Dovyalis hebecarpa (Gardn.) Warb., Salicaceae

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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:  Aberia gardneri Clos; Rumea hebecarpa Gardner

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Ceylon-gooseberry, ketambilla, ketembilla, kitambilla

Maori (Cook Islands): venevene

Spanish: quetembila

Habit:  shrub/tree

Description:  "Evergreen shrub or treelet to 20 feet tall; trunk and branch base thorns slender, 1.5 inches long.  Leaf petiole 0.2-0.4 inch long; blades ovate-oblong to oblong lanceolate, underside shortly hairy especially along midrib and veins.  Flowers:  staminate flowers 8-10 in clusters, usually on leafless twigs, hairy, sepals usually 5 (-7), stamens 50-60; pistillate flowers 1-3 in leaf axils or on leafless twigs, ovary hairy, styles 5-7; nectary approximately 10 hairy glands.  Fruit globose, 1-1.6 inches in diameter, purplish to bronze-maroon, velvety-hairy.  Seeds 9-12, ca 0.25 inches long, densely hairy"  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 336).

Habitat/ecology:  "Ketambilla thrives at low elevations on all types of soils, including sand and limestone.  It requires a location in full sun"  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 336).  In Fiji, "sparingly cultivated near sea level"  (Smith, 1981; p. 640).

Propagation:  Seed.  "The fleshy fruit is attractive to birds, and so this species could become weedy.  In southern Florida, plantings have mostly been eradicated because the shrubs proved to be too aggressive in cultivation"  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 336).

Native range:  Sri Lanka (GRIN), now widely cultivated in other tropical areas (Smith, 1981; p. 640).

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	Mangaia Island	introduced invasive cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2011) Naturalized
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island	introduced invasive cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2011) Naturalized
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1981) (p. 640) Vouchers cited: DA 11741, DA 5652
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Raulerson, L. (2006) (p. 48)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Herbst, Derral (1998) (p. 3) Voucher cited: Imada, Char & Whistler s.n. (BISH) Sparingly naturalized.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island		Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.) (1945) (voucher ID: BISH 50488) Taxon name on voucher: Dovyalis hebecarpa (Gardn.) Warb.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (1986) (voucher ID: PTBG 5204) Taxon name on voucher: Dovyalis hebecarpa (Gardn.) Warb.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island		Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.) (year unknown) (voucher ID: BISH 51972) Taxon name on voucher: Dovyalis hebecarpa (Gardn.) Warb.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island		Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.) (1927) (voucher ID: BISH 50487) Taxon name on voucher: Dovyalis hebecarpa (Gardn.) Warb.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 36)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	USA (Florida)	introduced cultivated	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2005) (p. 336)

Additional information:
Information from Morton, J. 1987. Ketembilla. p. 311-315. In: Fruits of warm climates.

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

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

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

References:

Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.). 0. Voucher specimen #BISH51972(Maehler, K.L. 1).

Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.). 1927. Voucher specimen #BISH50487(MacDaniels, L.H. 455).

Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.). 1945. Voucher specimen #BISH50488(Fagerlund, G.O. 1102).

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.

Herbst, Derral. 1998. New records for Hawaiian plants. I. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Miller, Scott, E., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1997. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 56:2-4.

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

Morton, Julia F. 1987. Fruits of warm climates. Julia F. Morton, Miami, Florida.

National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.). 1986. Voucher specimen #PTBG5204(Flynn, Tim 1967).

Raulerson, L. 2006. Checklist of Plants of the Mariana Islands. University of Guam Herbarium Contribution 37:1-69. .

Smith, Albert C. 1981. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 2. 810 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.