Non-native plants of the British Indian Ocean Territory
This is a guide to the non-native plant species of the British Indian Ocean Territory that are found outside of ornamental plantings.
This list is based on work from the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and SWCA Hawai'i as part of the creation of a plant ...more ↓
Hog plum
Ximenia americana, commonly known as tallow wood, yellow plum or sea lemon, is a small sprawling tree of woodlands native to the tropics.
Yellow alder
Turnera ulmifolia, the ramgoat dashalong or yellow alder, is a species of plant of family Passifloraceae, native to Mexico and the West Indies. A recent study found that yellow alder potentiated the antibiotic activity against methicillin—resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
pale passionflower
The native range of this species is Texas to N. Venezuela, Florida to Caribbean. It is a Climber and grows primarly in the Subtropical biome(s). It is used as a medicine.
https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:185104-2
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corkystem passionflower
Passiflora suberosa is a species of passionflower that is native to the Americas. Its range stretches from Florida and the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas in the United States south through Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean to South America. It is commonly known as corkystem passionflower due to the corkiness of older stems. The fruit is not hardy and ...more ↓
castor bean
Ricinus communis, the castor bean or castor-oil-plant, is a species of perennial flowering plant in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. It is the sole species in the monotypic genus, Ricinus, and subtribe, Ricininae. The evolution of castor and its relation to other species are currently being studied using modern genetic tools. It reproduces ...more ↓
Indian Acalypha
Acalypha indica (English: Indian Acalypha, Indian Mercury, Indian Copperleaf, Indian Nettle, Three-seeded Mercury) is an herbaceous annual that has catkin-like inflorescences with cup-shaped involucres surrounding the minute flowers. It is mainly known for its root being attractive to domestic cats, and for its various medicinal uses. It occurs ...more ↓
Hairy Croton
The native range of this species is Mexico to Tropical Argentina. It is a Annual and grows primarly in the Wet Tropical biome(s). It is used as a medicine.
https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:70337-2
© copyright The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. ...more ↓
asthma plant
Euphorbia hirta (sometimes called asthma-plant) is a pantropical weed, possibly native to India. It is a hairy herb that grows in open grasslands, roadsides and pathways. It is widely used as a medicinal herb.
graceful spurge
Euphorbia hypericifolia (commonly known as graceful spurge, golden spurge, and chickenweed) is a species of perennial herb in the genus Euphorbia native to tropical Americas. It can grow up to 2 feet (0.6 m) in height, and contains milky sap which can cause skin and eye irritation.
prostrate sandmat
Euphorbia prostrata is a species of spurge known by the common name prostrate spurge or prostrate sandmat.
painted leaf
Euphorbia cyathophora, known by various names including dwarf poinsettia, fire-on-the-mountain, and paintedleaf, is native to North and South America and naturalized elsewhere. They belong to the Cyathium type of inflorescence. Here, the inflorescence axis is convex in shape.
painted spurge
Euphorbia heterophylla, also known under the common names of (Mexican) fireplant, painted euphorbia, Japanese poinsettia, desert poinsettia, wild poinsettia, fire on the mountain, paintedleaf, painted spurge, milkweed, and kaliko plant, is a plant belonging to the Euphorbiaceae or spurge family.
Devil's Backbone
Euphorbia tithymaloides is a perennial succulent spurge. An erect shrub, the plant is also known by the scientific name Pedilanthus tithymaloides. However, the genus Pedilanthus has been submerged into the genus Euphorbia, and is more correctly known by its new name (Euphorbia tithymaloides).
Madras leaf-flower
Phyllanthus maderaspatensis is a perennial herbaceous species of plant in the Phyllanthaceae family, widespread in tropical and subtropical areas of the old world.
Smartweed Leafflower
Phyllanthus polygonoides, known as smartweed leaf-flower or knotweed leafflower, is an herbaceous perennial plant in the family Phyllanthaceae. It grows from 10 to 50 centimeters in height. It is native to the United States (Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, and Louisiana) and northern and central Mexico.
