Kauaʻi record · kba_plant_alluaudia_procera

Madagascan ocotillo

Alluaudia procera

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About Madagascan ocotillo

Madagascan ocotillo (Alluaudia procera) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through cultivation records. Madagascan ocotillo is a structural dominant in parts of southern Madagascar's spiny forest, where its tall water-storing stems rise above lower dry-thicket vegetation. Peer-reviewed field work at Berenty found the common white-footed sportive lemur concentrated feeding on this abundant tree, and a broader review documents leaves and flowers of Alluaudia as important dry-season food. These native-range relationships are ecological context only; none is inferred for the Kauaʻi collection.

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 procera
Common names: Madagascar ocotillo · Madagascan ocotillo
Other names: Alluaudia procera · Madagascan ocotillo · Madagascar ocotillo · Didierea procera 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 and bear small, sweet-scented, greenish-yellow to whitish unisexual flowers in terminal clusters. NParks records bee pollination and abiotic seed dispersal; PROTA reports flowering in September–October in its native region, with the small dry fruits ripening about a month later. Propagation by seed and stem cuttings is documented in cultivation.
Shelter: Not yet assessed
Growth form: Deciduous spiny succulent 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: Madagascan ocotillo (Alluaudia procera) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through cultivation records. Madagascan ocotillo is a structural dominant in parts of southern Madagascar's spiny forest, where its tall water-storing stems rise above lower dry-thicket vegetation. Peer-reviewed field work at Berenty found the common white-footed sportive lemur concentrated feeding on this abundant tree, and a broader review documents leaves and flowers of Alluaudia as important dry-season food. These native-range relationships are ecological context only; none is inferred for the Kauaʻi collection.

Sources and further reading

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