Caryota mitis Loureiro, Arecaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Evaluate, score: 1 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: duan sui yu wei kui

English: Burmese fishtail palm, clumping fishtail palm, clustered fishtail palm, clustering fishtail palm, fish tail palm, lesser fish tail palm, tufted fishtail palm, winepalm

French: caryote doux

Habit:  tree

Description: 

Genus: "Solitary or cespitose, dwarf to large, hepaxanthic, monoecious palms; leaf blades bipinnate, the pinnules cuneate, toothed on the truncate apex; inflorescences solitary at nodes, with prophyll and several tubular peduncular bracts; flowers in triads of 2 staminate and a pistillate, at least basally on rachillae; staminate flowers with 3 imbricate sepals, 3 valvate petals, and (6-) 9-100 or more stamens; pistillate flowers with 3 imbricate sepals, 3 petals connate in basal third and valvate above, minute (or absent) staminodes, and trilocular ovary with 1 or 2 locules fertile; fruit red to blackish, 1- or 2-seeded; seeds with ruminate endosperm."

Species: "Stems cespitose, to 13 m high and 12.5 cm in diameter; leaves to about 3 m long; inflorescence short, with rachillae about 30 cm long; staminate flowers with about 17 stamens; fruit blackish, about 12 mm in diameter" (Smith, 1979; p. 408).

"A multi-stemmed palm tree with crowded trunks of greatly mixed height, forming a clump usually less than 1.5 m across at the base.  Trunks grow to about 10 m (usually much less) and are 5-15 cm in diameter, with well-spaced rings.  Leaves bipinnate with the crowns having few leaves but collectively appearing dense.  The ascending leaves have long midribs and are about 2-4 m long.  The spreading leaflets are broadly to narrowly triangular, very asymmetrical.  Inflorescences are 25-50 cm long with crowded pale cream flowers.  Fruits are yellowish-green turning orange, dark red to almost black, 7-15 mm in diameter, 1-seeded."   (Smith, 2002; p.17).

Habitat/ecology:  "Commonly cultivated in tropical areas from where it appears to be spreading into rainforests, vine thickets and drainage lines" (Smith, 2002; p. 17).

Propagation:  "Produces a prolific number of viable seeds that germinate around the parent plant.  Seeds also spread when ingested and expelled by birds and animals.  Also spread as ornamental plantings."  (Smith, 2002; p. 17).

Native range:  India, Indonesia, Philippines, naturalized elsewhere (GRIN). Burma and Malaysia (Bodkin, 1986 cited in Csurhes & Edwards, 1998; p. 98). "Burma to southeastern Asia and Indonesia; cultivated elsewhere" (Smith, 1979; p. 408).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Tinian Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 81)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 81)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced cultivated	Herrera, Katherine/Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy/Balick, Michael J. (2010) (p. 35)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Fiji Islands	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (p. 408)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (p. 408)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 81)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Daehler, Curtis C./Baker, Raymond F. (2006) (p. 5) Voucher cited: C. Daehler 1202 (BISH)
Marshall Islands Ralik Chain	Kwajalein (Kuwajleen) Atoll	introduced cultivated	Whistler, W. A./Steele, O. (1999) (p. 104)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 110) Voucher cited: MacKee 21266
Palau Palau (main island group)	Koror Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 81)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Palau Islands (main island group)		Lorence, David H./Flynn, Tim (2010) (p. 7)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native cultivated	Merrill, Elmer D. (1925) (p. 159) In forests near streams at low altitudes; cultivated for ornamental purposes.
Wallis and Futuna Wallis and Futuna (Horne) Islands	Wallis (‘Uvea) Island	introduced cultivated	Meyer, Jean-Yves (2007) (p. 28)

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)	Northern Territory	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Nicholas M. (2002) (p. 17)
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	introduced invasive	Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. (1998) (p. 98) Potential weed species.
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) Lowland rain forests, secondary forests, disturbed areas, and often cultivated; below 1000 m. Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan.
China China	Hong Kong	introduced cultivated	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 294)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (p. 408)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. (1998) (p. 98)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	native	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 24) Common

Additional information:
Information from the ASEAN Tropical Plant Database.

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

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

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

References:

Bailey, L. H./Bailey, E. Z. 1976. Hortus third: A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada. Macmillan, New York. 1290 pp.

Charles Darwin Foundation. 2008. Database inventory of introduced plant species in the rural and urban zones of Galapagos. Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos, Ecuador.

Charles Darwin Research Station. 2005. CDRS Herbarium records.

Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. 2009. A checklist of the total vascular plant flora of Singapore: native, naturalised and cultivated species. Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore. 273 pp.

Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. 1998. Potential environmental weeds in Australia: Candidate species for preventative control. Canberra, Australia. Biodiversity Group, Environment Australia. 208 pp.

Daehler, Curtis C./Baker, Raymond F. 2006. New records of naturalized and naturalizing plants around Lyon Arboretum, Mānoa Valley, O‘ahu. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2004-2005. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 87:3-18.

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1987. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian monocotyledonae. Micronesica 20:1-126.

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.

Lorence, David H./Flynn, Tim. 2010. Checklist of the plants of Palau. Unpublished checklist. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 44 pp.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Merrill, Elmer D. 1925. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants, vol. 1 [reprint]. Bureau of Printing, Manila. 463 pp.

Meyer, Jean-Yves. 2007. Rapport de mission sur l'Ile d'Uvea (Wallis & Futuna) du 6 au 17 Novembre 2007: Inventaire preliminaire de la flore vasculaire secondaire [unpublished report]. Délégation à la Recherche, Ministère de l'Education, l'Enseignement Supérieur et la Recherche, B.P. 20981 Papeete, Tahiti, Polynésie française. 39 pp.

Smith, Albert C. 1979. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 1. 494 pp.

Smith, Nicholas M. 2002. Weeds of the wet/dry tropics of Australia - a field guide. Environment Centre NT, Inc. 112 pp.

Standley, Paul C./Steyermark, Julian A. 1958. Flora of Guatemala. Fieldiana: Botany. Vol. 24, Part I. Chicago Natural History Museum. 478 pp.

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

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

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.

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).