Alstonia macrophylla Wall. ex G.Don, Apocynaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 9 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

English: batino, devil-tree, hard alstonia

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Leaves in whorls of three or mostly of four. Petiole 1-3 cm long.  Leaf-blade 10-50 cm long, 4-14 cm wide, widest in or above the middle, cuneate at the base, abruptly short-acuminate or more rarely obtuse at the apex, membranous, glabrous above, densely pubescent beneath at least when young, with rather distant lateral veins 0.6-2 cm apart from each other, including with midrib an angle of 60-70˚, herbaceous; dried leaf with the midrib faintly impressed on the upper side, prominent beneath; lateral veins scarcely raised above, slightly so beneath; reticulate venation not sculptured or slightly immersed on either side.  Cymes rather lax, arranged in a sessile umbel.  Pedicels much longer than the calyx.  Calyx-lobes up to 1 mm long, semicircular, puberulous to almost glabrous without.  Corolla glabrous without except for the ciliolate lobes; the tube 0.5-0.6 cm long, the lobes about as long as the tube, oblong, in bud overlapping to the right.  Merocarps pendulous, 30-45 cm long, 0.25-0.35 cm in diameter, glabrous when ripe.  Seeds acute but not acuminate at one end, obtuse at the other."  (Dassanayake, 1983; pp. 41-42)" Tree 3-4 m high (as noted in Fiji, but where indigenous to 20 m high), "with white corollas" (Smith, 1988; p. 78).

Habitat/ecology:  "Introduced as a forest tree to Ceylon, Alstonia acrophylla rapidly became naturalized in the moist region up to an elevation of 1200-1500 m. Now it is one of the most prominent species of the secondary rain forest in the islands." (Dassanayake, 1983; pp. 41-42)

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Southeastern Asia (from Thailand) into Malesia (to the Moluccas); cultivated elsewhere" (Smith, 1988; p. 78).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1988) (p. 78) Voucher cited: DA 11569
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Shannon, Robynn K./Herbst, Derral R. (1997) (pp. 51-52) Vouchers cited: Takiue s.n. (BISH), Paul s.n. (BISH), Herbst & Hopper 9783a (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Staples, George W./Imada, Clyde T./Herbst, Derral R. (2003) (p. 12) Vouchers cited: D. Souza s.n. (BISH), C. Daehler 1058 (BISH), C. Daehler 1090 (HAW)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Herbst, Derral R./Staples, George W./Imada, Clyde T. (2004) (p. 3) Voucher cited: D. Souza s.n. (BISH 695057)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Frégate Island		Robertson, S. A./Todd, D. M. (1983) (p. 45)

Comments:  Reported to be introduced into Fiji as a forestry tree (Smith, 1988; p. 78). Reported invasive in the Seychelles (Gerlach, 1996). Naturalized in Hawai‘i (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1857).

Additional information:
Additional online information about Alstonia macrophylla is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Alstonia macrophylla as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Alstonia macrophylla may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Dassanayake, M. D., gen. ed. 1983. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon. Vol IV. Amerind Pub. Co., New Delhi. 532 pp.

Gerlach, J. 1996. Invasive trees on Seychelles Islands. Aliens 4:4-5.

Herbst, Derral R./Staples, George W./Imada, Clyde T. 2004. New Hawaiian plant records for 2002-2003. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2003. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 78:3-12.

Robertson, S. A./Todd, D. M. 1983. Vegetation of Frégate Island, Seychelles. In: Sachet, M. H., D. R. Stoddart, and F. R. Fosberg. Floristics and ecology of Western Indian Ocean islands. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 273. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 253 pp.

Smith, Albert C. 1988. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 4. 377 pp.

Staples, George W./Imada, Clyde T./Herbst, Derral R. 2003. New Hawaiian plant records for 2001. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2001-2002. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 74:7-21.

U. S. Government. 2009. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2009. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).

Wagner, Warren L./Shannon, Robynn K./Herbst, Derral R. 1997. Contributions to the flora of Hawai‘i. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Miller, Scott, E., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1996. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 48:51-65.