Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng., Lamiaceae

Click on an image for links to BIGGER PICTURES

Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Coleus amboinicus Lour., Salvia officinalis sensu J.W. Parham in Dept. Agr. Fiji Bull. 35; Pl. Fiji. Isl.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Cuban oregano, Indian borage, Indian mint, Mexican mint, Mexican oregano, Spanish thyme

Fijian: rhaivoki, sage

French: oreille, ti baume

Niuean: pasiole

Samoan: la‘au tā‘ie, militini

Spanish: orégano

Tongan: kaloni, pasiole

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Sprawling and somewhat succulent herb to 1 m high, sometimes subligneous and prostrate at base, the branchlets ascending, densely spreading-hirsute; leaves petiolate, the petioles 1-4.5 cm long, densely pubescent, the blades fleshy, broadly ovate to suborbicular, rhombic, or reniform, 4-10 x 3-9 cm, rounded to truncate and then often long-attenuate at base, obtuse to rounded at apex, coarsely crenate to dentate at margin or entire toward base, densely appressed-pubescent above and beneath; vericils 10-20 (or more)-flowered, subglobose, arranged in terminal, spicate, densely pubescent inflorescences 10-20 cm long, the bracts 3-4 mm long, the pedicels slender, hirsute, to 5 mm long; calyx campanulate, 1.5-4 mm long, hirsute and glandular, the upper lip erect, broadly ovate-oblong, the other teeth narrow, acute; corolla pale blue or mauve to pink, 8-12 mm long, the tube declinate, 3-4 mm long, expanding distally, pubescent without, the upper lip to 4.5 x 3 mm, erect, puberulent, the lower lip to 5-6 x 4 mm, concave; filaments of stamens mostly fused into a tube around style; nutlets smooth, pale brown, about 0.7 x 0.5 mm"  (Smith, 1991; pp. 226-227).

Habitat/ecology:  In Fiji, "from near sea level to about 250 m, cultivated and naturalized in rocky and sandy areas in woods and thickets" (Smith, 1991; pp. 226-227). In Tonga, "frequent as a waste-area and roadside weed" (Yuncker, 1959; p. 235).

Propagation:  Seed, rooting of stems.

Native range:  Not known but possibly southern tropical Africa, now widely cultivated (Smith, 1991; pp. 226-227).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
American Samoa Manu&#145a Islands	Olosega Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1976) (voucher ID: BISH 430298) Taxon name on voucher: Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng.
Fiji Fiji Islands	Taveuni Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1991) (pp. 226-227)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Vanua Levu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1991) (pp. 226-227) Vouchers cited: DA 16890, DA 11524
Fiji Fiji Islands	Vanua Levu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1969) (voucher ID: BISH 34000) Taxon name on voucher: Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng.
Fiji Fiji Islands	Vanua Levu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1958) (voucher ID: BISH 34003) Taxon name on voucher: Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng.
Fiji Fiji Islands	Vanua Levu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1958) (voucher ID: BISH 698394) Taxon name on voucher: Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng.
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1991) (pp. 226-227) Vouchers cited: Greenwood 734, DA 16757
Fiji Fiji Islands	Yasawas Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1991) (pp. 226-227) Voucher cited: St. John 18080
Fiji Fiji Islands	Yasawas Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1937) (voucher ID: BISH 150529) Taxon name on voucher: Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng.
Marshall Islands Ratak Chain	Majuro (Mãjro) Atoll	introduced cultivated	Vander Velde, Nancy (2003) (p. 101)
Nauru Nauru Island	Nauru Island	introduced cultivated	Thaman, R. R./Fosberg, F. R./Manner, H. I./Hassall, D. C. (1994) (pp. 156-157) Voucher cited: Hassall 211 (SUVA)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 69) Voucher cited: MacKee 20950
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced cultivated	Sykes, W. R. (1970) (p. 102) Uncommon. Vouchers cited: CHR 169917, CHR 169918, CHR 169919
Palau Palau (main island group)	Koror Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara/Miles, Joel E./Tiobech, Joseph/Rengulbai, Kashgar (2003) (p. 82)
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Savai‘i Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2002) (p. 70)
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Savai‘i Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1931) (voucher ID: BISH 150539) Taxon name on voucher: Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng.
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Savai‘i Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1929) (voucher ID: BISH 150540) Taxon name on voucher: Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng.
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	introduced invasive cultivated	Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. (1988) (p. 59)
Tonga Ha‘apai Group	Lifuka Island		Yuncker, T. G. (1959) (p. 235) Voucher cited: Yuncker 15797
Tonga Ha‘apai Group	Lifuka Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1953) (voucher ID: BISH 150541) Taxon name on voucher: Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng.
Tonga Ha‘apai Group	Nomuka Island		Yuncker, T. G. (1959) (p. 235) Voucher cited: Yuncker 15861
Tonga Ha‘apai Group	Nomuka Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1953) (voucher ID: BISH 150542) Taxon name on voucher: Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng.
Tonga Tonga Islands	Tonga Islands		Yuncker, T. G. (1959) (p. 235) "Frequent throughout Tonga".
Tonga Tongatapu Group	Tongatapu Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2001) (p. 55)
Tonga Tongatapu Group	Tongatapu Island		Yuncker, T. G. (1959) (p. 235) Vouchers cited: Setchell & Parks 15414, Yuncker 15232

