Animal or plant species that is not natural from a location, having been introduced by man.
Cryptomeria Cryptomeria japonica
Description Conical evergreen tree to 50 m. Branches in an irregular spiral. Bark reddish-brown. Leaves from 6 to 15 mm, subulate and curved. Cultivated in monocultures for wood and naturalised
from sea level to 900 m.
Taxonomic Status Invasive in all the islands of Azores. Native to Japan and China.
Azalea Rhododendro indicum
Description Highly branched evergreen shrub, to 3 m. Alternate leaves, elliptic to lanceolate, 3-4 x 2 cm, pointed and ciliate. Solitary flowers in racimes, forming an umbel. Red to pink corolla with 5 lobes, to 5 cm diameter. 5 stamens, purple anthers, fruit is a dry capsule. Escaped ornamental. Well established in some high altitude ravines, on hillsides and in plantations of Cryptomeria, from 300 to 600 m.
Taxonomic Status Present in Santa Maria, São Miguel, Faial and Flores. Native to Japan.
Foto Paulo Henrique Silva | SIARAM
Hydrangea Hydrangea macrophylla
Description Highly branched dioecious shrub, to 3.5 m. Numerous shoots, ascendant and erect. Opposite leaves, simple, oval and serrulate. 4 large sepals, blue, white or pink. 5 petals, generally blue, narrow and oval, to 4 mm. Fruit a capsule. Escaped ornamental. Plant naturalised and invasive in most habitats to 1,000 m, absent only from coastal areas.
Taxonomic Status Present in all the islands of the Azores. Native to Asia.
Foto Paulo Henrique Silva | SIARAM
Himalyan Honeysuckle Leycesteria formosa
Description Small dioecious bush, from 1.5-2.5 m. Stem erect and hollow. Leaves simple, ovate to lanceolate and sharply pointed, to 15 x 6 cm. Pendant flowers with pink-white corolla of 5 lobes, to 2 cm. Fruit a purple fleshy berry, sub-spherical, with many seeds, to 1 cm diameter. Escaped ornamental, common on hillsides and roadsides, in plantations of Cryptomeria, Australian Cheesewood and Laurel forests, from 500 to 800 m.
Taxonomic Status Introduced in São Miguel. Native to India and East Asia.
Pinkhead Smartweed Polygonum capitatum
Description Pubescent stem, creeper, with rooting at the nodes forming a mat. Ochre is brown and ciliate. Leaves yellow to green, ovate, pointed, 2-5 x 1-2.5 cm, with glandular hairs. Flowers white to pink, capitate, 5-10 mm diameter. Seeds trigonous, brownyblack. Escaped ornamental, common and invasive, especially on young lava flows and roadsides, to 800 m.
Taxonomic Status Present in all islands of Azores, except Graciosa and Corvo. Native to the Himalayas.
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