Pimenta dioica (L.) Merr., Myrtaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 7 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Myrtus dioica L.; Myrtus pimenta L.; Pimenta officinalis Lindl.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: allspice, pimento

Spanish: malaqueta

Tongan: sipaisi

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Tree 6-12 m tall; petioles 10-18 mm long; leaf blades 6-16 cm long, 3-6 cm wide, oblong-lanceolate to elliptic, main veins 12-16 pairs, prominent beneath; inflorescence of axillary, pedunculate cymes, the peduncles mainly 3-7 cm long; flowers white, 6-10 mm wide; calyx 4-lobed; fruit dark purple at maturity, globose, 5-7 mm thick"  (Welsh, 1998; p. 199).

Habitat/ecology:  Dry and moist forests and open areas, up to 3000 ft. elevation in Hawai‘i.

Propagation:  Seed, spread by birds.

Native range:  West Indies and possibly parts of Central America and southern Mexico, now widely cultivated.

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Federated States of Micronesia Yap Islands	Yap (Waqab) Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 191)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (pp. 305-306)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Fatu Hiva Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2008)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 199) In Papeari Botanical Garden. Voucher cited: Florence 4010
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1982) (voucher ID: BISH 491608) Taxon name on voucher: Pimenta dioica (L.) Merr.
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced cultivated	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (pp. 453-454) Cultivated? Present status unknown.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy W./Wagner, Warren L. (1995) (p. 42) Vouchers cited: D. Lorence et al. 5939 (PTBG), T. Flynn 580 (PTBG)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim/Loope, Lloyd L. (2003) (p. 28) East Maui. Voucher cited: Starr & Martz 010425-1 (BISH)
Marshall Islands Ralik Chain	Kwajalein (Kuwajleen) Atoll	introduced	Whistler, W. A./Steele, O. (1999) (p. 101) Not seen on this survey and may no longer be present.
Marshall Islands Ralik Chain	Kwajalein (Kuwajleen) Atoll	cultivated	Herbst, D. R. (1988)
Nauru Nauru Island	Nauru Island	introduced cultivated	Thaman, R. R./Fosberg, F. R./Manner, H. I./Hassall, D. C. (1994) (p. 174)
Tonga Ha‘apai Group	Lifuka and Foa Islands	introduced invasive cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2001) (p. 8)
Tonga Tongatapu Group	‘Eua Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2001) (p. 8)
Tonga Tongatapu Group	Tongatapu Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2001) (p. 8)
Tonga Tongatapu Group	Tongatapu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1953) (voucher ID: BISH 107053) Taxon name on voucher: Pimenta dioica (L.) Merr.
Tonga Vava‘u Group	Vava‘u Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2001) (p. 8)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
El Salvador El Salvador	El Salvador (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Guatemala Guatemala	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Honduras Honduras	Honduras (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)
Nicaragua Nicaragua	Nicaragua (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009)

Comments:  Very invasive on ‘Eua, Tonga (Space & Flynn, 2002).

Additional information:
Report (PDF format) from US Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, Haleakala Field Station, Hawaii "Plants of Hawaii".

Additional online information about Pimenta dioica is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

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

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

Other Latin names:  Myrtus dioica L.; Myrtus pimenta L.; Pimenta officinalis Lindl.

References:

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1953. Voucher specimen #BISH 107053 (Yuncker, T.G. 15222).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1982. Voucher specimen #BISH 491608 (Florence, J. 4010).

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1979. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian dicotyledonae. Micronesica 15:1-295.

Herbst, D. R. 1988. Botanical survey of Kwajalein Missile Range, Marshall Islands. Mimeograph report for the Environmental Department of the U. S. Army, Kwajalein Atoll.

Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy W./Wagner, Warren L. 1995. Contributions to the flora of Hawai‘i. III. New additions, range extensions, and rediscoveries of flowering plants. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Miller, Scott, E., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1994. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 41:19-58.

Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. 2008. Flora of the Marquesas Islands. National Tropical Botanical Garden and the Smithsonian Institution. Online database.

Smith, Albert C. 1985. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 3. 758 pp.

Space, James C./Flynn, Tim. 2001. Report to the Kingdom of Tonga on invasive plant species of environmental concern.  USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 78 pp.

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral/Imada, Clyde T. 2000. Survey of invasive or potentially invasive cultivated plants in Hawai‘i. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers No. 65. 35 pp.

Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim/Loope, Lloyd L. 2003. New plant records from the Hawaiian Archipelago. 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. 74:23-34.

Stone, Benjamin C. 1970. The flora of Guam. Micronesica 6:1-659.

Thaman, R. R./Fosberg, F. R./Manner, H. I./Hassall, D. C. 1994. The flora of Nauru. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. Atoll Research Bulletin 392:1-223.

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).

Welsh, S. L. 1998. Flora Societensis: A summary revision of the flowering plants of the Society Islands. E.P.S. Inc., Orem, Utah. 420 pp.

Whistler, W. A./Steele, O. 1999. Botanical survey of the United States of America Kwajalein Atoll (USAKA) Islands. Prepared for Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education and the U. S. Army Environmental Center. 111 pp.