From: David H. Lorence lorence@aloha.net
Subject: Alien plants
Tuesday, December 02, 1997 10:37 AM

Regarding alien species which have the potential of becoming bad weeds on Pohnpei (and on tropical high islands in general)

Tim Flynn and I just finished updating our checklist of Pohnpei vascular plants just last week, incorporating observations and collections from our Sept. trip. We came up with a short list of some species alreadly seen growing on Pohnpei which have proven to be particularly bad weeds in Hawaii and elsewhere. Here they are:

lncidentally, there is a group here known as Hawaiian Ecosystems At Risk Working Group (HEARPWG). If you are interested in getting on board their email server, contact Philip Thomas: thomasp@maui.com

Plants seen on the Fall 1999 walk:

Combatting invasive species: Watch for plants that are new to Pohnpei and that spread rapidly. Destroy all plants as soon as it appears it might be aggressive. Wedelia trilobata came to the island as a single plant - how easy it would have been to wipe it out back then. Now it is beyond control. On your own land you can, with a few years of hard work, remove all of it. But the plant will never be gone from the island.

Site with a more complete list of invasives: http://www.hear.org/pier/pohnpei.htm

Scientific Name Common Names
Abelmoschus moschatus kamang
Acacia auriculiformis Papuan wattle, tuhkehn pwelmwahu
Acacia confusa Formosa koa, Formosa acacia
Acacia mangium mangium, tuhkehn pwelmwahu
Adenanthera pavonina coral bean tree, red sandalwood tree
Albizia lebbeck siris-tree, rain tree, East Indian walnut
Aleurites moluccana candlenut
Allamanda cathartica yellow trumpet vine, allamanda, golden allamanda
Annona glabra pond apple, alligator apple, bullock's heart
Annona muricata soursop, prickly custard apple
Annona squamosa sugar apple, sweetsop, custard apple
Antigonon leptopus Mexican creeper, mountain rose, chain of love
Asystasia gangetica Chinese violet, Philippine violet, coromandel
Bambusa spp. bamboos, bambou, pehri en sapahn
Bauhinia monandra orchid-tree, St. Thomas-tree
Bidens pilosa beggar's tick, Spanish needle
Blechum brownei blackweed
Calliandra haematocephala red powder puff
Calopogonium mucunoides calopo, akankan-guakag
Calotropis gigantea calotrope, crown flower, pua-kalaunu
Cananga odorata ilang-ilang, alang-ilang,
Cassia obtusifolia habucha
Ceiba pentandra kapok, kapok tree,
Cenchrus brownii burgrass, sand-bur
Cenchrus echinatus burgrass, sand-bur, Mossman River grass
Centrosema pubescens centro, pi ni ndola
Cestrum nocturnum night-flowering cestrum, night-flowering jasmine
Chamaecrista nictitans partridge pea, Japanese tea senna
Chloris barbata swollen fingergrass, airport grass, purpletop chloris
Chloris radiata plush-grass, radiate fingergrass
Chromolaena odorata Siam weed, triffid weed, bitter bush
Cinnamomum camphora camphor tree, camphor laurel
Cinnamomum verum cinnamon tree
Clerodendrum chinense Honolulu rose, losa Honolulu
Clerodendrum paniculatum pagoda plant, pagoda flower
Clerodendrum quadriloculare bronze-leaved clerodendrum
Clitoria ternatea butterfly pea
Coccinia grandis ivy gourd, scarlet-fruited gourd, ivy gourd
Coffea arabica coffee, kove, kofe
Commelina diffusa commelina, dayflower, wandering Jew
Crassocephalum crepidoides thickhead, fireweed
Cynodon dactylon Bermuda grass, giant Bermuda grass
Cyperus rotundus nut grass, nutsedge, purple nutsedge
Delonix regia flame tree, flamboyant, poinciana
Derris elliptica derris, tuba
Desmanthus virgatus
Desmodium tortuosum Florida beggar weed, Spanish clover
Dieffenbachia maculata spotted dieffenbachia, dumb cane
