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Spermacoce remota

Lam. (1792)

This name is accepted

Kingdom: Viridiplantae Phylum: Magnoliophyta Class/Clade: Eudicot-Asterids Order: Gentianales Family: Rubiaceae Genus: Spermacoce

buttonweed

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Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Annual or short-lived perennial herbs.

Stems: Stems often purple-tinged, erect or sprawling, 3-10 dm long, glabrous or sparsely retrorsely puberulent in lines on the angles.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Opposite. Blades narrowly elliptic, elliptic-lanceolate, or ovate, 1-7 cm long 0.4-3 cm wide. Apex acute to attenuate. Base rounded to cuneate. Blades often purple-tinged, glabrous except puberulent near margins, giving a slightly scabrid texture. Margins with 1 to numerous filiform setae. Petioles 2-4 mm long. Stipules 2-3 mm long, adnate to petioles, forming a sheath, with 5-7 slender, unequal setae 2-5 mm long, stipules of flower-bearing nodes with numerous setae.

Flowers: Flowers numerous in axillary and terminal, dense, sessile clusters, stipule-derived bracteoles with setae 2-3 mm long, subtended by 1-2 or more pairs of bract-like leaves, stipule-derived bracteoles with setae; hypanthium obconical, 2-2.5 mm long. Flowers usually small, bisexual (perfect), sessile, insect-pollinated, often heterostylous. Calyx lobes 2-4(-8) with open aestivation, deltate, ca. 0.6 mm long, ciliate, separated by a fringe. Corolla funnelform or salverform, white or lobes tinged pink, 2.4-2.6 mm long, valvate in bud, the tube usually very slender; nectary disk usually present. Stamens 4, alternate with the corolla lobes, inserted on corolla tube or throat, usually exserted; anthers dithecal, opening by longitudinal slits. Ovary inferior, occasionally partly so, or very rarely superior, 2-celled; ovules 1 per cell, attached to middle of septum; style many as carpels, terminal, slender, filiform, exserted; stigmas lobed or capitate, dry or occasionally wet.

Fruit: Fruit ellipsoid or obovoid-fusiform; 2-4 mm long; pubescent in upper part; dehiscent; the valves bifid; falling completely away. Seeds 2; dull dark brown; oblong-ellipsoid; 1.5-2.5 mm long; transversely sulcate; with well-developed oily endosperm; or endosperm occasionally scanty or absent.

Ploidy:

Habitat: Naturalized and often common in urban areas; along roadsides; and other low elevation disturbed sites.

Elevation Range:

Historical Distribution

Images

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Uses and Culture

USES

Natural History

Statewide Status

Naturalized

Island Status

Kaua'i Naturalized
O'ahu Naturalized
Molokai Naturalized
Lana'i Naturalized
Maui Naturalized
Hawai'i Naturalized

Dispersal Agents


Pollinators

Bibliography

Name Published In: Tabl. Encycl. 1: 273 (1792)

Other References

Wagner et al. 1990:1173 (K, O, M, H [as S. assurgens]); Lorence et al. 1995:51/Lorence & Flynn 2006:4/Lorence & Faccenda 2024 (KEY); Oppenheimer 2003:23 (Mo, L); Acevedo-Rodríguez & Strong 2012:847 (Syn. S. assurgens = S. remota)

Occurrences

SNo. Scientific Name Locality Habitat Basis of Record Recorded By Record Number Island Source Date
1 Spermacoce remota W Maui, Lahaina District, Alaeloa, N of Kaopala Gulch OBSERVATION Curtis Daehler Maui HAPI 3/19/2007
2 Spermacoce remota 3rd, Mountain View, HI, US OBSERVATION Curtis Daehler Hawaii HAPI 3/21/2007
3 Spermacoce remota W Maui, Lahaina District, Napili OBSERVATION Curtis Daehler Maui HAPI 3/19/2007
4 Spermacoce remota W Maui, Lahaina District, Alaeloa, N of Kaopala Gulch OBSERVATION Curtis Daehler Maui HAPI 3/19/2007
5 Spermacoce remota 3rd, Mountain View, HI, US OBSERVATION Curtis Daehler Hawaii HAPI 3/21/2007
6 Spermacoce remota W Maui, Lahaina District, Napili OBSERVATION Curtis Daehler Maui HAPI 3/19/2007
7 Spermacoce remota W Maui, Lahaina District, Alaeloa, N of Kaopala Gulch OBSERVATION Curtis Daehler Maui HAPI 3/19/2007
8 Spermacoce remota 3rd, Mountain View, HI, US OBSERVATION Curtis Daehler Hawaii HAPI 3/21/2007
9 Spermacoce remota W Maui, Lahaina District, Napili OBSERVATION Curtis Daehler Maui HAPI 3/19/2007
10 Spermacoce remota W Maui, Lahaina District, Alaeloa, N of Kaopala Gulch OBSERVATION Curtis Daehler Maui HAPI 3/19/2007
11 Spermacoce remota 3rd, Mountain View, HI, US OBSERVATION Curtis Daehler Hawaii HAPI 3/21/2007
12 Spermacoce remota W Maui, Lahaina District, Napili OBSERVATION Curtis Daehler Maui HAPI 3/19/2007
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