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	Lavergne, Christophe (2006) "Cultivé/±envahissant"

Comments:  Invasive in the Virgin Islands where it forms dense carpets in shaded dry forest. (Fred Kraus, communication to Aliens listserver)

Additional information:  Additional online information about Plectranthus amboinicus is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Taxonomic information about Plectranthus amboinicus may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1929. Voucher specimen #BISH 150540 (Christophersen, E. 935).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1931. Voucher specimen #BISH 150539 (Christophersen, E. 3351).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1937. Voucher specimen #BISH 150529 (St.John, H. 18080).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1953. Voucher specimen #BISH 150541 (Yuncker, T.G. 15797).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1953. Voucher specimen #BISH 150542 (Yuncker, T.G. 15861).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1958. Voucher specimen #BISH 34003 (Parham, J.W. 11524).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1958. Voucher specimen #BISH 698394 (Parham, J.W. 11524).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1969. Voucher specimen #BISH 34000 (A.C.S. 16890).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1976. Voucher specimen #BISH 430298 (Whistler, W.A. W 3502).

Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. 1988. Flora of the Solomon Islands. Research Bulletin No. 7. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Honiara. 203 pp.

Lavergne, Christophe. 2006. List des especes exotiques envahissantes a La Reunion. Unpublished manuscript (Excel file). .

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Meyer, Jean-Yves. 2000. Preliminary review of the invasive plants in the Pacific islands (SPREP Member Countries). In: Sherley, G. (tech. ed.). Invasive species in the Pacific: A technical review and draft regional strategy. South Pacific Regional Environment Programme, Samoa. 190 pp.

Smith, Albert C. 1991. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 5. 626 pp.

Space, James C./Flynn, Tim. 2001. Report to the Kingdom of Tonga on invasive plant species of environmental concern.  USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 78 pp.

Space, James C./Flynn, Tim. 2002. Report to the Government of Samoa on invasive plant species of environmental concern. USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 83 pp.

Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara/Miles, Joel E./Tiobech, Joseph/Rengulbai, Kashgar. 2003. Report to the Republic of Palau on invasive plant species of environmental concern. USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 174 pp.

Sykes, W. R. 1970. Contributions to the flora of Niue. New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Bulletin 200, Wellington. 321 pp.

Thaman, R. R./Fosberg, F. R./Manner, H. I./Hassall, D. C. 1994. The flora of Nauru. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. Atoll Research Bulletin 392:1-223.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2006. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Vander Velde, Nancy. 2003. The vascular plants of Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. Smithsonian Institution, Atoll Research Bulletin No. 503:1-141.

Whistler, W. A. 1984. Annotated list of Samoan plant names. Economic Botany 38:464.489.

Yuncker, T. G. 1959. Plants of Tonga. Bishop Museum Bull. 220. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 343 pp.