Digitaria ciliaris Henry's crabgrass, fingergrass
Digitaria violascens smooth crabgrass
Dissotis rotundifolia dissotis
Duranta repens golden dewdrop
Eichhornia crassipes water hyacinth
Elaeis guineensis African oil palm
Elephantopus mollis elephantopus, elephant’s foot
Eleusine indica goosegrass, wiregrass, goose foot, crow's foot
Eriobotrya japonica loquat, Japanese plum
Ficus elastica India rubber tree, rubber plant
Hedychium coronarium white ginger, sinter pwetepwet
Hedychium flavescens yellow ginger, awaphuhi melemele
Hedychium gardnerianum kahili ginger, sinter weitahta
Hippobroma longiflora star of Bethlehem
Hyptis capitata botones, batunes, t'aiegarabao, knobweed
Ipomoea aquatica aquatic morning glory, kang kong
Ipomoea spp. morning glory (non-native)
Kalanchoe pinnata life plant, air plant, resurrection plant
Lantana camara lantana, landana, lanitana, rantana, rahndana
Leucaena leucocephala leucaena, wild tamarind
Melaleuca quinquenervia paperbark, cajeput, punk tree, niaouli
Melia azedarach Chinaberry, pride-of-India, white cedar
Mimosa invisa giant sensitive plant, grande sensitive
Mimosa pudica sensitive plant, sleeping grass, sensitive, limemeihr
Momordica charantia balsam-apple, cerasee, bitter-melon
Moringa oleifera horseradish tree, drumstick tree
Orthosiphon aristatis cat’s whiskers
Panicum maximum Guinea grass, green panic, buffalograss
Paraserianthes falcataria Moluccca albizia, tuhke kerosene, tuhkehn karisihn
Parkinsonia aculeata parkinsonia, Jerusalem thorn, horse-bean, retama
Paspalum conjugatum Hilo grass, T grass, ti grass, sour grass
Paspalum paniculatum Russell river grass, galmarra grass
Passiflora edulis passion fruit, purple granadilla, yellow passion fruit
Passiflora foetida love-in-a-mist, wild passion fruit, passionflower
Passiflora quadrangularis granadilla, giant granadilla
Pennisetum polystachyon mission grass, feathery pennisetum
Pennisetum purpureum elephant grass, napier grass
Piper auritum eared pepper, anise piper
Pithecellobium dulce Madras thorn, Manila tamarind
Psidium cattleianum strawberry guava
Psidium guajava guava
Saccharum spontaneum wild cane, ahlek, ahlec, banga ruchel, ac
Samanea saman monkeypod, rain tree
Sanseviera trifasciata bowstring hemp, mother-in-law’s tongue
Schefflera actinophylla octopus tree, umbrella tree, ivy palm
Scindapsus aureus pothos, money plant
Senna alata candle bush, candalabra bush, ringworm bush
Sesbania grandiflora hummingbird tree
Sorghum halepense Johnson grass, Aleppo grass, Aleppo milletgrass
Spathodea campanulata African tulip tree, fireball, fountain tree
Stachytarpheta urticifolia blue rat's tail, dark-blue snakeweed
Syngonium podophyllum arrowhead plant, goosefoot plant
Syzygium jambos malabar plum,rose apple, iouen wai
Tabebuia heterophylla pink tecoma, pink trumpet tree, white cedar
Tecoma stans yellow bells, yellow-elder, piti
Thevetia peruviana yellow oleander, be-still tree
Thunbergia grandiflora Bengal trumpet, blue trumpet vine, clock vine
Tithonia diversifolia tree marigold, Mexican sunflower
Tradescanthia spathacea oyster plant, boat plant, moses in a boat
Triumfetta rhomboidea Chinese burr, paroquet burr, burr bush
Triumfetta semitriloba Sacramento bur, dadangsi, masiksik lahe
Turnera ulmifolia
Urena lobata hibiscus burr, aramina, caesarweed
Wedelia trilobata wedelia, Singapore daisy, dihpw ongohng

NOTE: The common names in this table includes those in use at various locations throughout the Pacific and elsewhere. Additional information, including the locations where the various names are used, can be found in the individual species summaries.

Botany home page
Lee Ling home
COM-FSM home page