Khaya anthotheca (Welwitsch) C. de Candolle, Meliaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

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

Other Latin names:  Garretia anthotheca Welw.; Khaya nyasica Stapf ex Baker f.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Nyasaland mahogany, white mahogany

French: acajou blanc

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Large to very large evergreen tree with a long straight stem. Bark fairly smooth but flaking; large trees often buttressed. Leaves spirally arranged, paripinnate with 2-7 pairs of leaflets; leaflets oblong-elliptic, up to 17 cm long, glossy green above, paler below, glabrous, apex abruptly tapering in to a short point, base slightly asymmetric; margin entire. Flowers in axillary branched heads, white, c. 1 cm in diameter, sweetly scented. Fruit ovoid, woody, 3-5 cm in diameter, splitting into 4-5 valves, pale brown. Seeds winged"  (Flora of Zimbabwe online).

Habitat/ecology:  In Zimbabwe (native), "in evergreen and riverine forest up to 1400 m"  (Flora of Zimbabwe online).  In Hawai‘i (O‘ahu), naturalized in Lyon Arboretum where  "thousands of seedlings and saplings were found throughout the Arboretum and far from planted specimens, but they are especially common in Haukulu.  Seedlings were often found growing in partial shade, among basket grass (Oplismenus hirtellus)"  (Daehler & Baker, 2006; p. 9).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Tropical Africa (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (pp. 572-573) Experimental planting, present status unknown. Voucher cited: DA 16429
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Daehler, Curtis C./Baker, Raymond F. (2006) (p. 9) As Khaya nyasica Stapf ex Baker f. Vouchers cited: Daehler 1074 (BISH), Daehler 1075 (HAW), Nagata 455 (HLA)

Additional information:
Fact sheet from the Agroforestree database.
Fact sheet from the World Agroforestry Centre.
Fact sheet from the USDA Forest Service (Spanish) (PDF format).
Information from the South African National Biodiversity Institute.

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

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

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

References:

Daehler, Curtis C./Baker, Raymond F. 2006. New records of naturalized and naturalizing plants around Lyon Arboretum, Mānoa Valley, O‘ahu. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2004-2005. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 87:3-18.

Smith, Albert C. 1985. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 3. 758 pp.

U. S. Government. 2011. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

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