Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

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Iresine diffusa f. herbstii (Hook.) Pedersen

Quelite, hojas de sangre, Cucharillo, iresine, hoja pintada, Beef plant, beefsteak plant, chicken's gizzard

Photo: .
Photo: .

Herbs perennial, 1-2 m tall. Stem often tinged red, stout, branched. Petiole 2-3 cm, annexed hairy or nearly glabrous; leaf blade purple with lighter bands along main veins, broadly ovate to suborbicular, 2-6 cm in diam., annexed hairy, base truncate, margin entire, apex retuse or 2-lobed (WFO, 2022).

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Plantae

Phylum
Magnoliophyta

Class
Magnoliopsida (= Dicotyledoneae)

Order
Caryophyllales

Family
Amaranthaceae

Genus
Iresine

Species
diffusa

Subspecies
f. herbstii

Taxon category: Accepted

Syn.: Iresine herbstii Hook (POWO, 2022).;

Origin: Introduced - established

Introduction

Year of first record: 2003

Mode of introduction: Intentional

Introduction Pathway: Intentional

Subpathway: Agriculture/Horticulture

Introduced status: Human dependent

Invasive status: Unlikely to become invasive

Distribution

Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.

Distribution: Its native range is N. Peru (POWO, 2022).

References

  • Eliasson, U. (1990) Species of Amaranthaceae in the Galapagos islands and their affinities to species on the South American mainland. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 32: 29-33.
  • Guézou, A. Trueman, M., Buddenhagen, E., Chamorro, S., Guerrero, A.M., Pozo, P., Atkinson, R. (2010) An extensive Alien Plan Inventory from the Inhabited Areas of Galapagos Plos One/ www.plosone.org. Volume 5/ Issue 4/e10276
  • Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (2022) Plants of the world online POWO (2022): Plants of the world online. Published on the Internet; Https://powo.science.kew.org/
  • Tropicos.org. (2017) Database of Missouri Botanical Garden. Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 06 Oct 2017 <http://www.tropicos.org

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This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Iresine diffusa f. herbstii", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=20317. Accessed 31 October 2026.