Excoecaria indica (Willd.) Müll. Arg., Euphorbiaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Evaluate, score: 1 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Sapium indicum Willd.; Shirakiopsis indica (Willd.) Esser

Common name(s): [more details]

Palauan: maskerekur, masklegl

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Tree, up to 30 m high, stem diameter up to 40 cm, bole twisting, with spines at base and buttresses up to 2 m high, branching from base. Young twigs pilose, especially in axils. Indumentum pale to yellowish. Bark brown greyish to olive, 2-4 mm thick, vertically furrowed and fissured, peeling in small rectangles; outer bark thin; inner bark yellow to light brown, darkening rapidly, fibrous. Slash with strong, sweet smell. Sapwood and heartwood homogenous, dirty white to pale yellow to straw-coloured, of moderate weight and hardness, with numerous pores. Leaves: petiole 1.1-1.4 cm, sparsely pilose to glabrous; blade oblong to elliptic to slightly ovate, 7-14 x 3-4 cm, base obtuse, apex subacuminate to acuminate, lower surface with 2-4 glands per side, 0.25-0.4 mm in diameter, basal glands 0.5-0.9 mm in diameter and often touching the midrib, secondary veins 18-24 pairs, angle with midrib 60-66 degrees, smaller veins distinct. Inflorescences 30-55 by 6-8 mm, axis pilose. Bracts of staminate cymules 1.25-2 mm long, pilose to ciliate, their glands 1-1.75 by 0.5-0.9 mm. Staminate flowers sparsely pilose; pedicel 1-2 mm long; calyx 0.6-0.8 mm long, ciliate; stamens with filaments 0.5-0.6 mm long when flowering, nearly absent in bud, anthers 0.4-0.5 mm long. Pistillate flowers: 1 (rarely 2) per thyrse or absent; pedicel c. 5 mm long; calyx 1.25-1.75 mm long, pilose; ovary 2.5 mm long; style c. 1.5 mm long, stigmata 4--6 mm long. Fruits: pedicel 8-22 mm long; schizocarp nearly globose in outline, 18-30 by 20-32 mm, rounded at both ends or slightly attenuate at base, not or very slightly sulcate, green and becoming black when ripe, dry and without fleshy outer layer; hardly and tardily dehiscent and often shed unopened, sometimes irregularly broken or opened partly septicidally or loculicidally; often with less than 3 seeds, but always regularly trimerous; mericarp with pericarp wall (2-)3-4 mm thick, septum remaining completely at mericarp, therefore without any septal gap or basal triangle; remaining columella only c. 4 mm long to nearly absent, not alate. Seeds 11-13 by 7-8.5 mm, keeled on the back, medium to pale brown, not spotted, without caruncle.    (Esser, H.-J. 1999. A partial revision of the Hippomaneae (Euphorbiaceae) in Malesia. Blumea 44: 149--215).

Habitat/ecology:  "Found along rivers and seashores, in gallery, tidal and mangrove forests, in primary and advanced secondary forests of swampy and seasonally inundated places. Soil: clay, sand, mud. Very common to scattered. Altitude sea level up to 75 m"  (Esser, H.-J. 1999. A partial revision of the Hippomaneae (Euphorbiaceae) in Malesia. Blumea 44: 149--215).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Widely distributed from Sri Lanka and India (Malabar coast, Ganges) to Thailand, the Caroline Islands and the Solomon Islands; in Malesia known from the Malay Peninsula (incl. Singapore), E Sumatra, Borneo, Celebes, Moluccas, and New Guinea including the Bismarck Archipelago"  (Esser, H.-J. 1999. A partial revision of the Hippomaneae (Euphorbiaceae) in Malesia. Blumea 44: 149--215).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island	native	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 145) As Sapium indicum Willd.
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

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. (2011)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 41) Cultivated only
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

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

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

Taxonomic information about Excoecaria indica 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.

Falanruw, Marjorie C./Maka, Jean E./Cole, Thomas G./Whitesell, Craig D. 1990. Common and scientific names of trees and shrubs of Mariana, Caroline, and Marshall Islands. Pac. SW Forest and Range Expt. Stn. Resource Bulletin PSW-67. 91 pp.

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

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.