Ochna kirkii Oliver, Ochnaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

English: bird's-eye bush, Mickey Mouse plant

Habit:  shrub

Description:  "Shrubs or small trees 1.5-5 m tall; leaves sessile (2.5) 5-10 cm long, obovate-elliptic to broadly oblong or oblanceolate, entire or spinose-toothed, obtuse to rounded, spinose-mucronate, cuneate to cordate basally, inflorescence a short panicle; calyx red-purple, flat, spreading in fruit; petals 1.5-2.5 cm long; carpels typically 12; drupes flattened-cylindrical" (Welsh, 1998; p. 206).

Compared to Ochna thomasiana, Ochna kirkii "has larger leaves (2-3.25 inches long, 0.75-1.25 inches wide) that are broadly oblong, oblanceolate, or obovate, provided with many cilia around the margin on mature leaves; and smaller fruiting sepals (0.4-0.5 inch long, 0.15-0.25 inch wide).  Young leaves of O. thomasiana are ciliate around the entire margin, but at maturity only 5-8 cilia persist near the blade base" (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 437).

Habitat/ecology:  (no habitat/ecology info known by PIER)

Propagation:  Seed, probably spread by birds.

Native range:  Africa

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Hiva Oa Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J. (2004) (p. 326)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Bora Bora Island	introduced cultivated	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 206) Voucher cited: Grant 5061
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island	introduced	Meyer, Jean-Yves (2000) (p. 94) "Potential invader".
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Florence, J. (2004) (p. 326)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J. (2004) (p. 326) Voucher cited: BRY 25454
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1982) (voucher ID: BISH 493127) Taxon name on voucher: Ochna thomasiana Engl. & Gilg
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Raulerson, L. (2006) (p. 30)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 107) Voucher cited: MacKee 42245

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

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

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

References:

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1982. Voucher specimen #BISH 493127 (Florence, J. 2415).

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

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

Meyer, Jean-Yves. 2000. Preliminary review of the invasive plants in the Pacific islands (SPREP Member Countries). In: Sherley, G. (tech. ed.). Invasive species in the Pacific: A technical review and draft regional strategy. South Pacific Regional Environment Programme, Samoa. 190 pp.

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

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.

Welsh, S. L. 1998. Flora Societensis: A summary revision of the flowering plants of the Society Islands. E.P.S. Inc., Orem, Utah. 420 pp.