Chamberbitter
Phyllanthus urinaria, commonly called chamber bitter, gripeweed, shatterstone, stonebreaker or leafflower, is a herb species in the family Phyllanthaceae.
Greyleaf Heliotrope
The native range of this species is Turkey to Egypt, Dry Tropical Africa, Madagascar, Arabian Peninsula, Indian Subcontinent to Indo-China, Lesser Sunda Islands, Solomon Islands. It is a Annual or subshrub and grows primarily in the Seasonally Dry Tropical biome(s).
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fourspike heliotrope
The native range of this species is Tropical & Subtropical America. It is a Annual or helophyte and grows primarily in the Seasonally Dry Tropical biome(s). It is used to treat unspecified medicinal disorders and as a medicine.
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Indian Heliotrope
Heliotropium indicum, commonly known as Indian heliotrope, is an annual, hirsute plant that is a common weed in waste places and settled areas. It is native to Asia.its widely used in native medicine in Tamilnadu,India .
Purple Cleome
Cleome rutidosperma, commonly known as fringed spider flower or purple cleome, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Cleome of the family Cleomaceae, native to tropical Africa. This species is an invasive weed throughout most lowland wet tropical areas of Asia and Australia. It is a very common weed of lawns.
Asian spiderflower
Cleome viscosa, the Asian spiderflower or tick weed is an annual herb, up to a meter high. It belongs to family Capparidaceae. It is commonly found in rainy season.
Air Plant
Bryophyllum pinnatum, also known as the air plant, cathedral bells, life plant, miracle leaf, and Goethe plant is a succulent plant native to Madagascar, which is a popular houseplant and has become naturalized in tropical and subtropical areas. It is distinctive for the profusion of miniature plantlets that form on the margins of its ...more ↓
Bulbostylis thouarsii
The native range of this species is Central Africa, W. Indian Ocean to SE. China and W. Malesia. It is a Annual and grows primarily in the Wet Tropical biome(s).
https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77142618-1
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Aromatic Kyllinga
The native range of this species is Tropical & S. Africa, W. Indian Ocean. It is a Perennial or rhizomatous geophyte and grows primarily in the Seasonally Dry Tropical biome(s).
https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:303818-1
© copyright The Trustees of the ...more ↓
Poorland Flatsedge
Cyperus compressus, commonly known as annual sedge, is a sedge of the Cyperaceae family that has a wide distribution throughout countries with warmer climates. It is found in tropical areas of Africa, Asia and the Americas.
Variable Flatsedge
Cyperus difformis is a species of sedge known by several common names, including variable flatsedge and smallflower umbrella-sedge. This plant is native to southern Europe, most of Africa and Asia, and Australia, and it is naturalized in other areas of the world, including large parts of the Americas.
tall flatsedge
Cyperus eragrostis is a species of sedge known by several common names, including tall flatsedge, nutgrass, tall nutgrass, umbrella sedge, chufa, Earth almond, zula nuts, edible galingale and pale galingale.
Rice flat-sedge
Cyperus iria (also known as rice flat sedge and rice flatsedge) is a smooth, tufted sedge found worldwide. The roots are yellowish-red and fibrous. The plant often grows in rice paddies, where it is considered to be a weed.
whitehead spikesedge
Kyllinga nemoralis, the white water sedge or whitehead spikesedge, is a plant species in the sedge family, Cyperaceae.[1] It is found in shaded meadows, rock crevices and road sides.
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Bunchy flat-sedge
Cyperus polystachyos, also known as Pycreus polystachyos and commonly known as bunchy sedge, many-spiked sedge, or Texas sedge, is a herbaceous species in the family Cyperaceae, widespread in tropical and subtropical areas around the world, sometimes extending its range into temperate regions. In the United States, it has been reported from a ...more ↓
tropical flatsedge
Cyperus surinamensis, also known as the tropical flatsedge, is a sedge of the Cyperaceae family that is native to the Americas.
golden bamboo
Bambusa vulgaris, common bamboo, is an open-clump type bamboo species. It is native to Indochina and to the province of Yunnan in southern China, but it has been widely cultivated in many other places and has become naturalized in several. Among bamboo species, it is one of the largest and most easily recognized.
