Kauaʻi record · kba_plant_alstonia_scholaris

Blackboard tree

Alstonia scholaris

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About Blackboard tree

Blackboard tree (Alstonia scholaris) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through cultivation records. Across its native range blackboard tree occupies several forest formations, including seasonally dry and wet tropical forests, and reaches the upper canopy where large branches can provide nesting sites for wild bees. Its fragrant flowers serve insect visitors, while the long paired follicles release wind-borne seeds. A Flora of Singapore treatment documents seedling recruitment around cultivated parents there but little penetration into primary or older secondary forest; that external behavior is context only and is not evidence of naturalization on 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: Alstonia scholaris
Common names: dita · pulai · white cheesewood · milkwood pine · devil tree · Blackboard tree
Other names: Alstonia scholaris · Blackboard tree · dita · pulai · white cheesewood · milkwood pine · devil tree · Echites scholaris L. · Pala scholaris (L.) Roberty
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: The fragrant bisexual flowers are insect-pollinated, with bees and butterflies reported around flowering crowns. Each flower can mature into paired dehiscent follicles that open while still hanging on the tree; the numerous light seeds bear long silky cilia and are dispersed by wind. Seed propagation is documented, but recruitment or escape on Kauaʻi has not been established.
Shelter: Not yet assessed
Growth form: Large evergreen or irregularly deciduous latex-bearing canopy 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: Blackboard tree (Alstonia scholaris) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through cultivation records. Across its native range blackboard tree occupies several forest formations, including seasonally dry and wet tropical forests, and reaches the upper canopy where large branches can provide nesting sites for wild bees. Its fragrant flowers serve insect visitors, while the long paired follicles release wind-borne seeds. A Flora of Singapore treatment documents seedling recruitment around cultivated parents there but little penetration into primary or older secondary forest; that external behavior is context only and is not evidence of naturalization on Kauaʻi.

Sources and further reading

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