Barleria lupulina
(hophead Philippine violet)

Pictures

Picture	Title	Caption	Copyright
Title Flowering habit Caption Barleria lupulina (hophead Philippine violet); flowering habit. Uthalsar, Thane, Maharashtra, India. December 2007. Copyright ©Dinesh Valke-2007/via flickr - CC BY-SA 2.0	Flowering habit	Barleria lupulina (hophead Philippine violet); flowering habit. Uthalsar, Thane, Maharashtra, India. December 2007.	©Dinesh Valke-2007/via flickr - CC BY-SA 2.0
Title Flowering habit Caption Barleria lupulina (hophead Philippine violet); flowering habit. Uthalsar, Thane, Maharashtra, India. December 2007. Copyright ©Dinesh Valke-2007/via flickr - CC BY-SA 2.0	Flowering habit	Barleria lupulina (hophead Philippine violet); flowering habit. Uthalsar, Thane, Maharashtra, India. December 2007.	©Dinesh Valke-2007/via flickr - CC BY-SA 2.0

Identity

Preferred Scientific Name

• Barleria lupulina Lindl.

Preferred Common Name

• hophead Philippine violet

Other Scientific Names

• Barleria macrostachya Bojer
• Barleria monostachya Bojer ex Bouton
• Barleria norbertii Benoist

International Common Names

• English: hophead; hophead barleria; hop-headed barleria; snake bush
• Spanish: lengua de culebra

Local Common Names

• Australia: hophead barleria
• Haiti: barré bolé; barré volé; barre voleur
• India: cem-mulli; kanta bishalyakarani; mullu kanagaambaram; semmulli
• Indonesia: landik; sujen trus
• Lesser Antilles: dog bush
• Thailand: phimsen ton; salet phangphong
• Venezuela: lengua de culebra

Summary of Invasiveness

B. lupulina is a fast growing perennial plant widely commercialized as an ornamental. It has repeatedly escaped from cultivation and has become naturalized in disturbed sites and secondary forests (Aguilar, 2001; Smith, 2002; PIER, 2015). B. lupulina has a great spreading capability. Seeds are dispersed short distances when capsules rupture and by water and stem fragments and stolons can be dispersed accidentally in garden waste disposal. This species has become invasive in secondary dry forests, open woodlands, and along watercourses in Australia, Hawaii, Réunion, and East Timor (Weeds of Australia, 2015; PIER, 2015). It can form thorny thickets which are difficult to walk through, replace native species, and can block access to waterways and impede stock movements.

Taxonomic Tree

• Domain: Eukaryota
•     Kingdom: Plantae
•         Phylum: Spermatophyta
•             Subphylum: Angiospermae
•                 Class: Dicotyledonae
•                     Order: Scrophulariales
•                         Family: Acanthaceae
•                             Genus: Barleria
•                                 Species: Barleria lupulina

Notes on Taxonomy and Nomenclature

Acanthaceae is a family of flowering plants comprising about 220 genera and about 4000 species widespread in both New and Old World Tropics (Scotland and Vollesen, 2000; Stevens, 2012). Species within the Acanthaceae includes herbs or woody shrubs, lianas and trees. Barleria (Acanthaceae) is a large, polymorphic, widespread genus of herbs, shrubs and rarely climbers comprising approximately 300 species distributed worldwide (Balkwill and Balkwill, 1998). The greatest representation of this genus occurs in Africa and Asia, with its greatest centre of diversity in tropical East Africa (Balkwill and Balkwill, 1997). The genus Barleria is readily distinguished from other genera in the Acanthaceae by a combination of three features:

(1)  a four-merous calyx with two large outer sepals and two smaller inner ones.

(2)  globose, honey-combed pollen.

(3)  predominance of double cystoliths (calcium oxalate crystals) in the epidermal cells (Balkwill and Balkwill, 1998).

Although each of these features occurs in other Acanthaceae species, their regular co-occurrence is restricted to Barleria (Balkwill and Balkwill, 1997).

The genus name Barleria is derived from the name of a Dominican monk and French botanist, Jacques Barrelier.

Description

B. lupulina is a glabrous, erect and branched shrub, up to 1.5 m tall, with axillary spines; leaves linear-oblong, 3-9.5 cm long, base cuneate, apex obtuse, midrib red above, petiole short, red. Inflorescence a terminal spike with overlapping bracts, up to 9 cm long, bracts broadly ovate, 1.2 cm long, ciliolate, purple tinged, on the back with cupular glands, bracteoles lanceolate, 4 mm long; calyx lobes broadly ovate, pubescent, outer 10 mm long, inner ca 8 mm long; corolla tube 3 cm long, bent at base, expanded above, lobes 5, orange-yellow, stamens 4, didynamous, 2 exserted; longer stamen filaments approximately 2 cm long; shorter stamens fertile. Style approximately 3 cm long, glabrous. Fruit a capsule, ovoid, 2-seeded (Aguilar, 2001; PIER, 2015). 