Jamaican crabgrass
Annuals, Terrestrial, not aquatic, Stolons or runners present, Stems trailing, spreading or prostrate, Stems nodes swollen or brittle, Stems geniculate, decumbent, or lax, sometimes rooting at nodes, Stems mat or turf forming, Stems terete, round in cross section, or polygonal, Stem internodes hollow, Stems with inflorescence less than 1 m tall, Stems, culms, or scapes exceeding basal leaves, ...more ↓
False Couch Finger Grass
The native range of this species is Tropical & Subtropical Old World. It is a Annual or perennial and grows primarly in the Seasonally Dry Tropical biome(s). It is used as animal food and a medicine, has environmental uses and for food.
...more ↓
Southern Sandbur
Cenchrus echinatus is a species of grass known by the common names southern sandbur, spiny sandbur, southern sandspur, and in Australia, Mossman River grass. It is native to North and South America.
green summer grass
Annuals, Terrestrial, not aquatic, Stems trailing, spreading or prostrate, Stems nodes swollen or brittle, Stems mat or turf forming, Stems terete, round in cross section, or polygonal, Stem internodes hollow, Stems with inflorescence less than 1 m tall, Stems, culms, or scapes exceeding basal leaves, Leaves mostly cauline, Leaves conspicuously 2-ranked, distichous, Leaves sheathing at base, ...more ↓
guinea grass
Megathyrsus maximus, known as Guinea grass and green panic grass in English, is a large perennial bunch grass that is native to Africa, Palestine, and Yemen. It has been introduced in the tropics around the world. Until 2003, it was named Urochloa maxima. It was moved to genus Megathyrsus, which it shares with one other species, M. ...more ↓
Cup Grass
Perennials; culm tufted, 30-100 cm tall, hairy at least below inflorescence, nodes pubescent. Blade
glabrous, 4-20 cm long, 2-8 mm wide; sheath keeled, glabrous; ligule a ring of white hairs, 0.6-0.8 mm
long. Inflorescence of racemose racemes, racemes few to many, rachis flattened, puberulent, ca. 0.5 mm
wide; pedicel 1.5-2 mm long, bearing long stiff hairs, ca. 0.3 mm long, ...more ↓
Natal grass
Melinis repens is a species of grass known by the common names rose Natal grass, or simply Natal grass, and Natal red top. It is native to southern Africa but it is well known on other continents, including North America and Australia, as an introduced species and sometimes a noxious weed. It is an annual or perennial grass which may grow up to a meter tall, ...more ↓
beardgrass
Schizachyrium condensatum is a species of grass known by the English common names Colombian bluestem, bush beardgrass, and little bluestem, and the Spanish common names aguará ruguay and yerba barbuda. It is native to South America, and it is well known in other places as an introduced species and noxious weed, particularly in ...more ↓
Barbas de Indio
Perennials, Terrestrial, not aquatic, Rhizomes present, Stems nodes swollen or brittle, Stems erect or ascending, Stems geniculate, decumbent, or lax, sometimes rooting at nodes, Stems caespitose, tufted, or clustered, Stems terete, round in cross section, or polygonal, Stems branching above base or distally at nodes, Stem internodes s olid or spongy, Stems with inflorescence less than 1 m ...more ↓
maritime bluestem
The native range of this species is Central & SE. U.S.A. It is a perennial and grows primarily in the temperate biome(s).
https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:13093-2
© copyright The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Please check terms and ...more ↓
Kleberg's bluestem
Dichanthium annulatum is a species of grass. It is commonly used as a forage for livestock.
