Sanchezia speciosa Leonard, Acanthaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Low risk (based on second screen), score: 3 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Sanchezia nobilis often misapplied; it is a separate species.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: sanchezia

French: sanchezia

Habit:  shrub

Description:  "Shrub to 3 m high with four-angled stems.  Leaves simple, opposite, blade oblong to elliptic, 10-40 cm long, green or with yellow veins.  Flowers continuously through the year; flowers several, borne in clusters on an erect terminal spike sometimes divided at the base, with an ovate orange to red bract below each flower cluster.  Corolla of fused petals, tubular, 4.5-5.5 cm long with five short, rounded lobes, yellow to orange, bearing oblanceolate orange sepals half as long, two protruding stamens.  Fruit a narrowly cylindrical capsule, infrequently formed in cultivation"  (Whistler, 2000; pp. 408-409).

"Robust shrub 1-3 m high...; petioles stout, 1-4 cm long, winged nearly to base; leaf blades oblong, 10-45 x 5-15 cm, long-decurrent on petiole; bracts red to orange, greenish near base, ovate, 2.5-5.5 cm long; corolla rich yellow to orange, 4.5-5.5 cm long; stamens and style rich yellow"  (Smith, 1991; pp. 126-127).

"Grande herbacée ligneuse dressée, de 2 à 3 m de hauteur, reconnaissable à ses tiges carrées, ses grandes feuilles à nervures jaunâtres et ses inflorescences terminales portant des fleurs à long tube de couleur jaune-orange"  (Meyer, 2008; p. 38).

Habitat/ecology:  Forms thickets in moist areas.  In Fiji, "cultivated in gardens and also abundantly (but locally) naturalized along streams in dense forest at elevations from near sea level to about 200 m"  (Smith, 1991; pp. 126-127).

Propagation:  Vegetatively.

Native range:  "Likely originally from the wet forests of northern South America"  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 92).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
American Samoa Tutuila Islands	Tutuila Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2000) (p. 37) Voucher: Flynn 6609 (PTBG)
American Samoa Tutuila Islands	Tutuila Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (1999) (voucher ID: PTBG 299) Taxon name on voucher: Sanchezia speciosa
Chile (offshore islands) Rapa Nui (Easter) Island	Rapa Nui (Easter) Island (Isla de Pasqua)	introduced invasive cultivated	Meyer, Jean-Yves (2008) (pp. 38-39, 43) "Nous avons observé quelques massifs denses à l’aéroport, dans les jardins du CONAF à Mataveri et dans le village de Hanga Roa" (Meyer, 2008; p. 39).
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island	introduced	Meyer, Jean-Yves (2000) (p. 89) "Potential invader", lowlands.
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island	cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2013) S. speciosa
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2002) (p. 15)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Vanua Levu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1991) (pp. 126-127) Voucher cited: Bierhorst F186. Lorence et al. (1995) say that this species is Sanchezia speciosa Leonard
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1991) (pp. 126-127) Vouchers cited: Smith 7131, DA 17229, DA 12103. Lorence et al. (1995) say that this species is Sanchezia speciosa Leonard
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1953) (voucher ID: BISH 127825) Taxon name on voucher: Sanchezia nobilis Hook. f.
French Polynesia Gambier Islands	Mangareva (Gambier) Island	introduced	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Naturalisée
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Hiva Oa Island	introduced	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Naturalisée
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island	introduced	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Naturalisée
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Ua Pou (Huapu, Uapou, Uapu) Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2013)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Moorea Island	introduced	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Naturalisée
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island	introduced	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Naturalisée
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced	Meyer, Jean-Yves (2000) (p. 94) "Potential invader".
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 23) Voucher cited: BRY 25459
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Voucher cited: J. Florence 2674 (PAP) Ornementale assez rare.
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Meyer, Jean-Yves/Lavergne, Christophe (2004) (pp. 337, 349)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1982) (voucher ID: BISH 491670) Taxon name on voucher: Sanchezia nobilis Hook. f.
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Rapa Island	introduced	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Naturalisée
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Rurutu Island	introduced	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Naturalisée
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Tubuai Island	introduced	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Naturalisée
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Parker, James L./Parsons, Bobby (2012) (p. 65) Voucher cited: J. Parker & R. Parsons BIED134 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy W./Wagner, Warren L. (1995) (p. 20) Sanchezia speciosa Leonard, voucher cited: D. Lorence 6430 (BISH, MO, PTBG, US). Escaped from cultivation and spreading vegetatively.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced cultivated	Meyer, Jean-Yves/Lavergne, Christophe (2004) (p. 349)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Oppenheimer, Hank (2013) (p. 17) East Maui. Voucher cited: Oppenheimer & Bustamente H81219 (BISH, PTBG)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy W./Wagner, Warren L. (1995) (p. 20)
Nauru Nauru Island	Nauru Island	introduced cultivated	Thaman, R. R./Fosberg, F. R./Manner, H. I./Hassall, D. C. (1994) (pp. 82-83) Voucher cited: Thaman et al. 161 (SUVA)
New Caledonia New Caledonia	New Caledonia Islands	introduced invasive cultivated	Meyer, Jean-Yves/Lavergne, Christophe (2004) (p. 337)
Palau Palau (Belau ) (main island group)	Palau Islands (main island group)		Lorence, David H./Flynn, Tim (2010) (p. 19)
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Upolu Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2002) (p. 68) Voucher: Flynn 6970 (PTBG)
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Upolu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1929) (voucher ID: BISH 127826) Taxon name on voucher: Sanchezia nobilis Hook. f.
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Upolu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1980) (voucher ID: BISH 439225) Taxon name on voucher: Sanchezia nobilis Hook. f.
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Upolu Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (2002) (voucher ID: PTBG 305) Taxon name on voucher: Sanchezia speciosa
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	introduced cultivated	Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. (1988) (p. 106)
Tonga Tongatapu Group	Tongatapu Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (1989) (voucher ID: PTBG 3306) Taxon name on voucher: Sanchezia speciosa

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 77) Cultivated only
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Sanchezia nobilis Hook. f.

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	introduced invasive cultivated	Meyer, Jean-Yves/Lavergne, Christophe (2004) (pp. 337, 349)
French Territory of Mayotte Mayotte Islands	Mayotte Island	introduced cultivated	Comité français de l'Union Internationale pour la Conservation de la Nature en France (2013)

Control:  If you know of control methods for Sanchezia speciosa, please let us know.