Plant Type

Distribution

B. lupulina is native to Mauritius and eastern India, and can now be found widely naturalized in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Within India it has recently spread to the southern part of the country where it is now growing wild in parts of Tamil Nadu (Sankar and Ravikumar, 2004).

Distribution Table

The distribution in this summary table is based on all the information available. When several references are cited, they may give conflicting information on the status. Further details may be available for individual references in the Distribution Table Details section which can be selected by going to Generate Report.

History of Introduction and Spread

B. lupulina has been intentionally introduced to be used as an ornamental and as a medicinal herb. In the West Indies, it was probably introduced in the mid-19^th century and it appears in herbarium collections made in 1882 in the US Virgin Islands (St Thomas) and in 1899 in Jamaica (US National Herbarium). 

Risk of Introduction

The risk of introduction of B. lupulina is high. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant and there is evidence that this species has the capability to escape from cultivation and become naturalized and invasive into new habitats.

Habitat

B. lupulina often occurs in secondary bushland and thickets, when escaped from gardens (Aguilar, 2001). In Australia, it can be also found growing along roadsides and disturbed areas up to 300 m (1000 ft) elevation. In Madagascar it can be found naturalized in dry habitats (Madagascar Catalogue, 2015). 

Habitat List

Biology and Ecology

Reproductive Biology

Barleria has bisexual, zygomorphic flowers. In India, it has been recorded flowering between January and February (India Biodiversity, 2016).

Environmental Requirements

B. lupulina grows best in warm and humid conditions on sandy and loam sandy soils with pH ranging from 6.1 to 8.5. 

Climate

Air Temperature

Soil Tolerances

Soil drainage

• free

Soil reaction

• alkaline
• neutral

Soil texture

• light
• medium

Means of Movement and Dispersal

B. lupulina spread by seeds and vegetatively by stem segments. Seeds are spread short distances from the mother-plant when the “explosive” capsules rupture. They are also dispersed by water and by humans as ornamental plantings and in discarded garden refuse (Smith, 2002). 

Pathway Causes

Pathway Vectors

Impact Summary

Environmental Impact

Once naturalized, B. lupulina grows as a weed and has the potential to outcompete and displace native plants (Aguilar, 2001). The individuals are spiny and therefore hard to control manually. In Australia, B. lupulina is invasive in open woodland habitats and along watercourses in the Northern Territory and was also recently reported as being invasive in Brisbane and in south-eastern Queensland (Weeds of Australia, 2015).

Risk and Impact Factors

• Proved invasive outside its native range
• Abundant in its native range
• Highly adaptable to different environments
• Is a habitat generalist
• Tolerates, or benefits from, cultivation, browsing pressure, mutilation, fire etc
• Pioneering in disturbed areas
• Highly mobile locally
• Benefits from human association (i.e. it is a human commensal)
• Long lived
• Fast growing
• Gregarious
• Reproduces asexually

• Ecosystem change/ habitat alteration
• Loss of medicinal resources
• Modification of hydrology
• Modification of successional patterns
• Monoculture formation
• Reduced native biodiversity
• Threat to/ loss of native species

• Competition - monopolizing resources
• Competition - smothering
• Hybridization
• Rapid growth
• Rooting
• Produces spines, thorns or burrs

• Highly likely to be transported internationally deliberately
• Difficult to identify/detect in the field

Uses

B. lupulina is an attractive ornamental used in gardens, parks and sometime used as a hedge plant (Smith, 1991). It is also cultivated to be used as a medicinal herb. The leaves and roots are chewed against toothache, and a poultice of the leaves is put on bites of insects, snakes or dogs, as an anti-inflammatory (Aguilar, 2001). 

Uses List

Environmental

• Amenity
• Boundary, barrier or support

Medicinal, pharmaceutical

• Traditional/folklore

Ornamental

• Potted plant
• Propagation material

Similarities to Other Species/Conditions

B. lupulina looks very similar to a closely related species Barleria prionitis. These two species can be distinguished by the following features (Weeds of Australia, 2015):

• B. lupulina has narrow leaves with a prominent reddish-colored midvein.
• B. prionitis has relatively broad leaves that do not have a prominent reddish-colored midvein.

