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Dissotis rotundifolia

Creeping Melastoma

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Image:	Leaves, flower, and fruit detail	76KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Creeping Melastoma, Pinklady, Trailing Dissotis

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE w.Africa (Sierra Leone); EXOTIC EXOTIC circumtropical, widely naturalised incl. Fiji & Hawai‘i

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Not naturalised; S.Group only (Rarotonga & Ma‘uke - rare); Land, lowlands, gardens

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Ornamental flowers, ground cover; potential invasive

KEY FEATURES: Creeping herb. STEMS hairy, rooting at nodes, red. LEAVES opposite; green with red margin; hairy; oval with sharp tip; 3 main longitudinal veins; to 7x4cm; stalk 2cm. FLOWERS solitary; dark pink, 5cmØ; 5 petals, wide-obovate, to 20x15mm; STAMENS 5 large with pinkish anthers, 5 small with yellow anthers; calyx lobes slender with radiating bristles at tip. FRUIT cylindrical, 1x1cm(LxØ), bristly

SIMILAR SPECIES: Dissotis decumbens [not presently in Cooks] is very similar, but has calyx lobes without tip-bristles (vs with bristly tip).

Enlarged Image of 'Dissotis rotundifolia'

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

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

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

Dissotis rotundifolia (Sm.)
SYNONYMS: Heterotis rotundifolia (Sm.) Jacq.-Félix [probably the better name]; Heterotis prostrata Benth.; Dissotis plumosa [sensu authors]; Melastoma plumosa [sensu authors]; Osbeckia rotundifolia Sm.;

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); ROSIDAE; Myrtales; MELASTOMATACEAE

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
POSITIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Ornamental flowers, ground cover
NEGATIVE SIGNIFICANCE: potential invasive. Comments: Mild invasive in Fiji and Hawai‘i.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.906 Wagner et al.- Flowering Plants of Hawaii
p.647 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.375 Royal Hort. Soc. Index of Garden Plants
p.3/384 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM05b, zD02, zupD05b

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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