''Clerodendrum quadriloculare'' (known as the bronze-leaved clerodendrum, fireworks plant, Philippine glorybower, shooting star or starburst bush in English, and or in Filipino) is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

native to

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

and the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. It is one of many species previously included in the family

Verbenaceae The Verbenaceae ( ), the verbena family or vervain family, is a family of mainly tropical flowering plants. It contains trees, shrubs, and herbs notable for heads, spikes, or clusters of small flowers, many of which have an aromatic smell. T ...

, but transferred to the

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family (biology), family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle, or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil (herb), ba ...

based on molecular studies.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref>Cantino, P.D., Harley, R.M. & Wagstaff, S.J. 1992. Genera of Labiatae: status and classification. Pp. 511–522. In: Raymond M. Harley and Tom Reynolds (editors). ''Advances in Labiate Science.'' Richmond, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The plants produce flowers which look good in a garden, but it can be difficult to eradicate.

Description

The bronze-leaved clerodendrum is a medium to large-sized shrub growing to a height of about . The branches and twigs are four-sided. The leaves are in opposite pairs and are borne on medium-length petioles. The leaf blades are oblong and up to long, the upper surface being green and the underside purple; they have rounded bases, wavy margins and pointed tips. The showy flower clusters are borne at the tips of the shoots. Each contains many flowers with slender pink tubes about long, each terminated by five slender white, reflexed corolla lobes about long. The flowers are followed by ellipsoid, capsules containing four seeds. The corolla tubes are exceptionally long and require specialist

pollinator A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female carpel, stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains. Insects are ...

Distribution and habitat

The bronze-leaved clerodendrum is native to the Philippines and Papua New Guinea, and has also been recorded from American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, the Marshall Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, and Samoa, as well as Puerto Rico, Singapore, and Hawaii. As well as parks and gardens, it is found on road verges and on

disturbed ground In ecology, a disturbance is a change in environmental conditions that causes a pronounced change in an ecosystem. Disturbances often act quickly and with great effect, to alter the physical structure or arrangement of biotic and abiotic element ...

, pastures, forest edges and undisturbed forests where it is able to displace native species.

Invasiveness

The bronze-leaved clerodendrum is grown as an ornamental shrub but it has become naturalised in many locations, in some of which it is viewed as an

invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

. It is a vigorous, rapid-growing shrub which sends up suckers which may develop into thickets. Additionally, cuttings and pieces of detached roots are easily moved with soil and can develop into new plants, and the seeds, which germinate readily, are spread by animals and birds in their droppings. This shrub can grow in full sun, partial shade and deep shade, and in some locations grows as a dense, mono-specific ground cover layer under the forest

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...

. Clerodendrum quadriloculare at Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden.jpg, In bloom at the

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is an botanic garden with extensive collections of rare tropical plants including Arecaceae, palms, cycads, flowering trees, and vines. It is located in the city of Coral Gables, Florida, Coral Gables, Miami-D ...

. ClerodendrumQuadriloculare.jpg, Seedlings Clerodendrum quadriloculare flower at BBG (50789).jpg, Close-up of a ''C. quadriculare'' flower

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q5131946 quadriloculare Flora of the Philippines Flora of New Guinea Garden plants Plants described in 1837 Taxa named by Francisco Manuel Blanco