Durio zibethinus Murray, Bombacaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

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		Lorence, David H./Flynn, Tim (1998) (p. 17)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J. (2004) (pp. 275-276)
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)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands		Wairiu, M./Wagatora, D. (2002)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	introduced cultivated	Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. (1988) (p. 69)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
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)

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).

Additional information:  Information from the World Agroforestry Centre's AgroForestryTree Database.

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

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

References:

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

Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. 1988. Flora of the Solomon Islands. Research Bulletin No. 7. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Honiara. 203 pp.

Henty, E. E., ed. 1981. Handbooks of the flora of Papua New Guinea, vol. 2. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne. 276 pp.

Lorence, David H./Flynn, Tim. 1998. Checklist of the plants of Pohnpei. Unpublished checklist. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 21 pp.

Swarbrick, J. T. 1997. Environmental weeds and exotic plants on Christmas Island, Indian Ocean: a report to Parks Australia. 101 pp. plus appendix.

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

Wairiu, M./Wagatora, D. 2002. Solomon Islands national profile report on invasive alien species. Prepared for "The prevention and management of invasive alien species: forging cooperation throughout the Austral Pacific", Honolulu, Hawai'i, 15-17 October 2002.