Cardiospermum halicacabum L., Sapindaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 12 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: dao di ling

English: balloon vine, blue passionflower, blue passionfruit, heart pea, heartseed, lesser balloonvine, love in a puff, small balloonvine, winter-cherry

Fijian: vo niu, wa niu

French: bonnet de prêtre, liane poc-poc

Hawaiian: ‘inalua, haleakai‘a, pōhuehue uka, pōniu

Tahitian: vinivinio

Habit:  vine

Description:  "Climbers, herbaceous, 1-1.5 m. Stems and branches green, 5- or 6-sulcate, slender, glabrous or sparsely hairy. Leaves biternate, triangular in outline; petioles 3-4 cm; leaflets subsessile; blades thinly papery, margin sparsely serrate or pinnately parted, abaxially sparsely villous on midvein and lateral veins, adaxially subglabrous or sparsely pilosulose; terminal blade obliquely lanceolate or subrhombic, 3-8 x 1.5-2.5 cm, apex acuminate; lateral ones slightly smaller, ovate or narrowly elliptic. Panicles few flowered, ca. as long as or slightly longer than leaves; peduncles straight, 4-8 cm, tendrils spiralled. Sepals 4, ciliate, outer 2 ovate, 8-10 mm, inner 2 narrowly elliptic, ca. 2 x as long as outer ones. Petals milky-white, obovate. Stamens (male flowers) ca. as long as or slightly longer than petals; filaments sparsely long villous. Ovary (female flowers) obovoid or sometimes subglobose, pubescent. Capsules brown, pearlike, turbinate-obtriangular or sometimes nearly ellipsoid, 1.5-3 x 2-4 cm, pubescent. Seeds black, shiny, ca. 5 mm in diam.; hilum green when fresh, white when dry, cordate"  (Flora of China online).

"Delicate, branching, herbaceous climber with trifoliolate leaves and tendrils in pairs on the inflorescences; leaflets coarsely toothed and lobed; terminal leaflet to about 4 cm long; flowers minute, greenish white, about 3 mm wide; sepals 4; petals 4; stamens 4 longer, 4 shorter; fruit inflated, like a three-sided balloon, pendent, about 1-1.4 cm long, eventually dehiscent; seeds black with a pale heart-shaped hilum"  (Stone, 1970; p. 395).

See also Cardiospermum grandiflorum.

