Waterhousea floribunda (F. Muell.) B. Hyland, Myrtaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Eugenia ventenatii Benth.; Syzygium floribundum F. Muell.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: weeping lilly pilly, weeping myrtle

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Tree up to 30 m tall, stem diameter up to 80 cm, large trees often flanged at base, branches pendulous. Leaves with petioles 2-8 mm long; blades narrowly oblong-ovate to narrowly oblong-elliptic, apex drawn out to pointed or rounded tip, base cuneate, margin slightly recur4ved, 5.5-17 cm X 1.3-5 cm, dark green and glossy above, dull and paler below, main lateral veins 15-40 pairs, oil glands numerous, fairly distinct. Flowers in panicles, pedicels up to 3 mm long; hypanthium campanulate, ca 3 mm long; sepals 5, less than 1 mm long; petals white, 5, imbricate, mostly cohering slightly and forming calyptra which is shed when flower opens; stamens ca 3-7 mm long; style 4-10 mm long. Fruits greenish, " depressed globular, 1.3-2 cm diameter, crowned by persistent calyx lobes." (Stanley and Ross, 1986; vol. 2, p. 213)

Habitat/ecology:  Mesic sites.

Propagation:  Fleshy fruits dispersed by birds.

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
French Polynesia Society Islands	Moorea Island	introduced invasive	Meyer, Jean-Yves (2000) (p. 93) "Mesic habitats"
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1992) (voucher ID: BISH 644065) Taxon name on voucher: Syzygium floribundum F.Muell.
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1990) (voucher ID: BISH 644404) Taxon name on voucher: Syzygium floribundum F.Muell.

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)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 90) Cultivated only

Comments:  Present on Tahiti; a more serious problem on Moorea.

Additional information:
Information from the Global Invasive Species Database.

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

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

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

References:

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1990. Voucher specimen #BISH 644404 (Florence 10704).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1992. Voucher specimen #BISH 644065 (Florence 11056).

Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. 2009. A checklist of the total vascular plant flora of Singapore: native, naturalised and cultivated species. Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore. 273 pp.

Hyland, B. P. M. 1983. A revision of Syzygium and allied genera (Myrtaceae) in Australia. Australian Journal of Botany, Supplementary Series No. 9:1-164.

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.

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

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