Alstonia macrophylla Wall. ex G.Don, Apocynaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 9 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: da ye tang jiao shu

English: batino, devil-tree, hard alstonia, hard milkwood

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Leaves in whorls of three or mostly of four. Petiole 1-3 cm long.  Leaf-blade 10-50 cm long, 4-14 cm wide, widest in or above the middle, cuneate at the base, abruptly short-acuminate or more rarely obtuse at the apex, membranous, glabrous above, densely pubescent beneath at least when young, with rather distant lateral veins 0.6-2 cm apart from each other, including with midrib an angle of 60-70˚, herbaceous; dried leaf with the midrib faintly impressed on the upper side, prominent beneath; lateral veins scarcely raised above, slightly so beneath; reticulate venation not sculptured or slightly immersed on either side.  Cymes rather lax, arranged in a sessile umbel.  Pedicels much longer than the calyx.  Calyx-lobes up to 1 mm long, semicircular, puberulous to almost glabrous without.  Corolla glabrous without except for the ciliolate lobes; the tube 0.5-0.6 cm long, the lobes about as long as the tube, oblong, in bud overlapping to the right.  Merocarps pendulous, 30-45 cm long, 0.25-0.35 cm in diameter, glabrous when ripe.  Seeds acute but not acuminate at one end, obtuse at the other."  (Dassanayake, 1983; pp. 41-42)" Tree 3-4 m high (as noted in Fiji, but where indigenous to 20 m high), "with white corollas" (Smith, 1988; p. 78).

Description from the Flora of China online.

Habitat/ecology:  "Introduced as a forest tree to Ceylon, Alstonia acrophylla rapidly became naturalized in the moist region up to an elevation of 1200-1500 m. Now it is one of the most prominent species of the secondary rain forest in the islands." (Dassanayake, 1983; pp. 41-42)

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Southeastern Asia (from Thailand) into Malesia (to the Moluccas); cultivated elsewhere" (Smith, 1988; p. 78).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1988) (p. 78) Voucher cited: DA 11569
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Shannon, Robynn K./Herbst, Derral R. (1997) (pp. 51-52) Vouchers cited: Takiue s.n. (BISH), Paul s.n. (BISH), Herbst & Hopper 9783a (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Staples, George W./Imada, Clyde T./Herbst, Derral R. (2003) (p. 12) Vouchers cited: D. Souza s.n. (BISH), C. Daehler 1058 (BISH), C. Daehler 1090 (HAW)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Herbst, Derral R./Staples, George W./Imada, Clyde T. (2004) (p. 3) Voucher cited: D. Souza s.n. (BISH 695057)
Papua New Guinea Bougainville Islands	Bougainville Island		Foreman, D. B. (1971) (p. 33)
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Cambodia Cambodia	Cambodia (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2013) S. Guangdong, S. Yunnan
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Kalimantan, Moluccas, Sumatra
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced invasive	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 12) Naturalised
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Frégate Island		Robertson, S. A./Todd, D. M. (1983) (p. 45)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Seychelles Islands	introduced	Invasive Species Specialist Group (2017)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	USA (Florida)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2013)

Comments:  Reported to be introduced into Fiji as a forestry tree (Smith, 1988; p. 78). Reported invasive in the Seychelles (Gerlach, 1996). Naturalized in Hawai‘i (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1857).

Control:  If you know of control methods for Alstonia macrophylla, please let us know.