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i, "probably naturalized, occurring in low elevation disturbed sites"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1226).  In Fiji, "this widespread species occurs from near sea level to about 200 m as a scrambling, creeping, or climbing vine, occasional in thickets and grassy areas and also as a weed of cultivation in canefields and coconut plantations"  (Smith, 1985; pp. 582-583). In New Caledonia, "citte espèce, d'origine américaine, pourrait être d'introduction ancienne" (MacKee, 1994; p. 126). Arid lowlands in the Galápagos Islands (McMullen, 1999; p. 305).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Exact native range obscure, probable origin neotropics; cultivated and naturalized (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Rota Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 152)
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Rota Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1982) (voucher ID: BISH 593273) Taxon name on voucher: Cardiospermum halicacabum L.
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Rota Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1966) (voucher ID: BISH 660617) Taxon name on voucher: Cardiospermum halicacabum L.
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Tinian Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 152)
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Tinian Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1930) (voucher ID: BISH 179227) Taxon name on voucher: Cardiospermum halicacabum L.
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Tinian Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1952) (voucher ID: BISH 179228) Taxon name on voucher: Cardiospermum halicacabum L.
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Tinian Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (1946) (voucher ID: PTBG 23803) Taxon name on voucher: Cardiospermum halicacabum
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Saipan	Saipan Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 152)
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Saipan	Saipan Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1965) (voucher ID: BISH 595924) Taxon name on voucher: Cardiospermum halicacabum L.
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Saipan	Saipan Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1946) (voucher ID: BISH 660616) Taxon name on voucher: Cardiospermum halicacabum L.
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Miti‘aro Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2002) (p. 97) Voucher: Flynn 7050 (PTBG, BISH, US)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Miti‘aro Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (2002) (voucher ID: PTBG 372) Taxon name on voucher: Cardiospermum halicacabum
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1929) (voucher ID: BISH 179239) Taxon name on voucher: Cardiospermum halicacabum L.
Fiji Fiji Islands	Mango Island	native	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (pp. 582-583) Native? Voucher cited: Bryan 562
Fiji Fiji Islands	Mango Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1924) (voucher ID: BISH 179230) Taxon name on voucher: Cardiospermum halicacabum L.
Fiji Fiji Islands	Mango Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1924) (voucher ID: BISH 179231) Taxon name on voucher: Cardiospermum halicacabum L.
Fiji Fiji Islands	Matuku Island	native	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (pp. 582-583) Native? Voucher cited: Moseley s. n.
Fiji Fiji Islands	Ngau Island	native	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (pp. 582-583) Native? Voucher cited: Milne 151
Fiji Fiji Islands	Ovalau Island	native	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (pp. 582-583) Native? Voucher cited: Milne 243
Fiji Fiji Islands	Taveuni Island	native	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (pp. 582-583) Native? Voucher cited: DA 11515
Fiji Fiji Islands	Taveuni Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1958) (voucher ID: BISH 15314) Taxon name on voucher: Cardiospermum halicacabum L.
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	native	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (pp. 582-583) Native? Vouchers cited: Greenwood 69, Greenwood 69A, DA 7870, DA 11858 (L.6419), Barclay 3464
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1958) (voucher ID: BISH 15315) Taxon name on voucher: Cardiospermum halicacabum L.
Fiji Fiji Islands	Wakaya Island	native	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (pp. 582-583) Native? Voucher cited: Tothill 82
French Polynesia Gambier Islands	Mangareva (Gambier) Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Adventice
French Polynesia Gambier Islands	Taravai Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Adventice
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Fatu Hiva Island	native	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2013)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Fatu Hiva Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Vouchers cited: B.G. Decker 2709 (PAP), J. Florence 7377 (PAP) Adventice
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Fatu Hiva Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (1995) (voucher ID: PTBG 21360) Taxon name on voucher: Cardiospermum halicacabum L.
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Hatuta'a (Hatutu) Island	native	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2013)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Hatuta'a (Hatutu) Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Adventice
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Hiva Oa Island	native	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2013)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Hiva Oa Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Adventice
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Hiva Oa Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (1963) (voucher ID: PTBG 13236) Taxon name on voucher: Cardiospermum halicacabum
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Mohotani (Mohotane, Mohotane) Island	native	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2013)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Mohotani (Mohotane, Mohotane) Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Adventice
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island	native	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2013)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Voucher cited: J. Florence 8495 (PAP) Adventice
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1987) (voucher ID: BISH 541066) Taxon name on voucher: Cardiospermum halicacabum L.
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Tahuata (Tuhuata) Island	native	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2013)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Tahuata (Tuhuata) Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Adventice
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Tahuata (Tuhuata) Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (2003) (voucher ID: PTBG 39473) Taxon name on voucher: Cardiospermum halicacabum
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Tahuata (Tuhuata) Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (2003) (voucher ID: PTBG 40179) Taxon name on voucher: Cardiospermum halicacabum
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Ua Pou (Huapu, Uapou, Uapu) Island	native	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2013)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Moorea Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Florence, J. (2004) (pp. 102-105)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Mopelia (Mapetia, Maupiha‘a, Maupihoa, Mopiha‘a) Atoll	introduced invasive abo. intro.	Sachet, M.-H. (1983) (p. 30) Voucher cited: Sachet 943 (US)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive abo. intro.	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 259) Vouchers cited: Setchell & Parks 34, Fosberg 62920, Florence 9266, BRY 25999
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Vouchers cited: J. Florence 2278 (PAP), F.R. Fosberg 62920 (PAP) Adventice
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1982) (voucher ID: BISH 493087) Taxon name on voucher: Cardiospermum halicacabum L.
French Polynesia Tuamotu Archipelago	Rangiroa (Rairoa) Atoll	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Adventice
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Raivavae (Raevavae) Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Adventice
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 152)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	uncertain if native invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1226)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	uncertain if native invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1226)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	uncertain if native invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1226)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	uncertain if native invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1226)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Ni‘ihau Island	uncertain if native invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1226)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	uncertain if native invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1226)
Japan (offshore islands) Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands	Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	introduced	Kato, Hidetoshi (2007)
New Caledonia Îles Loyauté (Loyalte Islands)	Île Lifou	introduced invasive	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 126) Voucher cited: Däniker 2584a (Z)
New Caledonia Îles Loyauté (Loyalte Islands)	Île Maré	introduced invasive	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 126) Vouchers cited: Däniker 2584 (Z), MacKee 25467
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 126) Vouchers cited: Vieillard 277, Pancher s.n., Delacour s.n., Melle. Kiener 8 s.loc., Blanchon 1366 (NOU), MacKee 11931, MacKee 12523, Déméné in MacKee 17643, Aymard in MacKee 40452, Toutain 3470 (NOU)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île des Pins (Isle of Pines)	introduced invasive	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 126) Voucher cited: Germain s.n.
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced	Sykes, W. R. (1970) (p. 186) Voucher cited: CHR 168929
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced abo. intro.	Whistler, W. A. (1988) (p. 35)
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced invasive abo. intro.	Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara M./Newfield, Melanie/Bull, Cate (2004) (p. 49)
Papua New Guinea Bismarck Archipelago	Bismarck Archipelago	possibly introduced	Peekel, P. G. [translated by E. E. Henty] (1984) (pp. 332-333) Pan-tropical, but in the Bismarck Archipelago perhaps introduced or a garden escape.
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. (2013)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	introduced invasive	Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (pp. 493-494) In thickets, waste places, etc., in the settled areas; certainly an introduced plant.
Pitcairn Islands Pitcairn Islands	Pitcairn Island	introduced	St. John, H. (1987) (p. 40)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 89)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	native	Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. (1988) (p. 55)
Tonga Ha‘apai Group	Kotu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1982) (voucher ID: BISH 640413) Taxon name on voucher: Cardiospermum halicacabum L.
Tonga Tongatapu Group	Tongatapu Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2001) (p. 51) Voucher: Flynn 6894 (PTBG, US)
Tonga Tongatapu Group	Tongatapu Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (2001) (voucher ID: PTBG 248) Taxon name on voucher: Cardiospermum halicacabum
Tonga Vava‘u Group	Niuatoputapu Island		Yuncker, T. G. (1959) (p. 173) Voucher cited: Hürlimann 626
Tonga Vava‘u Group	Vava‘u Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2001) (p. 65)
Tonga Vava‘u Group	Vava‘u Island		Whistler, W. A. (1992) (p. 69) Vouchers cited: Harvey s.n., Soakai 798
Tonga Vava‘u Group	Vava‘u Island		Yuncker, T. G. (1959) (p. 173) Cited: Harvey, Crosby.
Tonga Vava‘u Group	Vava‘u Island		Burkill, I. H. (1900) (p. 32)
Vanuatu New Hebrides Islands	Vanuatu (Republic of)		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 89)
Wallis and Futuna Wallis and Futuna (Horne) Islands	Wallis (‘Uvea) Island	introduced invasive	Morat, Ph./Veillon, J.-M. (1985) Morat & Veillon, 1985, cited in Meyer, 2007
Wallis and Futuna Wallis and Futuna (Horne) Islands	Wallis and Futuna Islands		Whistler, W. A. (1988) (p. 35)

