Ravenala madagascariensis Sonn., Strelitziaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  yes

Risk assessment results:  Evaluate, score: 5 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

English: traveler's palm, traveler's tree

French: arbre à voyageur, ravenale

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Palm-like tree, clump forming, to 10 m high or more, developing a distinct trunk with age.  Leaves simple, alternate, 20 to 30, two-ranked, forming a fan-like crown, blade paddle-shaped, 1.5-3 x 0.6-1 m on a petiole as long or longer than the blade, surface gray-green with the margins often split and like that of the similar banana (Musa spp.) leaf.  Flowers intermittently during the year; flowers several, borne within a single cluster of 7 to 12 large, green, folded, distichous, boat-shaped bracts to 50 cm long.  Corolla of five free subequal tepals 15-24 cm long and one shorter tepal, white to yellowish.  Fruit an oblong woody capsule to 8 cm long, containing many seeds covered with blue arils"  (Whistler, 2000; p. 394-395).

"[T]his striking plant is a simple-stemmed tree with a fan-shaped cluster of leaves at its tip, the trunk to 10 m tall, the leaf sheaths containing water partly from rain and partly excreted by the plant.  The leaves have blades as large as 3 x 1 m and petioles to 3 m long.  The perianth segments are whitish and the seeds have conspicuous blue arils"  (Smith, 1979; p. 180).

Habitat/ecology:  "Forests, freshwater wetlands, marshes, mountain slopes.  A native of secondary forests and riparian habitats, this tree is invasive because it spreads rapidly and foirms dense stands that shade out all other plant species with the large leaves.  It can become the dominant species in later stage forest succession.  The species is variable in size and shape, depending on the habit where it grows.  It is an upright tree in forests and more a shrub in open sites.  Little is known on the ecology of this species as an invader"  (Weber, 2003; p. 355).

"Ravenala madagascariensis is a big problem in Mauritius, especially on mid-altitude (3-600 m) south and west facing slopes in and around the Black River Gorges National Park.  In large areas it almost forms monocultures, with little or no native vegetation left" (Dennis Hansen, communication to Aliens listserver).

Propagation:  Seed.  "I heard somewhere that the reason it is so widespread in Mauritius is because the fruit bat Pteropus niger eats the fruits, and thus spreads the seeds " but the Ravenalas I looked at all had extremely hard fruits that I would think impossible for the Pteropus' to eat.  It seems more plausible that the role the fruit bats play in the reproduction is in the pollination" (Dennis Hansen, communication to Aliens listserver).  The tree can spread vegetatively by suckering from the roots  (Weber, 2003; p. 355).

Native range:  Madagascar

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	Aitutaki Atoll	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2002) (p. Field notes.)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2002) (p. Field notes.)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced cultivated	Herrera, Katherine/Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy/Balick, Michael J. (2010) (p. 62)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (p. 180)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Moorea Island		Fosberg, F. R. (1997) (p. 79)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Moorea Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Cultivée
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island		Fosberg, F. R. (1997) (p. 79)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Cultivée
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (pp. 376-377)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Cultivée
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (pp. 110-111)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawaiian Islands	introduced cultivated	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral/Imada, Clyde T. (2000) (p. 30)
Japan (offshore islands) Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands	Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	introduced	Kato, Hidetoshi (2007)
Marshall Islands Ralik Chain	Kwajalein (Kuwajleen) Atoll	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (pp. 110-111)
Marshall Islands Ralik Chain	Kwajalein (Kuwajleen) Atoll	introduced	Whistler, W. A./Steele, O. (1999) (p. 105) Not seen on this survey and may no longer be present.
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 104) Voucher cited: MacKee 38074
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced cultivated	Sykes, W. R. (1970) (p. 257) Not seen in 2000 or 2004. Voucher cited CHR 169962.
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced cultivated	Yuncker, T. G. (1943) (p. 39)
Palau Palau (Belau ) (main island group)	Babeldaob Island	cultivated	Raulerson, L./Rinehart, A. F./Falanruw, M. C. (1996) (p. 18)
Palau Palau (Belau ) (main island group)	Koror (Oreor) Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Flynn, Tim (2010) (p. 18) Specimen at National Museum.
Palau Palau (Belau ) (main island group)	Palau Islands (main island group)	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (pp. 110-111)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	introduced cultivated	Merrill, Elmer D. (1925) (p. 228) Planted for ornamental purposes.
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Upolu Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2002) (p. Field notes.)
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Upolu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1979) (voucher ID: BISH 439368) Taxon name on voucher: Ravenala madagascariensis Sonn.
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	introduced cultivated	Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. (1988) (p. 105)
Wallis and Futuna Wallis and Futuna (Horne) Islands	Wallis (‘Uvea) Island	introduced cultivated	Meyer, Jean-Yves (2007) (p. 29)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
China China	Hong Kong	introduced cultivated	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 351) Ornamental.
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 74) Cultivated only

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Indian Ocean offshore islands) Christmas Island Group	Christmas Island	introduced cultivated	Swarbrick, J. T. (1997) (p. 125)
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Lavergne, Christophe (2006) "Cultivé/envahissant"
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced invasive	Kueffer, C./Lavergne, C. (2004) (p. 5)
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island	introduced	Cronk, Q. C. B./Fuller, J. L. (2001)
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island	introduced	Lorence, D./Sussman, R. W. (1986) (pp. 147-162)
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island	introduced invasive	Lorence, D./Sussman, R. W. (1988) (pp. 187-204)
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)
French Territory of Mayotte Mayotte Islands	Mayotte Island	introduced cultivated	Comité français de l'Union Internationale pour la Conservation de la Nature en France (2013)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Seychelles Islands	introduced	Invasive Species Specialist Group (2017)

Control: 

Physical:  Hand pull or dig out seedlings and young plants.

Chemical:  Cut large trees and treat the stumps with herbicide (Weber, 2003; p. 355).