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. (2011) Cultivée
Marshall Islands Ratak Chain	Majuro (Mãjro) Atoll	introduced cultivated	Vander Velde, Nancy (2003) (p. 75)
Palau Palau (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. (2011)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
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).

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).

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

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

References:

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.

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

Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. 2011. Base de données botaniques Nadeaud de l'Herbier de la Polynésie Française (PAP). (online resource).

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.

Herrera, Katherine/Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy/Balick, Michael J. 2010. Checklist of the vascular plants of Pohnpei with local names and uses. Allertonia, in press. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 146 pp.

Lorence, David H./Flynn, Tim. 2010. Checklist of the plants of Palau. Unpublished checklist. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 44 pp.

Merrill, Elmer D. 1923. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants, vol. 3 [reprint]. Bureau of Printing, Manila. 628 pp.

Shine, C./Reaser, J. K./Gutierrez, A. T., eds. 2003. Invasive alien species in the Austral-Pacific Region: National Reports & Directory of Resources. Global Invasive Species Programme, Cape Town, South Africa. 185 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.

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. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Vander Velde, Nancy. 2003. The vascular plants of Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. Smithsonian Institution, Atoll Research Bulletin No. 503:1-141.