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)	New South Wales	introduced invasive	Australian Biological Resources Study (2013) Naturalised
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)	introduced invasive	Australian Biological Resources Study (2013) Western Australia Naturalised
Australia Australia (continental)	Northern Territory	introduced invasive	Australian Biological Resources Study (2013) Naturalised
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	introduced invasive	Australian Biological Resources Study (2013) Naturalised
Cambodia Cambodia	Cambodia (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Honduras (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Panama (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2013) Forest margins, shrublands, grasslands, cultivated areas, wastelands. Common in E, S, and SW China, rare in N China.
China China	Hong Kong	native	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 194) In thickets, along roadside, on farmlands or margins of forests.
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Japan Japan	Japan	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 186) var. halicacabum and var. microcarpum Bl.
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced invasive	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 23) Naturalised
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Perú (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Indian Ocean offshore islands) Christmas Island Group	Christmas Island	introduced invasive	Swarbrick, J. T. (1997) (p. 108)
Maldives Maldive Islands	Malè Atoll		Fosberg, F. R. (1957) (p. 25)
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 65)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Frégate Island		Robertson, S. A./Todd, D. M. (1983) (p. 60) Voucher cited: Robertson 2468
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Seychelles Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Seychelles Islands	introduced	Invasive Species Specialist Group (2017)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	United States (other states)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2013)
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	USA (Florida)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2013)

Comments:  A minor invasive species in Micronesia. Invasive in Cook and Solomon Islands (Waterhouse, 1997).

Control:  If you know of control methods for Cardiospermum halicacabum, please let us know.