Tabebuia pallida (Lindl.) Miers, Bignoniaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Bignonia pallida Lindl.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Cuban pink trumpet tree, white cedar, whitewood

Habit:  tree

Description:  "A tree of 5-35 m height with a greyish deeply fissured bark.  Leaves are 8-15 cm long and palmately compound with 3-5 spreading leaflets.  Petioles are 5-25 cm long.  The leaflets are broadly elliptic, 5-22 cm long and 2-11  cm wide.  Inflorescences are terminal panicles and consist of many pink rose or white flowers with corollas of 5-7 cm length.  Fruits are cylindrical and dehiscent capsules of 10-20 cm length and c. 15 mm width, containing numerous winged seeds"  (Weber, 2003; p. 426).

Habitat/ecology:  "Forests and forest edges, tropical hammocks.  This tree is a characteristic species of tropical dry and moist forests in the native range.  Where invasive, it establishes well in disturbed sites and forms dense thickets that shade out native plants and strongly reduce species richness.  Regeneration of native shrubs and trees is prevented, hindering natural succession and forest regeneration.  Little is known on the ecology of this tree"  (Weber, 2003; p. 426).

Propagation:  Wind-borne seed.

Native range:  Wet windward slopes of the Lesser Antilles (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 189).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Flynn, Tim (1998) (p. 16)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island		Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.) (1990) (voucher ID: BISH 588615) Taxon name on voucher: Tabebuia pallida (Lindl.) Miers
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island		Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.) (1990) (voucher ID: BISH 591266) Taxon name on voucher: Tabebuia pallida (Lindl.) Miers
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 22) Vouchers cited: Suprin 1436 (NOU), MacKee 40190, MacKee 41851
Palau Palau (main island group)	Koror Island		Beleu National Museum (Republic of Palau. Koror.) (1974) (voucher ID: BNM 10063) Taxon name on voucher: Tabebuia pallida Miers.

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island	introduced invasive	Kueffer, C./Mauremootoo, J. (2004) (p. 6)
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Rodrigues Island	introduced invasive	Kueffer, C./Mauremootoo, J. (2004) (p. 6)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Seychelles Islands	introduced invasive	Gerlach, J. (1996) (pp. 4-5)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Seychelles Islands	introduced invasive	Weber, Ewald (2003) (p. 426)

Control: 

Physical:  "Seedlings and saplings can be hand pulled or dug out".

Chemical:  "Larger stems are cut and the cut stumps treated with herbicide"  (Weber, 2003; p. 426).

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

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

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

Other Latin names:  Bignonia pallida Lindl.

References:

Beleu National Museum (Republic of Palau. Koror.). 1974. Voucher specimen #BNM10063(Otobed, D.O. P-10063).

Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.). 1990. Voucher specimen #BISH588615(Lorence, D.H. 6458).

Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.). 1990. Voucher specimen #BISH591266(Staples, G.W. 701).

Gerlach, J. 1996. Invasive trees on Seychelles Islands. Aliens 4:4-5.

Kueffer, C./Mauremootoo, J. 2004. Case studies on the status of invasive woody plant species in the western Indian Ocean. 3. Mauritius (islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Forestry Department, Forest Resources Division, Forest Resources Development Service, Working Paper FBS/4-3E. 35 pp.

Lorence, David H./Flynn, Tim. 1998. Checklist of the plants of Pohnpei. Unpublished checklist. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 21 pp.

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

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.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2009. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Weber, Ewald. 2003. Invasive plants of the World. CABI Publishing, CAB International, Wallingford, UK. 548 pp.