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Aerva sericea

Moq. (1849)

This name is accepted

Kingdom: Viridiplantae Phylum: Magnoliophyta Class/Clade: Eudicot-CoreEudicot Order: Caryophyllales Family: Amaranthaceae Genus: Aerva

Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Shrub.

Stems:

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Opposite. ovate or rhomboidal, the uppermost lanceolate-acute; 2.7-5.4cm X 1.4-2.0cm (including petiole of 0.5-0.9cm) Apex acute. Base cuneate. Surfaces silky-tomentose; green above, white underneath; thin. Margins entire. Veins prominent. Petioles present; 0.5-0.9cm

Flowers: Spikes solitary or "twin" up to 5; ovate; 6.75-9.0 mm long X 4.5 mm wide perfect; ovate; sessile; 1.7mm long; reddish white, not shining Tepals 5; one nerved; acute; villous; two outer ovate; three inner narrower. Stamens 5; fused at the base by a cup-like organ; Anthers ovate-oblong; no staminodes Ovary superior, hairy/villous; style 0.5mm long; stigma 1.

Fruit: Fruit a dry utricle.

Ploidy:

Habitat:

Elevation Range:

Historical Distribution

Uses and Culture

USES

Natural History

Statewide Status

Endemic

Island Status

Dispersal Agents


Pollinators

Bibliography

Name Published In: A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 13(2): 304 (1849)

Other References

Candolle & Candolle 1824 (SPNOV, unknown island); Wagner et al. 1990:179 (Note: the spm. may have been mislabeled and come from another region of the world); N. Walvoord pers. comm. 2025 (spm. does not compare to species described outside of Hawai‘i, treated as endemic, likely needs to be transferred to Achyranthes)

Occurrences

SNo. Scientific Name Scientific Name Authorship Locality Habitat Basis of Record Recorded By Record Number Island Source Date
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