceolate, equal in length or outer 2 shorter, 6-8 mm, glabrous, apex attenuate-acuminate forming a sharp point. Corolla pale yellowish or white, with or without a maroon to brown center, funnelform, ca. 1.6 cm, glabrous outside. Stamens included, ± equal; filaments sparsely pubescent basally; anthers ellipsoid-sagittate. Ovary glabrous. Capsule globose or ovoid, papery. Seeds blackish, 3-4 mm, glabrous, apex acute"  (Flora of China).

"A very variable polymorphic perennial. Stems prostrate or twining up to 2 m. long, glabrous or hairy, slender, subterete to angular, striate-ribbed. Leaf lamina linear or lanceolate to oblong, 2-8·5 x 0·1-2·3 cm., more or less obtuse, acuminate to emarginate, mucronulate at the apex, hastate or auriculate at the base, with the lobes often one-several-toothed, glabrous or hairy; petiole 0-3 mm. long. Inflorescence one-few-flowered; peduncle very slender 1-6 cm. long; bracteoles minute, lanceolate or cuspidate, persistent; pedicels thickened upwards, 4-17 mm. long, sometimes winged and crisped. Sepals subequal, oblong or lanceolate, 4-10 mm. long, the outer 2 usually shorter, obtuse or subacute to attenuate-acuminate, cuspidate or mucronate, sometimes winged and crisped. Corolla pale yellow, cream, green or white, often with a darker reddish or brownish centre, funnel-shaped, 10-18 mm. long; limb shallowly 5-lobed with more or less broadly triangular acute lobes and midpetaline areas well defined. Capsule globose to ovoid with papery valves, straw-coloured. Seeds 4 or fewer yellowish brown to dark greyish brown, glabrous"  (Aluka).

Habitat/ecology:  In China, "Sandy fields near the coast, cultivated areas, wasteland, roadsides, forest openings; 0-300 m"  (Flora of China).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Africa, Asia, Australia; possibly into Micronesia (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 227) As Merremia tridentata (L.) Hall. f. ssp. hastata v. Ooststr.
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Lorence, David H./LaRosa, Anne Marie (2009) (p. 6) Voucher: Lorence 9906 (BNM, PTBG)
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. (2009)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)

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)	Northern Territory	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Cambodia Cambodia	Cambodia (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	native	Harvard University (2007)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)

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	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Seychelles Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)

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

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

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

Other Latin names:  Convolvulus tridentatus L.; Ipomoea angustifolia Jacq.; Merremia tridentata (L.) Hallier f.

References:

Fosberg, F. R./Otobed, D./Sachet, M.-H./Oliver, R. L./Powell, D. A./Canfield, J. E. 1980. Vascular plants of Palau with vernacular names. Department of Botany, The Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 43 pp.

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1979. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian dicotyledonae. Micronesica 15:1-295.

Harvard University. 2007. Flora of China (online resource).

Space, James C./Lorence, David H./LaRosa, Anne Marie. 2009. Report to the Republic of Palau: 2008 update on Invasive Plant Species. USDA Forest Service, Hilo, Hawai‘i. (In press).

U. S. Government. 2009. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2009. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.