Platymiscium stipulare Benth., Fabaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Tree to 70 feet tall, glabrous; branches ascending.  Leaf petiole 1.5-3 inches long; leaflets usually 5, ovate or elliptic, 3-5 x 1.4-2.4 inches, leathery, glossy, veins prominent.  Raceme 1 per leaf axil, flowers paired; pedicels to 0.2 inches long.  Flowers ca 0.5 inch long, fragrant; corolla yellow, standard petals ±circular; staminate filaments and pistil glabrous.   Fruit ellipsoid-oblong, 3.25-4 inches long, 1.25-1.4 inches wide, brownish tan, thickly papery.  Seed ellipsoid-oblong, 0.75-1 x 0.5-0.66 inches, greenish"  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 322).

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i, sometimes planted as a street and shade tree (Frohlich & Lau, 2008; p. 4).  The original tree in Hawai‘i was planted in what is now the Foster Botanical Garden and resulted in hundreds of seedlings scattered throughout the estate. "Although this tendency makes propagation easy, it presents problems for gardeners in controlling undesired spread of this invasive plant"  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 322).

Propagation:  "This tree produces many wind-dispersed seeds that germinate readily"  (Frohlich & Lau, 2008; p. 6).

Native range:  Colombia, Peru and Ecuador (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 322).

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	Maui Island		Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.) (1985) (voucher ID: BISH 498441) Taxon name on voucher: Platymiscium stipulare Benth.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Frohlich, Danielle/Lau, Alex (2008) (pp. 6-7) Voucher cited: D. Frohlich & A. Lau 2007081607 (BISH)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (Republic of)	native	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2005) (p. 322)
Ecuador (Mainland) Ecuador	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	native	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2005) (p. 322)
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)	native	Macbride, J. Francis (1936) (p. (3/1) 268)
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)	native	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2005) (p. 322)

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

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

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

References:

Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.). 1985. Voucher specimen #BISH498441(Hobdy, R.W. 2414).

Frohlich, Danielle/Lau, Alex. 2008. New plant records from O‘ahu for 2007. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2007. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 100:3-12.

ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre. 2011. International Legume Database & Information Service. Online searchable database.

Macbride, J. Francis. 1936. Flora of Peru. Field Museum of Natural History, Botanical Series, Vol. XIII. 1936-1971, 6 parts.

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.