Chrysobalanus icaco L., Chrysobalanaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 12 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

English: coco plum, icaco

Fijian: apolo

French: icacier, icaque, icaquier, prune colon, prunier coton

Spanish: ciruela de algodōn, icaco

Habit:  shrub

Description:  "Shrub 1-3 m or bushy tree 2-6(-10) m high; leaves elliptical to obovate, rounded and often emarginate at tip, 3-10 cm long, 2.5-7 cm broad; cymes axillary and terminal, pubescent, 3-6 cm long; sepals (4-) 5; petals (4-) 5, white, about 5 mm long, perigynous; carpel solitary, protogynous; drupe green turning brownish-purple and then black, subglobose to obovoid, 1.5-3 cm in diameter, angled when dry."  (Adams, 1972)"An evergreen shrub 3 to 5 feet high, rarely a tree to 30 feet high, with thin, scaly, brown-gray bark  It is grown ornamentally for its attractive leaves, which are alternate, rounded, shiny, think, to 3 inches long, and for its sweet, rather tasteless and dry fruits, which are sometimes preserved.  The fruit is round, white to purple-black, an inch or more in diameter, and contains a ridged stone.  Flowers are small, white, and clustered"  (Neal, 1965).

Habitat/ecology:  Grows up to elevations of about 500 m.  Forms dense thickets.  "In its native range coco-plum is a coastal plant often found on beach dunes or in scrub or thickets, and it also grows inland along watercourses, usually on sandy, nutrient-poor soils"  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 236).  In Fiji, "infrequently cultivated but often locally abundantly naturalized along roadsides near sea level, on the upper edge of beaches, and in thickets on the inner margin of mangrove swamps"  (Smith, 1985; pp. 43-44).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Coco-plum has an unusual distribution in that it is found naturally on both sides of the Atlantic—in tropical and subtropical America and in western tropical Africa.  In the Americas, its range extends from southern Florida and the Bahamas through the West Indies and from Mexico and Central America to southern Brazil.  It has been widely introduced in the tropics"  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 236).

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 invasive cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (pp. 43-44) Vouchers cited: Smith 9611, DA 11458, DA 10100, DA 16493, Greenwood 1027, Greenwood 1027A, DA 7503, DA 10090, DA 10091, Meebold 21388, DA 1286, H.B.R. Parham 20
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1956) (voucher ID: BISH 14487) Taxon name on voucher: Chrysobalanus icaco L.
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1956) (voucher ID: BISH 14488) Taxon name on voucher: Chrysobalanus icaco L.
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1956) (voucher ID: BISH 14489) Taxon name on voucher: Chrysobalanus icaco L.
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (year unknown) (voucher ID: BISH 14490) Taxon name on voucher: Chrysobalanus icaco L.
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1953) (voucher ID: BISH 172792) Taxon name on voucher: Chrysobalanus icaco L.
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1937) (voucher ID: BISH 172793) Taxon name on voucher: Chrysobalanus icaco L.
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Fatu Hiva Island	introduced invasive	Meyer, Jean-Yves (2000) (p. 93) "Dry/mesic habitats"
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Fatu Hiva Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2013)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Fatu Hiva Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Voucher cited: J. Florence 7334 (PAP) Naturalisée, menace pour la biodiversité.
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Fatu Hiva Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1974) (voucher ID: BISH 598432) Taxon name on voucher: Chrysobalanus icaco L.
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2013)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Voucher cited: J. Florence 8500 (PAP) Naturalisée, menace pour la biodiversité.
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1987) (voucher ID: BISH 541730) Taxon name on voucher: Chrysobalanus icaco L.
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Ua Huka (Huahuna, Uahuka) Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2013)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Ua Huka (Huahuna, Uahuka) Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (2003) (voucher ID: PTBG 40883) Taxon name on voucher: Chrysobalanus icaco
French Polynesia Society Islands	Huahine Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 64) Voucher cited: Fosberg 61130
French Polynesia Society Islands	Huahine Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1981) (voucher ID: BISH 604909) Taxon name on voucher: Chrysobalanus icaco L.
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island	introduced invasive	Meyer, Jean-Yves (2000) (p. 93) "Dry/mesic habitats"
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 64) Voucher cited: Gagne 1470
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) "Planté au bord du sentier". Voucher cited: J. Florence 3530 (PAP) Naturalisée, Menace pour la biodiversité.
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1977) (voucher ID: BISH 422435) Taxon name on voucher: Chrysobalanus icaco L.
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1982) (voucher ID: BISH 492158) Taxon name on voucher: Chrysobalanus icaco L.
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (1981) (voucher ID: PTBG 38141) Taxon name on voucher: Chrysobalanus icaco L.
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 64) Voucher cited: Grant 5448
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Vouchers cited: J. Florence 2393 (PAP), J. Florence 4647 (PAP) Naturalisée. Menace pour la biodiversité.
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1931) (voucher ID: BISH 18116) Taxon name on voucher: Chrysobalanus icaco L.
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1982) (voucher ID: BISH 493292) Taxon name on voucher: Chrysobalanus icaco L.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawaiian Islands	cultivated	Neal, Marie C. (1965)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Lau, Alex/Frohlich, Danielle (2012) (p. 13) Voucher cited: OED 2009121501 (BISH)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	introduced cultivated	Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (p. 237) A recent introduction, cultivated at Lanao and at Los Banños.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Costa Rica (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	El Salvador (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Honduras (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Nicaragua (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Panama (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced invasive	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 26) Naturalised
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Colombia	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	introduced invasive	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2005) (p. 236)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
French Territory of Mayotte Mayotte Islands	Mayotte Island	introduced invasive	Comité français de l'Union Internationale pour la Conservation de la Nature en France (2013) Naturalisée, potentiellement envahissant
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Frégate Island		Robertson, S. A./Todd, D. M. (1983) (p. 48) Voucher cited: Robertson 2700
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Seychelles Islands	introduced invasive	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2005) (p. 236)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Seychelles Islands	introduced	Invasive Species Specialist Group (2017)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	USA (Florida)	native	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2005) (p. 236)

Comments:  A problem on the island of Raiatea, French Polynesia. Also present on Tahiti.

Control:  If you know of control methods for Chrysobalanus icaco, please let us know.