Family: Acanthaceae

Origin, Description & Uses
Sanchezia (Sanchezia speciosa), commonly known as sanchezia, is a tropical shrub native to northwestern South America, ranging from southeastern Colombia and northern Brazil to Bolivia. It is prized for its lush, dark green leaves marked with prominent yellow veins and its showy yellow flowers enclosed by bright red bracts. Because of its striking foliage and colorful blooms, sanchezia has been widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in tropical and subtropical gardens, where it is often used as a hedge, screening plant, or landscape accent in shaded and moist locations. In Hawaiʻi, it has become naturalized on Kauaʻi, Maui, and Hawaiʻi Island.

Risks & Threats
Although sanchezia is naturalized in parts of Hawaiʻi, current evidence suggests it poses a relatively low invasive risk compared to many other ornamental plants. It can spread locally through stem fragments and vegetative growth, particularly in moist, disturbed habitats, and may occasionally persist outside cultivation. However, it has not demonstrated the aggressive invasive behavior associated with Hawaiʻi’s most problematic weeds. Gardeners should still monitor plantings and avoid disposing of cuttings in natural areas, as vegetative fragments can take root and establish new plants. With responsible management, sanchezia can generally be grown with minimal risk to Hawaiʻi’s native ecosystems.

High Risk Traits:

• Naturalized in Fiji, Hawaii, Jamaica, and Australia
  
• Forms dense thickets along streams and moist areas
  
• Reproduces vegetatively (cuttings, root fragments easily resprout)
  
• Shade-tolerant (invades understory habitats)
  
• Widely cultivated as ornamental (intentional human dispersal)
  
• Spreads via garden waste (broken fragments root readily)
  
• Resprouts after cutting or frost damage
  
• Requires specialist hummingbird pollinators (may be present in introduced ranges)

Low Risk Traits:

• No spines, thorns, or burrs
  
• Non-toxic; no evidence of allergies
  
• Not a known pest/pathogen host
  
• No fire hazard
  
• Upright shrub (not climbing or smothering)
  
• Infrequent seed set in cultivation
  
• No persistent seed bank
  
• Not wind- or bird-dispersed (dry capsules, no fleshy fruit)