Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Spermacoce divaricata
2-6dm tall, short internodes, bright green and shining blades. Flowers are sparse, 2-3 per node.
Endemic and found among rocks in lava flows.
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Plantae
Phylum
Magnoliophyta
Class
Magnoliopsida (= Dicotyledoneae)
Order
Gentianales
Family
Rubiaceae
Genus
Spermacoce
Species
divaricata
Taxon category: Accepted
Syn.: Borreria ericifolia Hook. f.; Syn.: Borreria divaricata Hook. f., B. parvifolia Hook. f.
Origin: Endemic
Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.
Distribution: Restricted populations of 9 islands, but due to problems of distinction of other species of the genus their distribution remains uncertain. On most islands severely attacked by goats and other feral animals.
- Andersson, N.J. (1855) Om Galápagos Öarnes Vegetation. Kongliga Svenska Vetenskaps Akademien Handl., Stockholm: 61-256.
- Hooker, J.D. (1847) An Enumeration of the Plants of the Galapagos Archipelago; with descriptions of those which are new. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London 20: 163-233.
- Itow, S. (1997) List of Plant Specimens collected in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Bulletin of the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Nagasaki University, Natural Science, 38 (1): 53-144.
- Jørgensen, P.M. León-Yánez, S. (eds.) (1999) Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Ecuador. Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden 75. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis, 1181 pp.
- Lawesson, J.E. Adsersen, H. & Bentley, P. (1987) An updated and annotated check list of the vascular plants of the Galapagos islands. Rept. Bot. Inst., Univ. Aarhus 16: 1-74.
- Robinson, B.L. (1902) Flora of the Galapagos Islands. Papers from the Hopkins-Stanford Expedition to the Galapgaos Islands. Proc. Amer. Acad. 38(4): 78-270.
- 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/
- Stewart, A. (1911) A botanical survey of the Galápagos Islands. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 4th Series, 1: 7-288.
- Tropicos.org. (2017) Database of Missouri Botanical Garden. Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 06 Oct 2017 <http://www.tropicos.org
- Wiggins, I.L. Porter, D.M. (1971) Flora of the Galapagos Islands Standford University Press, Stanford.
You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.
This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Spermacoce divaricata", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=25135. Accessed 30 October 2026.