Stylosanthes guianensis (Aubl.) Sw., Fabaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results: 

Reject, score: 12 (Go to the risk assessment (Australia))
High risk, score: 11 (Go to the risk assessment (Pacific))

Other Latin names:  Stylosanthes erecta Beauv.; Stylosanthes gracilis Kunth; Stylosanthes guineensis Schumacher; Trifolium guianense Aublet

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: gui ya na bi hua dou

English: Brazilian lucerne, Nigerian stylo, stylo, tropical lucerne

Maori (Cook Islands): mauku puakatoro, tūtae puakatoro

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Herbs or shrublets, 60-100 cm tall, erect or rarely climbing. Stems glabrous or sparsely pubescent. Stipules sheathing, 0.4-2.5 cm. Leaves 3-foliolate; petiole short; petiolules ca. 1 mm; leaflet blades ovate, elliptic, or lanceolate, 0.5-3 (-4.5) x 0.2-1 (-2) cm, glabrous, sparsely villous, or setose, base cuneate, margin sometimes sinuate, apex acute to cuspidate. Inflorescences 1-1.5 cm, with 2-40 clustered flowers, each flower without a rudimentary axis; primary bracts 1-2.2 cm, densely long spreading setose; secondary bracts 2.5-5.5 x ca. 0.8 mm. Bracteoles 2-4.5 mm. Hypanthium 4-8 mm. Calyx tube ellipsoid to oblong, 3-5 x 1-1.5 mm. Corolla orangish yellow, with red slender striations; standard 4-8 x 3-5 mm. Legume ovoid, 2-3 x ca. 1.8 mm, glabrous or near apex pubescent, with 1 article, beak 0.1-0.5 mm and inflexed. Seeds grayish brown, oblate-ellipsoid, ca. 2.2 x 1.5 mm"  (Flora of China online).

"Perennial herb or subshrub, usually erect, to 1.5 m high... The dense inflorescences, to 1.5 cm long, are 2-40-flowered, lacking an axis rudiment; the calyx lobes are 3-5 mm long, shorter than the calyx tube; the standard is orange-yellow and red-streaked, the wings are yellow, and the keel petals are greenish; and the fruit article is 2-3 x 1.5-2.5 mm, with an enflexed beak 0.1-0.8 mm long" (Smith, 1985; pp. 258-259).

Habitat/ecology:  "Grow on a wide range of soils including lighter, poorer quality soils.  Suited to warm humid areas with high rainfall.  Establish on disturbed sites, along roadsides and around settlements." (Smith, 2002; pp. 65-66).

In New Caledonia, "introduit comme fourrage, devenu assez répandu en dehors des pâturages" (MacKee, 1994; p. 90).

Propagation:  "Large amounts of seed produced and dispersed by stock and animal movement, as a contaminant of hay, and by vehicles and machinery, e.g. slashers and graders" (Smith, 2002; pp. 65-66).

Native range:  Central and South America, now widely introduced into other tropical areas and sometimes naturalized.

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	‘Atiu Island		McCormack, Gerald (2013)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	‘Atiu Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2002) (p. 83)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	‘Atiu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1991) (voucher ID: BISH 665007) Taxon name on voucher: Stylosanthes guianensis (Aubl.) Sw.
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	‘Atiu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1991) (voucher ID: BISH 665008) Taxon name on voucher: Stylosanthes guianensis (Aubl.) Sw.
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Ma‘uke Island		McCormack, Gerald (2013)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (pp. 258-259) Vouchers cited: DA 5965, DA 9529, FDA 13031, DA 11818 (L.5742)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1956) (voucher ID: BISH 14549) Taxon name on voucher: Stylosanthes guianensis var. guianensis
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1949) (voucher ID: BISH 14550) Taxon name on voucher: Stylosanthes guianensis var. guianensis
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1951) (voucher ID: BISH 14551) Taxon name on voucher: Stylosanthes guianensis var. guianensis
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Adventice
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Tubuai Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Voucher cited: J. Florence & W.R. Sykes 11128 (PAP) Adventice
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Tubuai Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1992) (voucher ID: BISH 643939) Taxon name on voucher: Stylosanthes guianensis (Aubl.) Sw.
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Raulerson, L. (2006) (p. 38)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1984) (voucher ID: BISH 595866) Taxon name on voucher: Stylosanthes guianensis (Aubl.) Sw.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Herbst, Derral R./Staples, George W./Imada, Clyde T. (2004) (p. 8) Vouchers Cited: T. Flynn & L. Hume 1328 (BISH), T. Flynn & L. Hume 1614 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive	Herbst, Derral R./Staples, George W./Imada, Clyde T. (2004) (p. 8) Vouchers cited: M. Evans M-61 (BISH), M. Evans M-62 (BISH), M. Evans M-63 (BISH); var. intermedia (Vogel) Hassler, voucher cited: M. Evans M-112 (BISH)
Nauru Nauru Island	Nauru Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 119)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 90) Vouchers cited: Blanchon 278 (NOU), MacKee 23750, MacKee 28592, MacKee 31315, MacKee 34163, Cherrier in MacKee 35478, Cherrier in MacKee 35925, Toutain 3566 (NOU)
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced cultivated	Sykes, W. R. (1970) (p. 160) Voucher cited: CHR 189783
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2000) (p. 25)
Palau Palau (Belau ) (main island group)	Babeldaob Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara/Miles, Joel E./Tiobech, Joseph/Rengulbai, Kashgar (2003) (p. 86)
Palau Palau (Belau ) (main island group)	Babeldaob Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Space, James C./Lorence, David H./LaRosa, Anne Marie (2009) (p. 21) Extensively seeded along the Compact Road. Voucher: Lorence 9818 (PTBG, BNM, NY, BISH, US)
Palau Palau (Belau ) (main island group)	Babeldaob Island		Beleu National Museum (Republic of Palau. Koror.) (1981) (voucher ID: BNM 3022) Taxon name on voucher: Stylosanthes guianensis cv.? Cook
Palau Palau (Belau ) (main island group)	Babeldaob Island		Beleu National Museum (Republic of Palau. Koror.) (1981) (voucher ID: BNM 3102) Taxon name on voucher: Stylosanthes guianensis (Aubl.) SW. cv.
Palau Palau (Belau ) (main island group)	Babeldaob Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (2008) (voucher ID: PTBG 111) Taxon name on voucher: Stylosanthes guianensis (Aubl.) Sw. var. var. guianensis
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Upolu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1972) (voucher ID: BISH 83907) Taxon name on voucher: Stylosanthes guianensis var. guianensis
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	introduced cultivated	Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. (1988) (p. 111)
Wallis and Futuna Wallis and Futuna (Horne) Islands	Wallis (‘Uvea) Island	introduced invasive	Meyer, Jean-Yves (2007) (p. 36)

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)	Northern Territory	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Nicholas M. (2002) (pp. 65-66)
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Nicholas M. (2002) (pp. 65-66)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Costa Rica (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	El Salvador (Republic 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)	Nicaragua (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)	introduced invasive cultivated	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2013) "Cultivated and naturalized in Guangdong".
China China	Hong Kong	introduced cultivated	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 154) Forage, green manure.
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (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. 82) Naturalised
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Colombia	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)
Taiwan Taiwan Island	Taiwan Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2013) "Cultivated and naturalized".

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	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Rodrigues Island	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)

Comments:  In the past, this species has been used for soil stabilization. However, due to its invasive nature, it is not recommended for use on Pacific islands.

Control:  If you know of control methods for Stylosanthes guianensis, please let us know.