Australian Bluestem
Bothriochloa bladhii (commonly called, variously, Australian bluestem, Caucasian bluestem, forest-bluegrass, plains bluestem, and purple plume grass) is a neotropic grass in the Poaceae family, found primarily in tropical Africa, and tropical and temperate Asia, and Australia. The type specimen was collected from China by Finnish botanist Peter ...more ↓
Johnson grass
Johnson grass or Johnsongrass, Sorghum halepense, is a plant in the grass family, Poaceae, native to the Mediterranean region, but grows throughout Europe and the Middle East. The plant has been introduced to all continents except Antarctica, and most larger islands and archipelagos. It reproduces by rhizomes and seeds.
Maize
Maize (/meɪz/ MAYZ; Zea mays subsp. mays, from Spanish: maíz after Taíno mahiz), also known as corn, is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The leafy stalk of the plant produces separate pollen and ovuliferous inflorescences or ears, which are fruits, yielding kernels or ...more ↓
Paspalum nutans
Paspalum lloydii Nash, sp. nov
Stems sometimes 1 m. long, usually shorter, finally branched and prostrate and rooted at the lower nodes, with a leafless pubescent flower-bearing branch from the upper axil; leafsheaths ciliate, otherwise glabrous; blades up to 1 dm. long, 5^15 mm. wide, lanceolate to elliptic, glabrous or pubescent, often ciliate; racemes single, or sometimes in 2's-4's, ...more ↓
seashore paspalum
Paspalum vaginatum is a species of grass known by many names, including seashore paspalum, biscuit grass, saltwater couch, silt grass, and swamp couch. It is native to the Americas, where it grows in tropical and subtropical regions. It is found throughout the other tropical areas of the world, where it is an introduced species and sometimes an ...more ↓
Perennial Ryegrass
Lolium perenne, common name perennial ryegrass, English ryegrass, winter ryegrass, or ray grass, is a grass from the family Poaceae. It is native to Europe, Asia and northern Africa, but is widely cultivated and naturalised around the world.
Giant Ratstail Grass
Sporobolus pyramidalis, commonly known as giant rat's tail grass, is a species of grass native to Africa and Yemen. It has become a weed in eastern Australia.
Thalia Lovegrass
The native range of this species is Tropical & Subtropical Old World. It is a Perennial and grows primarily in the Seasonally Dry Tropical biome(s). It is used as animal food and a medicine.
https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:400813-1
© copyright The ...more ↓
Feather Lovegrass (Japanese Lovergrass)
Eragrostis amabilis is a bunchgrass, in the subfamily Chloridoideae of Poaceae, native to Africa and southern Asia. Synonymy includes: Eragrostis tenella Benth., Eragrostis elegans Nees, and Eragrostis interrupta Lam. Döll.
mexican sprangletop
Leptochloa uninervia (Presl) Hitchc. & Chase, Contr. U. S Nat. Herb. 18: 383. 1917.
Megastachya uninervia Presl, Rel. Haenk. 1: 283. 1830.
Poa uninervia Kunth. R6v. Gram. Suppl. XXVIII. 1830. (Based on Megastachya uninervia Presl.) Eragrostis uninervia Steud. Syn. Gram. 278. 1854. (Based on Megastachya uninervia Presl.) Atropis carinata Griscb. Abh. Ges. Wiss. Gott. 24: 291. 1879. ...more ↓
Pinewoods Fingergrass
Perennials, Terrestrial, not aquatic, Rhizomes present, Rhizome short and compact, stems close, Stolons or runners present, Stems nodes swollen or brittle, Stems erect or ascending, Stems geniculate, decumbent, or lax, sometimes rooting at nodes, Stems caespitose, tufted, or clustered, S tems terete, round in cross section, or polygonal, Stems compressed, flattened, or sulcate, Stem ...more ↓
Bermuda grass
Cynodon dactylon, also known as Vilfa stellata dūrvā grass, Dhoob, Bermuda grass, dubo, dog's tooth grass, Bahama grass, devil's grass, couch grass, Indian doab, arugampul, grama, wiregrass and scutch grass, is a grass that originated ...more ↓
Finger Grass
Cattle are said to be partial to this grass when it is young, but avoid it when the inflorescence matures. It has a purplish inftorescence with nearly globose sterile lemmas.
