Koster's Curse
Clidemia hirta
1.42549, 103.774
Field Notes
Description:
This plant that I found was about 3 feet tall and didn't have any flowers or fruits yet. The leaves were 13 cm long and 7 cm wide. Its leaf shape is ovate and its leaf margins is sirrulate. It has a fuzzy texture on the leaf. The leaf venation is netted pinnate/pairnate and the leaf arrangement is opposite. This plant grows on a stem, not a trunk.
Habitat:
This plant is growing in a secondary rainforest in a shady area. It was shaded by some tall trees.
Notes:
Koster's Curse is an invasive plant species in many tropical regions of the world, creating serious damage. The plant grows 1-5 meters tall, depending on the habitat. It flowers and fruits all year, if conditions are moist enough. A large plant can produce more than 500 fruits in a single year. It was originally known as "the curse" for the damage it did to coconut plantations. Koster's Curse can form dense thickets that smother plantations, pastures, and native vegetation.
Comments (1)