Have you seen Mexican Flame Vine (Pseudogynoxys chenopodioides)?
Hawaii Early Detection Network Priority Pest for the Big Island of Hawaii


Mexican Flame Vine flower detail
Flower detail
Image: James Manhart
Mexican Flame growth form
Bush with flowers and seed heads
Mexican Flame Vine
Leaves and flowers, Ulumalu, Maui
Images (middle, right): Forest & Kim Starr

Identification: This flowering vine can creep to lengths over 15 feet (4.6 m) along the ground or climbing up trees and stuctures. It can flower year round, covering the plant in bright orange daisy-like flowers about 1 inch (2.5 cm) in diameter, followed by a fruiting body that looks like dandelion's puffy seed head, then a persisitant seed head. The jagged edged leaves (1-4.7 in long and 0.4-2.7 in wide) are shaped like arrowheads and are arranged alternately along the stem.
Impacts: Mexican Flame Vine tends to persist after cultivation and can become naturalized, overgrowing other plants and structures, eventually displacing native plants. Mexican flame vine is native to Mexico and Central America and has been introduced and become naturalized in Puerto Rico, Florida and the Galapagos. It can be found on Oahu, Maui, and only a few locations on the Big Island Hawaii (see map). The Big Island Invasive Species Committee (BIISC) is trying to prevent it's spread. If you see it anywhere on the Big Island- let someone know!
Dispersal Mechanism: Mexican flame vine is primarily moved to new locations by people for landscaping and gardens. It can reproduce via its airborne seeds or vegetatively from small pieces of broken stem. This vine will form roots wherever it touches the ground.

More information about this pest external link


Mexican Flame Vine look-alikes:


Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia):
The Mexican sunflower is a garden plant that has naturalized on Kauai, Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii. It has similar flowers to the Mexican flame vine but does not grow into a vine.

Tithonia rotundifolia

Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia)

Last Updated: . If you have any questions about the Hawaii Early Detection Network contact reportapest-maui@lists.hawaii.edu.