Tabebuia pallida (Lindl.) Miers, Bignoniaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 11 (Go to the risk assessment)

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
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Cultivée
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Frohlich, Danielle/Lau, Alex (2012) (pp. 31-32) Voucher cited: OED 2010051401 (BISH)
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	introduced invasive cultivated	Frohlich, Danielle/Lau, Alex (2012) (pp. 31-32) Voucher cited: OED 2009092902 (BISH)
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

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 84) Cultivated only

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)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Seychelles Islands	introduced	Invasive Species Specialist Group (2017)

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).