Listed as indigenous, a taxon that is considered native but not endemic. Only been recorded from a very limited part of the plateau forest about 1 krn south of the North Beach. (Waldren, S., Wesiler, M.I., Hather, J.G. & Morrow, D. (1999)The non-native vascular plants of Henderson Island, South Central Pacific Ocean, Atoll Research Bulletin, 463, pp. 114. Available at: https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00775630.463.1); Only one station on the plateau, probably the same location as Tait 66, cf. St John & Philipson (1962: 180). The status of this taxon is uncertain; however, its presence in the plateau forest and absence from the vicinity of Polynesian habitation sites suggests that it may be native. In the absence of a recent overview of the polymorphic A. aspera in the Pacific, we follow Fosberg et al. (1989) in using this varietal name. Brooke in Florence 11053; Florence, Chepstow-Lusty &' Waldren 10928. (Florence, J., Waldren, S. & Chepstow-Lusty, A.J. (1995)The flora of the Pitcairn Islands: a review, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 56, pp. 79119);
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The status of this taxon is uncertain; however, its presence in the plateau forest and absence from the vicinity of Polynesian habitation sites suggests that it may be native. (Florence, J., Waldren, S. & Chepstow-Lusty, A.J. (1995)The flora of the Pitcairn Islands: a review, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 56, pp. 79119.);
It is possibly a Polynesian introduction, but as it is absent from many areas of known Polynesian activity, it may be native or at least a casual introduction. The fruit is strongly reflexed at maturity and readily attaches to clothing or birds feathers (Fosberg & Renvoize, 1980). Given the relatively few references to this species in Polynesian ethnobotany, it seems likely that it may have been introduced passively by Polynesian visitors or more probably by birds to Henderson; St. John & Philipson (1962) consider A. aspera an accidental introduction. (Waldren, S., Wesiler, M.I., Hather, J.G. & Morrow, D. (1999)The non-native vascular plants of Henderson Island, South Central Pacific Ocean, Atoll Research Bulletin, 463, pp. 114. Available at: https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00775630.463.1);
Florence, J., Waldren, S. & Chepstow-Lusty, A.J. (1995)The flora of the Pitcairn Islands: a review, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 56, pp. 79119.; Waldren, S., Wesiler, M.I., Hather, J.G. & Morrow, D. (1999)The non-native vascular plants of Henderson Island, South Central Pacific Ocean, Atoll Research Bulletin, 463, pp. 114. Available at: https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00775630.463.1; UKOTs Team (2024). UKOTs Online Herbarium - Henderson. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet at http://brahmsonline.kew.org/UKOT (July 2024);