References

Acevedo-Rodríguez P; Strong MT, 2012. Catalogue of the Seed Plants of the West Indies. Smithsonian Contributions to Botany, 98:1192 pp. Washington DC, USA: Smithsonian Institution. http://botany.si.edu/Antilles/WestIndies/catalog.htm

Aguilar NO, 2001. Barleria lupulina Lindley. Plant Resources of South-East Asia No. 12(2): Medicinal and poisonous plants 2:100.

Balkwill MJ; Balkwill K, 1997. Delimitation and infra-generic classification of Barleria (Acanthaceae). Kew Bulletin, 1:535-573.

Balkwill MJ; Balkwill K, 1998. A preliminary analysis of distribution patterns in a large, pantropical genus, Barleria L. (Acanthaceae). Journal of Biogeography, 25:95-110.

Biswal AK; Mohapatra A; Reddy CS, 2008. Barleria lupulina Lindl. (Acanthaceae) - an addition to the flora of Orissa, India. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society, 105(2):231-232. http://www.bnhs.org

Broome R; Sabir K; Carrington S, 2007. Plants of the Eastern Caribbean. Online database. Barbados: University of the West Indies. http://ecflora.cavehill.uwi.edu/index.html

Chong KY; Tan HTW; Corlett RT, 2009. A checklist of the total vascular plant flora of Singapore: native, naturalised and cultivated species. Singapore: Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore, 273 pp. http://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/nus/pdf/PUBLICATION/LKCNH%20Museum%20Books/LKCNHM%20Books/flora_of_singapore_tc.pdf

Dey SK; Sourav Chattopadhyay; Masanta NC, 2014. Antimicrobial activities of some medicinal plants of red and laterite zone of West Bengal, India. World Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (WJPPS), 3(4):719-734. http://www.wjpps.com/admin/assets/article_issue/1397646053.pdf

Funk V; Hollowell T; Berry P; Kelloff C; Alexander SN, 2007. Checklist of the plants of the Guiana Shield (Venezuela: Amazonas, Bolivar, Delta Amacuro; Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana). Contributions from the United States National Herbarium, 584 pp.

Hokche O; Berry PE; Huber O, 2008. Nuevo Catálogo de la Flora Vascular de Venezuela (New catalogue of the vascular flora of Venezuela). Caracas, Venezuela: Fundación Instituto Botánico de Venezuela, 860 pp.

India Biodiversity Portal, 2016. Online Portal of India Biodiversity. http://indiabiodiversity.org/species/list

Lorence DH; Flynn T, 2010. Checklist of the plants of Kosrae. Unpublished checklist. National Tropical Botanical Garden. Lawai, Hawaii: National Tropical Botanical Garden, 26.

Madagascar Catalogue, 2015. Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Madagascar. St. Louis, Missouri, USA and Antananarivo, Madagascar: Missouri Botanical Garden. http://www.tropicos.org/project/mada

Pauwels L, 2013. Cultivated and/or Exotic Plants in Central Africa (R.D.Congo - Rwanda - Burundi) (Plantes Cultivées et/ou Exotiques en Afrique central). http://users.telenet.be/cr28796/CultAfrC.htm

PIER, 2015. Pacific Islands Ecosystems at Risk. Honolulu, USA: HEAR, University of Hawaii. http://www.hear.org/pier/index.html

Sankar RV; Ravikumar K, 2004. First report of Barleria lupulina Lindl. (Acanthaceae) from southern India. Zoos' Print Journal, 19(5):1484.

Scotland RW; Vollesen K, 2000. Classification of Acanthaceae. Kew Bulletin, 55:513-589.

Smith AC, 1991. Flora Vitiensis nova: A new flora of Fiji. Lawai, Kauai, Hawai`i. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Volume 5, 626 pp.

Smith NM, 2002. Weeds of the wet/dry tropics of Australia - a field guide., Australia: Environment Centre NT, Inc, 112 pp.

Space JC; Lorence DH; LaRosa AM, 2009. Report to the Republic of Palau: 2008 update on Invasive Plant Species. Hilo, Hawaii, USA: USDA Forest Service, 227. http://www.sprep.org/att/irc/ecopies/countries/palau/48.pdf

Stevens PF, 2012. Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/research/APweb/

Swarbrick JT, 1997. Environmental weeds and exotic plants on Christmas Island, Indian Ocean. Report to Parks Australia. J.T. Swarbrick, Weed Science Consultancy, 131 pp.

USDA-ARS, 2015. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online Database. Beltsville, Maryland, USA: National Germplasm Resources Laboratory. https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomysearch.aspx

USDA-NRCS, 2015. The PLANTS Database. Baton Rouge, USA: National Plant Data Center. http://plants.usda.gov/

Wagner WL; Herbst DR; Sohmer SH, 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Honolulu, Hawaii, USA: University of Hawaii Press/Bishop Museum Press, 1919 pp.

