Oroxylum indicum (L.) Vent., Bignoniaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Evaluate; score: 2 (Hawaii-Pacific Weed Risk Assessment for Oroxylum indicum)

Other Latin names:  Arthrophyllum ceylanicum Miq.; Arthrophyllum reticulatum Blume ex Miq.; Bignonia indica L.; Bignonia lugubris Salisb.; Bignonia pentandra Lour.; Bignonia quadripinnata Blanco; Bignonia tripinnata Noronha; Bignonia tuberculata Roxb. ex DC.; Calosanthes indica (L.) Blume; Hippoxylon indica (L.) Raf.; Oroxylum flavum Rehder; Spathodea indica (L.) Pers.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: midnight horror, oroxylum

Malay: kampong

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Trees, 6-10 m tall, few-branched; trunk 15-20 cm dbh. Leaves opposite, 2(-4) -pinnately compound, borne nearly at stem apex, 0.6-1.3 m long; leaflets triangular-ovate, 5-13 &mult; 3-10 cm, base subrounded or cordate, oblique, margins entire, apex shortly acuminate, glabrous, lateral veins 5 or 6 per side. Inflorescences racemose, erect, 4-1.5 m [sic] long, terminal; pedicels 3-7 cm long. Flowers usually open at night, malodorous, bat-pollinated; calyx large, fleshy, purple, broadly campanulate, 2.2-4.5 &mult; 2-3 cm, subtruncate, glabrous; corolla purple-red, campanulate, tube fleshy, 3-9  1-1.5 cm, limb 5.5-8 cm ⌀, lobes spreading, slightly reflexed, rounded, margin sinuous, upper lib bilobed, lower lip trilobed; stamens 5, filaments ~4 cm long, anthers ellipsoid, 2-celled, to 1 cm long; disk ~1.5 cm ⌀, 5-lobed; style filiform, 5-7 cm long, stigma lingulate, 2-parted, ~7 &mult; 5 mm. Fruits capsules, woody, long-lanceolate, to 1.2 m &mult; 5-9 cm, ~1 cm thick, setpicidally dehiscent; seeds rounded, in several rows, very thing, 6-7 &mult; 3.5-4 cm, wing transparent." (Encyclopedia of Tropical Plants, p. 636)

Habitat/ecology:  In its native range ("Asia to Malesia"): "In tropical and subtropical forests; 500-900 m. Fl. Sep-Dec." (Encyclopedia of Tropical Plants, p. 636)

Propagation:  "O. indicum is propagated naturally by seeds, which germinate m the beginning of the rainy season. Seedlings require moderate shade in the early stages. However, the seed set is poor and seed viability is low." (Tiwari et 2007, p. 299)

Native range:  The native range of Oroxylum indicum (Bignoniaceae) includes China, Taiwan, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. (GRIN)

Impacts and invaded habitats:  (no invaded habitats or impacts known by PIER; please let us know if you know of such information we should add here)

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (year unknown) accessed 20180115

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Asia Asia	Asia	native (presumably)	Fayaz, Ahmed (2011) (p. 636)
Asia Asia	Bhutan	native	U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (year unknown) accessed 20180115
Asia Asia	Laos	native	U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (year unknown) accessed 20180115
Asia Asia	Myanmar	native	U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (year unknown) accessed 20180115
Asia Asia	Nepal	native	U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (year unknown) accessed 20180115
Asia Asia (Pacific rim)	Malesia	native (presumably)	Fayaz, Ahmed (2011) (p. 636)
Cambodia Cambodia	Cambodia (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (year unknown) accessed 20180115
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (year unknown) accessed 20180115
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (year unknown) accessed 20180115
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (year unknown) accessed 20180115
Taiwan Taiwan Island	Taiwan Island	native	U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (year unknown) accessed 20180115
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (year unknown) accessed 20180115
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (year unknown) accessed 20180115

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka	Sri Lanka	native	U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (year unknown) accessed 20180115

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
India India	India (Republic of)	native	U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (year unknown) accessed 20180115

Comments:  "Problems related with its natural propagation and indiscriminate exploitation for medicinal purpose have pushed O. indicum to the list of endangered plant species of India." (Tiwari et 2007, p. 299)

Control:  If you know of control methods for Oroxylum indicum, please let us know.