Dillenia indica L., Dilleniaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

English: dillenia, elephant-apple

Spanish: leña de indigo

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Tree to 15 m tall or more, with dense, rounded, spreading crown and study trunk 2-4 dm thick; leaves obovate, 1-3 dm long, serrate, a lateral vein running to each tooth; buds 12-16 cm tick, three-fourths as long, sepals tightly imbricated, rounded, thick at base; petals broadly obovate, about twice as long as sepals, broad-clawed; carpels usually 20"  (Wiggins & Porter, 1971, pp. 567-568).

Habitat/ecology:  In New Caledonia, "arbre rarement planté" (MacKee, 1994; p. 48).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  East Indies and Malaysia (Wiggins & Porter, 1971; pp. 567-568).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 172)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J. (2004) (p. 124)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 48) Voucher cited: MacKee 21265

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)

Comments:  Reported as possibly an invasive plant in the Galápagos Islands per Charles Darwin Research Station.

Additional information:  Additional online information about Dillenia indica is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

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

References:

Charles Darwin Research Station. 2005. CDRS Herbarium records.

Florence, J. 2004. Flore de la Polynésie française, Vol. 2. Paris. IRE Editions, Publications Scientifiques, Collection Faune et Flore Tropicales 41. 503 pp.

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

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

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2007. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wiggins, I. L./Porter, D. M. 1971. Flora of the Galapágos Islands. Stanford University Press. 998 pp.