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Stachytarpheta jamaicensis

Blue Porterweed

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Flowers and leaves (1)	68KB
Image:	Flowers and leaves (2)	57KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Blue Porterweed, Blue Snake-weed, Common Snake-weed, Jamaica Vervain

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Americas

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Naturalised; S.Group only (Ma‘uke & Aitutaki only); Land, lowlands, lowlandsopen hills

KEY FEATURES: LEAVES oval to 6x3cm; smooth; with low, forward pointing teeth; petioles winged. FLOWERS in a thick spike, to 50cmx4mm.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Stachytarpheta urticaefolia is disinguished by having wide-oval leaves with large teeth and a bumpy surface; and by having a thinner flower spike.

Enlarged Image of 'Stachytarpheta jamaicensis'

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea: Present
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
-	-	-	++L	-	++L	-	-	-

Northern Group: -
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
-	-	-	-	-	-

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Stachytarpheta jamaicensis (Linneus)
SYNONYMS: Stachytarpheta indica

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); ASTERIDAE; Lamiales; VERBENACEAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Mauke: specimen Gardner96; fieldspecimen, NBSAP 2000?, G.McCormack with ID as Stachytarpheta jamaicensis.

References:
p.1322 Wagner et al.- Flowering Plants of Hawaii
p.725 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.1068 Hortus 3rd
p.1111 Royal Hort. Soc. Index of Garden Plants

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zD02

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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