Alstonia scholaris (L.) R.Br., Apocynaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Evaluate, score: 3 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Echites scholaris L.

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: tang jiao shu

English: blackboard tree, deviltree, ditabark, milkwood-pine, white cheesewood

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Trees to 40 m tall, glabrous. Bark gray; branchlets copiously lenticellate. Leaves in whorls of 3-10; petiole 1-3 cm; leaf blade narrowly obovate to very narrowly spatulate, 7-28 x 2-11 cm, leathery, base cuneate, apex usually rounded; lateral veins 25-50 pairs, at 80-90° to midvein. Cymes dense, pubescent; peduncle 4-7 cm. Pedicel usually as long as or shorter than calyx. Corolla white, tube 6-10 mm; lobes broadly ovate or broadly obovate, 2-4.5 mm, overlapping to left. Ovaries distinct, pubescent. Follicles distinct, linear, to 57 cm x 2-5 mm. Seeds oblong, margin ciliate, ends with tufts of hairs 1.5-2 cm"  (Flora of China online).

Habitat/ecology:  In China (native), "mixed forests, village groves; 200-1000 m"  (Flora of China online).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Asia and Malesia from India to the Philippines; Queensland, Australia (GRIN).

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 Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	native	Herrera, Katherine/Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy/Balick, Michael J. (2010) (pp. 68-69) Vouchers cited: Fosberg 60435 (PTBG), K.M. Nagata 1495 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island		Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.) (1994) (voucher ID: BISH 645302) Taxon name on voucher: Alstonia scholaris (L.) R.Br.
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Cambodia Cambodia	Cambodia (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
China China	Hong Kong	introduced cultivated	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 209)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Additional information:
Information sheet from the Agroforestry Database (PDF format).
Information from the ASEAN Tropical Plant Database.

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

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

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

References:

Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.). 1994. Voucher specimen #BISH645302(Lorence, D.H. 7611).

Herrera, Katherine/Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy/Balick, Michael J. 2010. Checklist of the vascular plants of Pohnpei with local names and uses. Allertonia, in press. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 146 pp.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wu, Te-lin. 2001. Check List of Hong Kong Plants. Hong Kong Herbarium and the South China Institute of Botany. Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department Bulletin 1 (revised). 384 pp.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).