Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER)

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Durio zibethinus
Murray, Malvaceae
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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Low risk, score: -2 (Go to the risk assessment).

Common name(s): [more details]

English: durian

Spanish: durión

Habit:  tree

Description: 

Genus:  "Flowers solitary, fascicled or cymose, on defoliate nodes or along thicker branches; epicalyx closed in bud, afterwards irregularly fissured or 2-3-lobed, caducous; calyx campanulate, widened at base, 3-5-lobed, coriaceous, outside densely lepidote, circumsciss after anthesis; petals 4-5 or more, or absent, free; stamens many, free or in 4-5 oppositipetalous fascicles, all fertile or outer ones reduced to petaline staminodes; fascicles bearing 1-many filaments; anthers flexuous, 1-celled, longitudinally dehiscent or poricidal; ovary 3-6-celled; ovules 2-many in each cell; style stout; loculicidal, 3-5-valved; valves thick, at last entirely separating; wool absent; seeds 1-many in each cell; aril thick, fleshy, almost enveloping the seed; endosperm.  Leaves distichous, simple, entire, coriaceous, pinnately nerved, densely lepidote beneath, occasionally not scaly; stipules early caducous."

Species:  "Petals yellow-white, 3 1/2-5 cm long, oblong-spatulate, at last recurved; calyx 2 1/4-3 cm high, densely pubescent within, regularly 4-6-lobed or -fid; stamens in 5 subflabelliform fascicles; each fascicle bearing 4-18 filaments which are uni5ted for 1/4-1/2 of their length; cymes 3-30-flowered; flowers foetid; pedicels 2-4 cm; fruit ellipsoid, light yellow to greenish yellow, 15-30 cm by 132-15 cm; seeds 2-6 in each cell; aril white or yellowish white, strongly odorous.  Apices of branchlets lepidote; stipules 1 1/2-2 cm long; leaves rounded or obtuse at base, shining above, 6-25 cm by 2 1/2-9 cm; petiole 1 1/2-3 cm" (Backer & Bakhuizen van den Brink, 1963).

Habitat/ecology:  "Planted as a fruit tree; also locally naturalized in secondary forest" (Backer & Bakhuizen van den Brink, 1963).  In Papua New Guinea, "warm humid tropical lowland regions.  It rarely occurs in the undisturbed forests, the seeds being generally propagated by man"  (Henty, 1981; p. 15).

Propagation:  Seed.  "Bats and bees are suspected of being the pollinating agents.  The seeds lose viability very quickly"  (Henty, 1981; p. 15).

Native range:  Indonesia and Malaysia, cultivated elsewhere in tropical Asia (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 introduced
cultivated
Herrera, Katherine/Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy/Balick, Michael J. (2010) (p. 107)
Probably cultivated
French Polynesia
Society Islands
Tahiti Island introduced
cultivated
Florence, J. (2004) (pp. 275-276)
French Polynesia
Society Islands
Tahiti Island introduced
cultivated
Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013)
Cultivée
Marshall Islands
Ratak Chain
Majuro (Mãjro) Atoll introduced
cultivated
Vander Velde, Nancy (2003) (p. 75)
Palau
Palau (Belau ) (main island group)
Palau Islands (main island group)   Lorence, David H./Flynn, Tim (2010) (p. 33)
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)
Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island) introduced
cultivated
Henty, E. E., ed. (1981) (pp. 13-16)
Philippines
Philippine Islands
Philippine Islands introduced
cultivated
Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2005) (p. 194)
Philippines
Philippine Islands
Philippine Islands probably introduced
cultivated
Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (p. 46)
Cultivated for its highly prized fruit, not definitely known from the Philippines in a wild state.
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands introduced
cultivated
Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. (1988) (p. 69)
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands introduced
cultivated
Shine, C./Reaser, J. K./Gutierrez, A. T., eds. (2003) (p. 166)
Potential invader.
Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. &
Island group
Location Cited status &
Cited as invasive &
Cited as cultivated &
Cited as aboriginal introduction?
Reference &
Comments
Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia (Kingdom of) introduced
cultivated
Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2005) (p. 194)
Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia (Republic of) native
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Malaysia
Malaysia
Malaysia (country of) native
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Singapore
Singapore
Singapore (Republic of) introduced
invasive
Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 37)
Casual
Thailand
Thailand
Thailand (Kingdom of) introduced
cultivated
Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2005) (p. 194)
Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam (Socialist Republic of) introduced
cultivated
Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2005) (p. 194)
Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. &
Island group
Location Cited status &
Cited as invasive &
Cited as cultivated &
Cited as aboriginal introduction?
Reference &
Comments
Australia (Indian Ocean offshore islands)
Christmas Island Group
Christmas Island introduced
cultivated
Swarbrick, J. T. (1997) (p. 112)

Comments:  Reported to be a potential invader in the Solomon Islands (Wairiu and Wagatora, 2002; pp. 15-17).

Control:  If you know of control methods for Durio zibethinus, please let us know.


Need more info? Have questions? Comments? Information to contribute? Contact PIER! (pier@hear.org)

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This page was created on 1 JUL 2004 and was last updated on 1 MAR 2012.