Hura crepitans L., Euphorbiaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  no

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 8 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: xiang he zi

English: sandbox tree

Spanish: catahua, ceiba amarilla, javillo

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Tree to 25 m tall. Leaves with petioles to 20 cm long; blades ovate to orbiculate, 12-25 x 7-15 cm, base cordate, apex acuminate to subcuspidate, margin crenate with glandular teeth, prominently pinnate-veined, sparsely long-pubescent on lower surface. Staminate inflorescences on peduncle to 10 cm long, staminate flowers 60 to 80 on axis 2-4.5 cm long, column with 2 or 3 verticels of anthers; pistillate flowers with peduncles > 5 cm long, calyx 3-5 mm long, truncate, stylar column 2.5-5 cm long, fleshy apical disk to 1 cm in diameter, with radiating tips 1 cm long. Capsules woody, depressed, > 8 cm in diameter, 3-5 cm long, dehiscent into ca. 15, crescent-shaped, woody-valved cocci; seeds flattened, suborbicular, 2 cm in diameter, smooth" (Howard, 1989; p. 57).

Habitat/ecology:  In Australia, "planted in a CSIRO forestry plot at Middle Point, 50 km east of Darwin in the mid to late 1960's, it has established populations in surrounding native bushland" (Csurhes & Edwards, 1998; p. 110).

Propagation:  "The fruit is a capsule, with up to sixteen carpels arranged radially around the central axis, that explodes to release seed (Swaine and Beer, 1977, cited in Csurhes & Edwards, 1998; p. 110).

Native range:  Tropical America, naturalized elsewhere.

Presence:

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Northern Territory	introduced invasive cultivated	Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. (1998) (p. 110)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) Cultivated. Hainan, Hong Kong.
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Costa Rica Costa Rica	Costa Rica (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Ecuador (Mainland) Ecuador	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Nicaragua Nicaragua	Nicaragua (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Panama Panama	Panama (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)		U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Comments:  Invasive in Tanzania (Rejmánek, 1996).

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

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

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

References:

Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. 1998. Potential environmental weeds in Australia: Candidate species for preventative control. Canberra, Australia. Biodiversity Group, Environment Australia. 208 pp.

Howard, Richard A. 1989. Flora of the Lesser Antilles: Leeward and Windward Islands. Vol. 5 Dicotyledoneae-Part 2 Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University. 604 pp.

Rejmánek, M. 1996. Species richness and resistance to invasions. In: Orians, G., R. Dirzo and J. H. Cushman (eds.). Biodiversity and ecosystem processes in tropical forests. Springer-Verlag. pp. 153-172.

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

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).