Goose Grass
Eleusine indica, the Indian goosegrass, yard-grass, goosegrass, wiregrass, or crowfootgrass, is a species of grass in the family Poaceae. It is a small annual grass distributed throughout the warmer areas of the world to about 50 degrees latitude. It is an invasive species in some areas.
southern cattail
Typha domingensis, known commonly as southern cattail or cumbungi, is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Typha.
Flat-leaved Vanilla
Vanilla planifolia is a species of vanilla orchid. It is native to Mexico and Central America, and is one of the primary sources for vanilla flavouring, due to its high vanillin content. Common names are flat-leaved vanilla, Tahitian vanilla, and West Indian vanilla (also used for the Pompona vanilla, V. pompona). Often, it is simply referred to as ...more ↓
Spider plant
Chlorophytum comosum, often called spider plant but also known as airplane plant, St. Bernard's lily, spider ivy, ribbon plant, and hen and chickens is a flowering perennial herb. It is native to tropical and southern Africa, but has become naturalized in other parts of the world, including western Australia. Chlorophytum comosum ...more ↓
Crinum latifolium
Crinum latifolium is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the amaryllis family (Amaryllidaceae). It arises from an underground bulb. The flowering stems are stout, reaching about 2 m in height. The leaves are long, linear and ligulate. The flowers are white and arranged in an umbel. It grows naturally in Asia, from India and Sri Lanka through much of mainland Southeast Asia ...more ↓
Cuban zephyrlily
Zephyranthes rosea, commonly known as the Cuban zephyrlily, rosy rain lily, rose fairy lily, rose zephyr lily or the pink rain lily, is a species of rain lily native to Peru and Colombia. They are widely cultivated as ornamentals and have become naturalized in tropical regions worldwide. Like all rain lilies, they are known for blooming only after heavy ...more ↓
Silver Queen
Aglaonema commutatum var. commutatum
Aglaonema commutatum Schott, 1856, p. 123.
A. marantifolium β commutatum (Schott) Engler, 1879, p. 441 [sensu stricto].
The following is a translation of Schott’s (1860, p. 304) most complete description of Aglaonema commutatum:
Petioles sheathing almost all the way to the apex, 6.5–8.0 cm long. Leaf-blade oblong-lanceolate, ...more ↓
giant taro
Alocasia macrorrhizos is a species of flowering plant in the arum family, Araceae, that it is native to rainforests from Malaysia to Queensland and has long been cultivated on many Pacific islands and elsewhere in the tropics. Common names include giant taro, ʻape, giant alocasia and pai. In Australia it is known as the cunjevoi (although that ...more ↓
lesser duckweed
Lemna aequinoctialis Welw. (lesser duckweed) is a tiny, floating aquatic plant found in quiet waters in tropical and subtropical regions. Fronds are generally 3-nerved, green, up to 6 mm long. Flowers are 1-ovulate, the small utricular scale open on one side. Seeds have 8–26 ribs.
beehive ginger
Zingiber spectabile is a species of true ginger, native to Maritime Southeast Asia. It is primarily grown in the West as an ornamental plant, although it has been used in South-East Asia as a medicinal herb.
Hyphaene
Hyphaene is a genus of palms native to Africa, Madagascar, the Middle East, and the Indian Subcontinent.
tropical spiderwort
Commelina benghalensis, commonly known as the Benghal dayflower, tropical spiderwort, or wandering Jew, kanshira in Bengali, is a perennial herb native to tropical Asia and Africa. It has been widely introduced to areas outside its native range, including to the neotropics, Hawaii, the West Indies and to both coasts of North America. It flowers from ...more ↓
