Kauaʻi record · kba_plant_alluaudia_comosa
Alluaudia comosa
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About Alluaudia comosa
Alluaudia comosa (Alluaudia comosa) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through cultivation records. This short, flat-crowned species is part of Madagascar's highly seasonal limestone spiny thicket. Its semi-succulent stems and fleshy leaves store water during the growing season, while leaf shedding at the start of the dry season reduces exposed leaf area. Separate male and female plants mean seed production depends on flowering individuals of both sexes; no Kauaʻi reproduction or spread is inferred from the collection record.
Kauaʻi evidence
Taxonomic identity, tree form, diagnostic morphology and island occurrence use the linked reviewed sources. Historical planting, cultivation, naturalization and invasive status are separate. Generated imagery is not occurrence evidence.
Names and classification
- Scientific name
- Alluaudia comosa
- Common names
- Somondratsaky · Alluaudia comosa
- Other names
- Alluaudia comosa · Somondratsaky · Didierea comosa Drake
- Record type
- Species
Kauaʻi occurrence and status
- Kauaʻi occurrence
- Recorded on Kauaʻi
- Origin
- Introduced
- Conservation status
- Not yet assessed
- Evidence date
- 2026-10-05
- Evidence limits
- Current extent is unassessed; public locality is island level only.
Habitat and ecology
- Habitats
- Not yet assessed
- Food and resource needs
- Not yet assessed
- Reproduction
- Plants are dioecious, so male and female flowers occur on separate individuals. The small unisexual flowers are borne in reduced clusters; the documented MBG voucher shows distinct male and female flowers and records their contrasting pale floral parts and magenta reproductive structures.
- Shelter
- Not yet assessed
- Growth form
- Deciduous, spiny semi-succulent shrub or small tree
Threats and conservation
- Monitoring
- Not yet assessed
- Data gaps
- Current population extent and trajectory · Additional species-specific ecological and conservation sources
Process and seasonal context
- Seasonal timing
- Not yet assessed
- Seasonal description
- Alluaudia comosa (Alluaudia comosa) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through cultivation records. This short, flat-crowned species is part of Madagascar's highly seasonal limestone spiny thicket. Its semi-succulent stems and fleshy leaves store water during the growing season, while leaf shedding at the start of the dry season reduces exposed leaf area. Separate male and female plants mean seed production depends on flowering individuals of both sexes; no Kauaʻi reproduction or spread is inferred from the collection record.
Sources and further reading
- https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:316430-1
- https://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/Madagasc/didier/00734690.html
- https://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/Madagasc/didier/nme00002.html
- https://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/Research/climateChange/pdf/ModelingEndemicPlantSpecies.pdf
- https://doi.org/10.4102/abc.v14i3/4.1251
- https://www.botanywebsite.com/flora_of_madagascar/index.php?page=Alluaudia_comosa
- https://ntbg.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/2018_NTBG_Living_Collections_Catalog.pdf#page=180