Kauaʻi record · kba_plant_alphitonia_zizyphoides

Toi

Alphitonia zizyphoides

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About Toi

Toi (Alphitonia zizyphoides) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through cultivation records. Toi is a rapid pioneer and early-secondary tree that recruits strongly after disturbance and can persist for decades as forests close around it. Its bird-dispersed arillate seeds connect forest patches, while branch retention in the open and self-pruning under competition produce sharply different crown forms. A Pacific agroforestry review flags potential invasiveness outside the native range, but the Kauaʻi evidence here documents only a living collection and does not establish escape or naturalization.

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 zizyphoides
Common names: doi · doi damu · doi selawa · navasvas · manee · Toi
Other names: Alphitonia zizyphoides · Toi · doi · doi damu · doi selawa · navasvas · manee · Pomaderris zizyphoides (Biehler) Hook. & Arn. · Rhamnus zizyphoides Biehler
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: Bisexual fragrant flowers are borne in compact axillary or near-terminal clusters and are followed by two-seeded drupes. The seeds have a reddish-brown aril, and the reviewed Pacific profile identifies pigeons, doves, honeyeaters, silvereyes and trillers as the principal dispersers. Nursery seedlings and transplanted wildlings are the documented propagation routes; local Kauaʻi recruitment is not established.
Shelter: Not yet assessed
Growth form: Fast-growing evergreen or briefly semi-deciduous forest 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: Toi (Alphitonia zizyphoides) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through cultivation records. Toi is a rapid pioneer and early-secondary tree that recruits strongly after disturbance and can persist for decades as forests close around it. Its bird-dispersed arillate seeds connect forest patches, while branch retention in the open and self-pruning under competition produce sharply different crown forms. A Pacific agroforestry review flags potential invasiveness outside the native range, but the Kauaʻi evidence here documents only a living collection and does not establish escape or naturalization.

Sources and further reading

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