Syncarpia glomulifera (Sm.) Nied., Myrtaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Metrosideros glomulifera Smith; Syncarpia laurifolia Tenore

Common name(s): [more details]

English: lustre wood, turpentine myrtle, turpentine tree

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Tree up to ca 40 m tall; bark fibrous, furrowed. Leaves often appearing in whorls of 4 from 2 pairs being close together; petioles 0.8-1.5 cm long; blades ovate or narrowly ovate, apex obtuse to obtusely acuminate, base cuneate to rounded, 4-10 cm X 1.3-3.5 cm, glabrous above, hoary below. Flowers 6-10 together fused into a head, heads subtended by 2-4 bracts, peduncles 1-3 cm long, heads pubescent at flowering; petals white, ca 3 mm long, pubescent. Fruiting heads 1.2-1.5 cm across" (Stanley & Ross, 1986; vol. 2, p. 200).

Habitat/ecology:  In its native range (Australia), in eucalypt communities in higher rainfall areas. In Hawai‘i, extensively planted; "reported as reproducing and escaped at least in Kamakou Preserve, Moloka‘i" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 948).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Australia

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1929) (voucher ID: BISH 166435) Taxon name on voucher: Syncarpia glomulifera (Sm.) Nied.
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (p. 298) Voucher cited: DF 1095 (Damanu 209)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1965) (voucher ID: BISH 33229) Taxon name on voucher: Syncarpia glomulifera (Sm.) Nied.
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced	Meyer, Jean-Yves (2000) (p. 94) "Potential invader".
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Naturalisée
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 948)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 948)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Lāna‘i Island	introduced cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 948)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Oppenheimer, Hank L. (2003) (p. 16) West Maui. Vouchers cited: Oppenheimer H119912 (BISH), Oppenheimer, R. Platz & C. Hill H30114 (BISH, PTBG) Sparingly naturalized.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 948)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Oppenheimer, Hank (2010) (p. 37) Voucher cited: Oppenheimer H90822 (BISH, PTBG)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 948)
New Zealand (offshore islands) Kermadec Islands	Raoul Island	introduced cultivated	Sykes, W. R. (1977) (p. 120) Relic of cultivation.

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)	New South Wales	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
China China	Hong Kong	introduced cultivated	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 164)

Comments:  Used in forestry plantings. Naturalizing in Tahiti and Hawai‘i.

Additional information:
Fact sheet from "Common forest trees of Hawaii" (PDF format).

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

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

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

References:

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1929. Voucher specimen #BISH 166435 (Wilder, G.P. 1025).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1965. Voucher specimen #BISH 33229 (Damanu, E. FD 1095).

Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. 2011. Base de données botaniques Nadeaud de l'Herbier de la Polynésie Française (PAP). (online resource).

Little, Elbert L./Skolmen, Roger G. 1989. Common forest trees of Hawaii (native and introduced). USDA Agriculture Handbook 679. Washington, D.C. 377 pp. + plates.

Meyer, Jean-Yves. 1998. Mécanismes et gestion des invasions biologiques par des plantes introduites dans des forêts naturales à Hawai‘i et Polynésie Française: une étude de cas [Mechanisms and management of biological invasions by alien plants in Hawaiian and French Polynesian natural forests: a case study]. Dèlégation à la Recherche, B.P. 20981 Papeete, Tahiti, Polynésie Française. Unpublished report.

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.

Neal, Marie C. 1965. In Gardens of Hawaii. Bernice P. Bishop Museum Special Publication 50, Bishop Museum Press. 924 pp.

Oppenheimer, Hank. 2010. New Hawaiian plant records from Maui County for 2008. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2008. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 107:33-40.

Oppenheimer, Hank L. 2003. New plant records from Maui and Hawai‘i Counties. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2001-2002. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 73:3-30.

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

Stanley, T. D./Ross, E. M. 1989. Flora of south-eastern Queensland. Queensland Department of Primary Industries, Misc. Pub. 81020. 3 Volumes.

Sykes, W. R. 1977. Kermadec Islands flora: an annotated checklist. New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Bulletin 219, Wellington. 216 pp.

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

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).

Wu, Te-lin. 2001. Check List of Hong Kong Plants. Hong Kong Herbarium and the South China Institute of Botany. Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department Bulletin 1 (revised). 384 pp.