Kauaʻi Conservation Atlas

Kauaʻi record · kba_plant_alphitonia_excelsa

Red ash

Alphitonia excelsa

Open this record in the interactive Atlas
Red ash (Alphitonia excelsa) · whole-organism ecological reconstruction with diagnostic structures.
Red ash (Alphitonia excelsa) · whole-organism ecological reconstruction with diagnostic structures. · Kauaʻi Conservation Atlas · AI-generated reconstruction · Kauaʻi Conservation Atlas community media · Primary ecological plate v1.5.3; visual and safe-area review passed · Image source

About Red ash

Red ash (Alphitonia excelsa) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through cultivation records. Red ash spans dry woodland, savanna, gallery forest and rainforest-edge settings and often functions as a fast-growing pioneer tree. The Sunshine Coast regional botanic garden documents its small black fruits as food for white-headed pigeons and king parrots and its foliage as a larval host for several native butterflies, including small green-banded blue and jewel butterflies. These interactions describe its native Australian ecology and are not inferred for Kauaʻi.

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
Alphitonia excelsa
Common names
soap tree · leatherjacket · coopers wood · white leaf · Red ash
Other names
Alphitonia excelsa · Red ash · soap tree · leatherjacket · coopers wood · white leaf · Ceanothus excelsa (Fenzl) Steud. · Colubrina excelsa Fenzl · Alphitonia excelsa var. acutifolia Braid
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
Small cream flowers are produced in conspicuous clusters, typically followed by blackish ovoid-to-globose drupes containing seeds. Australian National Botanic Gardens documents propagation by seed and comparatively easy germination. The Kauaʻi collection record does not establish local flowering, fruiting, seedling recruitment or spread.
Shelter
Not yet assessed
Growth form
Semi-deciduous shrub or medium-to-tall 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
Red ash (Alphitonia excelsa) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through cultivation records. Red ash spans dry woodland, savanna, gallery forest and rainforest-edge settings and often functions as a fast-growing pioneer tree. The Sunshine Coast regional botanic garden documents its small black fruits as food for white-headed pigeons and king parrots and its foliage as a larval host for several native butterflies, including small green-banded blue and jewel butterflies. These interactions describe its native Australian ecology and are not inferred for Kauaʻi.

Sources and further reading

Suggest changes to this record