Gmelina arborea Roxb., Verbenaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

English: gmelina, Malay bush-beech, white beech, white teak

Fijian: yemane

Other: yemane

Spanish: melina

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Large, rapidly growing tree, the branchlets yellowish-tomentose; leaves petiolate, the petioles 5-15 cm. long, puberulent to glabrous, the leaf blades broadly ovate, 10-25 x 7.5-18 cm., cordate or truncate at base, long-acuminate at apex, entire at margin (but sometimes toothed or lobed on young plants), tomentose or at length glabrous above, densely and persistently tomentellous beneath with stellate hairs, glanduliferous just above petiole, the lateral nerves 5-10 per side; inflorescences fulvous-tomentose throughout, the bracts linear to linear-lanceolate; calyx broadly campanulate, about 5 mm. long, 5-toothed; corolla showy, yellow to reddish or brownish, 25-40 mm. long, the tube densely pubescent without; stamens 4, exserted, one pair sometimes sterile; drupes ovoid to obovoid-pyriform, 20-25 mm. long, orange-yellow when mature, aromatic, the endocarp usually 2-celled and 2-seeded (or by abortion 1-seeded), or sometimes 3-celled and 3 seeded"  (Smith, 1991; pp. 203-205).

Habitat/ecology:  "Estimated to range from Tropical Very Dry to Wet through Subtropical Very Dry to Wet Forest Life Zones, gmelina is reported or estimated to tolerate annual precipitation of 7 to 45 dm, annual temperature of 20 to 26"C, and pH of 6 to 8. It can tolerate a 6û7-month dry season. Grows on many soils, acidic laterites to calcareous loams, doing poorly on thin or poor soils with hardpan, dry sands, or heavily leached acidic soils, well-drained basic alluviums." (Purdue NewCROP)

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Tropical moist forests from India, Burma, and Sri Lanka to southern China. Widely introduced as a forestry tree or for ornament and shade.

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	‘Atiu Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2002) (p. 11)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	‘Atiu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1991) (voucher ID: BISH 665313) Taxon name on voucher: Gmelina arborea Roxb.
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island		Sykes, Bill (year unknown)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1991) (voucher ID: BISH 665325) Taxon name on voucher: Gmelina arborea Roxb.
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1991) (pp. 203, 205)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Raulerson, L. (2006) (p. 59)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced cultivated	Imada, Clyde T./Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2006) (p. Voucher specimens) Vouchers cited: Flynn 3108 (BISH 536125, BISH 536124)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced cultivated	Imada, Clyde T./Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2006) (p. Voucher specimens) East Maui. Vouchers cited: Flynn 3502 (BISH 514190), Lorence 7682 (BISH 649270)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced cultivated	Imada, Clyde T./Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2006) (p. Voucher specimen) Voucher cited: Rock 253 (BISH 71919)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 139) Voucher cited: Gay in MacKee 42362
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	introduced cultivated	Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. (1988) (p. 78)
Tonga Tongatapu Group	Tongatapu Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2001) (p. Field notes.) Single tree.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
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)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)

Comments:  Small area naturalized on ‘Atiu, Cook Islands (Space & Flynn, 2002).

Additional information:  Information on Gmelina arborea from the Purdue NewCROP database.
Factsheet from Winrock International.
Information from the World Agroforestry Centre's AgroForestryTree Database.

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

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

References:

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1991. Voucher specimen #BISH 665313 (Sykes, W.R. 474654).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1991. Voucher specimen #BISH 665325 (Sykes, W.R. 474397).

Dassanayake, M. D., gen. ed. 1983. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon. Vol IV. Amerind Pub. Co., New Delhi. 532 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.

Imada, Clyde T./Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. 2006. Annotated checklist of cultivated plants of Hawai‘i (online searchable database).

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Raulerson, L. 2006. Checklist of Plants of the Mariana Islands. University of Guam Herbarium Contribution 40:1-69. .

Smith, Albert C. 1991. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 5. 626 pp.

Space, James C./Flynn, Tim. 2001. Report to the Kingdom of Tonga on invasive plant species of environmental concern.  USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 78 pp.

Space, James C./Flynn, Tim. 2002. Report to the Government of the Cook Islands on invasive plant species of environmental concern. USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 146 pp.

Sykes, Bill. 0. Bill Sykes, pers. com.

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