Clidemia hirta
Clidemia hirta
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
A plant of the moist tropics, it grows in areas that are usually characterized by very high humidity for most of the year with a dry period of about two to three months. In Hawaii it can be found from sea level to around 900 metres, it has become widespread in areas that receive more than 12,700mm of rain annually, though it can also be found in areas of annual rainfall in excess of 760mm with no dry season[1]. Succeeds in deep shade as well as in open, sunny areas[1]. Prefers a moist but well-drained soil[2]. The plant has often escaped from cultivation and is considered an invasive plant in many areas[3]. It is an aggressive invader which shades out all vegetation below it. The seeds are principally dispersed by alien frugivorous birds, but any organism moving through the thickets will carry seeds away with it. It is probably not resistant to fire, an unlikely event in its habitat, but it rapidly colonizes burned areas[1]. Plants flower and fruit prolifically throughout the year[1].
Propagation
Seed - Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Clidemia+hirta>
Pollinators
Data unavailable
References
- [1]Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk — http://www.hear.org/pier/scientificnames/index.html ↩︎A very good website detailing weed species that have been introduced into the Pacific Islands.
- [2]Encyclopedia of Tropical Plants - Identification and Cultivation of over 3,000 Tropical Plants — Ahmed Fayaz · Firefly Books Ltd.; New Zealand · 2011 · ISBN 978-1-55407-489 ↩︎A good photograph and terse but detailed information for over 3,000 species of tropical plants. An excellent reference.
- [3]Plants of Southeast Asia — http://www.asianplant.net/ ↩︎Excellent site with brief information on the plant, its range, habitat and uses, plus phots of specimens, close-ops of flowers and leaves etc,
- [4]Flora of Guatemala — Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark · 1946 - 1976 · http://www.archive.org/ ↩︎A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/
- [5]Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants — http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 ↩︎Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
- [6]Medicinal Plants of the Guianas — DeFilipps, R. A.; Maina, S. L.; & Crepin, J. · Smithsonian Museum · http://botany.si.edu/bdg/medicinal/index.html ↩︎A down-loadable PDF document of a book in pre-publication awaiting illustration. An excellent, if rather terse, guide to the traditional medicinal uses of the plants of the region