Cecropia obtusifolia Bertol., Urticaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 10 (Go to the risk assessment).

Other Latin names:  Cecropia palmata auct.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: guarumo, snakewood tree, trumpet tree

Maori (Cook Islands): māniota, rau-māniota

Spanish: guarambo, guaramo, guarumo

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Trees usually 5-10 m tall. Leaf blades usually 20-30 cm long, usually divided more than 1/2 to the center, 9-15-lobed, the lobes occasionally with 1 to several lateral lobes, upper surface scabridulous and sparsely arachnoid pubescent, lower surface very pale to nearly white, minutely and usually densely puberulent, petioles usually 23-30 cm long, stipules 7-11 cm long.  Staminate flowers in spikes (10-) 12-18 cm long, these in clusters of 3-9, spathes (11-) 12-20 cm long, 0.3-0.4 cm in diameter; pistillate flowers in spikes 17-30 cm long, ca. 0.5 cm in diameter at anthesis, enlarging to 0.6-0.9 cm in diameter in fruit, the spikes in clusters of 2-4, spathes 16-20 cm long, outer face usually arachnoid pubescent, inner face villous.  Fruit ovoid to oblong-ovoid, somewhat flattened, 3.3-3.7 mm long" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 530).

C. peltata has leaves divided only halfway to the base, staminate spikes in clusters of 12-50, and pistillate spike less than 12 cm long when fully expanded (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 530).

Habitat/ecology:  "This very rapidly growing but short-lived tree attains a height of no more than 10 m.  It forms dense stands which seriously impede the growth of other plants" (Smith, 1985; p. 187). It can invade in gaps in native forest.

In Hawai‘i, "naturalized in pastures and low elevation wet forest" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 530).

Propagation:  Seeds are dispersed by frugivorous birds.

Native range:  Southern Mexico to Ecuador and Colombia (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 231).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island	introduced invasive	Meyer, Jean-Yves (2000) (p. 88)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island		McCormack, Gerald (2011)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2002) (p. 6)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1929) (voucher ID: BISH 161305) Taxon name on voucher: Cecropia obtusifolia Bertol.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 530) Voucher cited: MacDaniels 326 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 530)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 530)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Costa Rica Costa Rica	Costa Rica (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Ecuador (Mainland) Ecuador	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
El Salvador El Salvador	El Salvador (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Guatemala Guatemala	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Nicaragua Nicaragua	Nicaragua (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Panama Panama	Panama (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Comments:  Very invasive on Rarotonga, Cook Islands (Space & Flynn, 2002).

Additional information:
Fact sheet from "Common forest trees of Hawaii" (PDF format).
Information from the USDA Tropical Tree Seed Manual (PDF format).

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

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

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

References:

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1929. Voucher specimen #BISH 161305 (Wilder, G.P. 1014).

Little, Elbert L./Skolmen, Roger G. 1989. Common forest trees of Hawaii (native and introduced). USDA Agriculture Handbook 679. Washington, D.C. 377 pp. + plates.

McCormack, Gerald. 2011. Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga.

Meyer, Jean-Yves. 2000. Preliminary review of the invasive plants in the Pacific islands (SPREP Member Countries). In: Sherley, G. (tech. ed.). Invasive species in the Pacific: A technical review and draft regional strategy. South Pacific Regional Environment Programme, Samoa. 190 pp.

Smith, Clifford W. 1985. Impact of Alien Plants on Hawai‘i's Native Biota. In: Stone, Charles P. and Scott, J. Michael, eds. Hawai‘i's terrestrial ecosystems: preservation and Management. Cooperative National Park Resources Studies Unit, University of Hawaii, Manoa.

Space, James C./Flynn, Tim. 2002. Report to the Government of the Cook Islands on invasive plant species of environmental concern. USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 146 pp.

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. 2005. A tropical garden flora: plants cultivated in the Hawaiian Islands and other tropical places. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 908 pp.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. 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).

Whistler, W. A. 1990. Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands: The plants, their Maori names, and their uses. Allertonia 5(4):347-424.