Weeds of Australia, 2015. Weeds of Australia, Biosecurity Queensland Edition. http://keyserver.lucidcentral.org/weeds/data/03030800-0b07-490a-8d04-0605030c0f01/media/Html/search.html?zoom_query=

Wu TL, 2001. Check List of Hong Kong Plants. Hong Kong Herbarium and the South China Institute of Botany. Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department Bulletin 1 (revised):384 pp. http://www.hkflora.com/v2/flora/plant_check_list.php

Distribution References

Acevedo-Rodríguez P, Strong M T, 2012. Catalogue of the Seed Plants of the West Indies. Washington, DC, USA: Smithsonian Institution. 1192 pp. http://botany.si.edu/Antilles/WestIndies/catalog.htm

Aguilar NO, 2001. Barleria lupulina Lindley. In: Plant Resources of South-East Asia No. 12(2): Medicinal and poisonous plants, 2 100.

Broome R, Sabir K, Carrington S, 2007. Plants of the Eastern Caribbean., Barbados: University of the West Indies. http://ecflora.cavehill.uwi.edu/index.html

CABI, Undated. CABI Compendium: Status inferred from regional distribution. Wallingford, UK: CABI

Chong KY, Tan HTW, Corlett RT, 2009. A checklist of the total vascular plant flora of Singapore: native, naturalised and cultivated species., Singapore, Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore. 273 pp. http://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/nus/pdf/PUBLICATION/LKCNH%20Museum%20Books/LKCNHM%20Books/flora_of_singapore_tc.pdf

Funk V, Hollowell T, Berry P, Kelloff C, Alexander S N, 2007. Contributions from the United States National Herbarium, Washington, USA: Department of Systematic Biology - Botany, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. 55, 584 pp.

Hokche O, Berry PE, Huber O, 2008. New catalogue of the vascular flora of Venezuela. (Nuevo Catálogo de la Flora Vascular de Venezuela)., Caracas, Venezuela: Fundación Instituto Botánico de Venezuela. 860 pp.

India Biodiversity Portal, 2016. Online Portal of India Biodiversity., http://indiabiodiversity.org/species/list

Lorence DH, Flynn T, 2010. Checklist of the plants of Kosrae. Unpublished checklist., Lawai, Hawaii, National Tropical Botanical Garden. 26.

Madagascar Catalogue, 2015. Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Madagascar., St. Louis, Missouri; Antananarivo, USA;, Madagascar: Missouri Botanical Garden. http://www.tropicos.org/project/mada

Pauwels L, 2013. Cultivated and/or Exotic Plants in Central Africa (R.D.Congo - Rwanda - Burundi). (Plantes Cultivées et/ou Exotiques en Afrique central)., http://users.telenet.be/cr28796/CultAfrC.htm

PIER, 2015. Pacific Islands Ecosystems at Risk., Honolulu, USA: HEAR, University of Hawaii. http://www.hear.org/pier/index.html

Sankar R V, Ravikumar K, 2004. First report of Barleria lupulina Lindl. (Acanthaceae) from southern India. Zoos' Print Journal. 19 (5), 1484.

Space JC, Lorence DH, LaRosa AM, 2009. Report to the Republic of Palau: 2008 update on Invasive Plant Species., Hilo, Hawaii, USA: USDA Forest Service. 227. http://www.sprep.org/att/irc/ecopies/countries/palau/48.pdf

Swarbrick JT, 1997. Environmental weeds and exotic plants on Christmas Island, Indian Ocean. Report to Parks Australia. In: Weed Science Consultancy, [ed. by Swarbrick JT]. 131 pp.

USDA-ARS, 2015. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online Database. Beltsville, Maryland, USA: National Germplasm Resources Laboratory. https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomysimple.aspx

USDA-NRCS, 2015. The PLANTS Database. Greensboro, North Carolina, USA: National Plant Data Team. https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov

Wagner W L, Herbst D R, Sohmer S H, 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawai'i, Vols. 1 & 2. Honolulu, USA: University of Hawai'i Press/Bishop Museum Press. 1918 + [1] pp.

Weeds of Australia, 2015. Weeds of Australia, Biosecurity Queensland Edition., http://keyserver.lucidcentral.org/weeds/data/03030800-0b07-490a-8d04-0605030c0f01/media/Html/search.html?zoom_query=

Wu TL, 2001. Check List of Hong Kong Plants. In: Hong Kong Herbarium and the South China Institute of Botany. Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department Bulletin 1 (revised), 384 pp. http://www.hkflora.com/v2/flora/plant_check_list.php

Contributors

30/04/15 Original text by:

Julissa Rojas-Sandoval, Department of Botany-Smithsonian NMNH, Washington DC, USA

Distribution Maps