american samoa - University of Hawaii at Manoa

lands. A modern introduction, native to the Old
World tropics. Whistler 8033a.
lpomoea littoralis B1.
palulu
Scrambling herbaceous vine with alternate, cordate
leaves and ashowy purple, rotate corolla. Occa-
sional in sunny coastal and lowland areas, and
sometimes weedy in plantations, reported from 10 to
300 m elevation. Indigenous, widespread throughout
the Pacific. Setchell 106; Eames T13; Wilder 88;
Garber 91 I; Diefenderfer 16; Meebold 8233;
Yuncker 9384; Wisner 85; Whistler 8637!.
lpomoea macrantha Roemer & Schultes
Sprawling or scrambling vine with alternate cordate
leaves and showy white flowers with a long corolla
tube and spreading limb. Occasional to common in
sunny coastal areas, reported from near sea level to
75 m elevation. Indigenous, widespread throughout
the tropics. Long 3097; Whistler 2910, 8567!.
Ipomoea pes-caprae (L.) R. Br.
[beach morning-glory] fue moa
Prostrate vine with purple stems, alternate leaves
bilobed at the tip, and a showy purple, rotate corolla.
Common to abundant on rocky and sandy shores,
reported only near sea level. Indigenous, pantropic
in distribution. Setchell 89; Wisner 21, 110;
Whistler 1425, 8919!.
*Merremia peltata (L.) Men.
fue vao; fue lautetele
Sprawling or high climbing vine with alternate
peltate leaves, a showy white, rotate corolla, and a
4-seeded capsule. Common in forest clearings and
open forest of lowland to montane forest, reported
from 100 to 300 m elevation. Indigenous, ranging
from Africa to Tahiti. Wisner 103; Whistler 2813,
3118a.
Merremia umbellata (L.) Hall. f.
Vine with alternate, hastate leaves and yellow,
campanulate flowers arranged in umbels, locally
common around central Tutuila in disturbed places,
reported from near sea level to 300 m elevation. A
modern introduction, pantropic in distribution.
Whistler 324, 2813, 8512!.
*Operculina turpethum (L.) S. Manso
Prostrate or climbing vine with winged stems,
alternate cordate leaves with a mucronate tip, and a
white campanulate corolla 2.5-4.5 cm long. Un-
common in disturbed places in plantations and open
forest, reported from near sea level to 180 m eleva-
tion. Indigenous, widespread in the Old World
tropics. Wisner 1 13.
Operculina ventricosa (Bertero) Peter
Prostrate or climbing vine with unwinged stems,
large, alternate, cordate leaves with an acuminate
tip, and a white campanulate corolla 5-9 cm long.
Occasional to locally common in disturbed places
including beaches, and climbing into native forest
canopy, reported from near sea level to 300 m
elevation. A modern introduction indigenous to the
Caribbean, frst reported from Polynesia in ca. 1939,
now found in the Cook Islands, Niue, Tonga,
Samoa, and the Marianas. It may hybridize with the
preceding species. Whistler 2842, 8476.
Stictocardia tiliifolia (Desr.) Hall. f.
palulu
Climbing vine with large, alternate, cordate leaves
finely black-dotted on the lower surface, and a large,
showy, lavender, rotate corolla. Occasional climb-
ing in low vegetation in disturbed places, reported
from near sea level to 100 m elevation. A modem
introduction, native to the Old World tropics.
Setchell248; Whistler 271 9.
"Cucumis melo L.
[Polynesian melon] 'atiu
CUCURBITACEAE
Prostrate vine with rough, alternate leaves, yellow,
unisexual flowers solitary in the axils, and a small
ovoid melon fruit. Rare in heavily disturbed places,
reported only from the lowlands. A Polynesian
introduction, native to the Old World tropics.
Wilder 42; Wisner 92.
*Luffa cylindrica (L.) Roemer var. insularum
(A. Gray) Cogn.
Prostrate or low-climbing vine with alternate leaves,
large yellow flowers, and an ellipsoid fruit filled
with a spongy material. Uncommon in sunny coastal
areas and sometimes weedy in plantations, reported