Family: Fabaceae
High Risk Traits:
- Elevation range exceeds 1000 m, demonstrating environmental versatility
- Thrives in tropical climates
- Naturalized on Kauai and Oahu (Hawaiian Islands); widely introduced and naturalized elsewhere
- An aggressive weedy vine that may impact rice, other agricultural crops and young trees
- Other Vigna species have become weeds
- Tolerates many soil types (not substrate limited)
- Climbing vine; can potentially smother young trees
- Reproduces by seeds and vegetatively by rooting at nodes and internodes
- Self-compatible, but dependent on bees and other pollinators for seed set
- Rapidly reaches maturity (as quickly as 90 days from planting)
- Seeds dispersed by water, in cattle dung and intentionally planted by people
- Prolific seed production and potentially long-lived seed bank
- May tolerate burning, grazing and flooding (conflicting accounts)
Low Risk Traits:
- Despite reports of weediness, valued as a palatable pasture livestock forage (and unlikely to become weedy or problematic in regularly grazed pastures)
- Unarmed (no spines, thorns, or burrs)
- Herbicides may provide effective control
