Kauaʻi Conservation Atlas

Kauaʻi record · kba_plant_ardisia_solanacea

Shoebutton Ardisia

Ardisia solanacea

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Shoebutton Ardisia (Ardisia solanacea) · whole-organism ecological reconstruction with diagnostic structures.
Shoebutton Ardisia (Ardisia solanacea) · 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

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
Ardisia solanacea
Common names
Shoebutton Ardisia
Other names
Ardisia solanacea · Shoebutton ardisia · Anguillaria solanacea · Ardisia elliptica var. solanacea · Bladhia solanacea
Record type
Species

Kauaʻi occurrence and status

Kauaʻi occurrence
Recorded on Kauaʻi
Origin
Introduced
Conservation status
Not yet assessed
Evidence date
2026-10-06
Evidence limits
The current taxonomic application of the ledger’s source-era Ardisia humilis/Ardisia solanacea labeling is uncertain. Current survival on Kauaʻi, number of trees, occupied habitat, flowering or fruiting, recruitment, population trend, and ecological effects are all unconfirmed; no naturalization or invasive severity is inferred from the historical planting record.

Habitat and ecology

Habitats
Not yet assessed
Food and resource needs
Not yet assessed
Reproduction
Small bisexual flowers mature into single-seeded fleshy drupes. Animal dispersal is plausible from fruit form, but Kauaʻi pollinators, dispersers, seed viability, and recruitment are unconfirmed.
Shelter
Not yet assessed
Growth form
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
Shoebutton Ardisia (Ardisia solanacea) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native across the Indian subcontinent to southern China and parts of Southeast Asia, in moist forest and shrubland. A 1980 forestry ledger includes a 1928 Kauaʻi planting under source-era Ardisia humilis/Ardisia solanacea nomenclature. Current Kew treats A. humilis separately; that historical label is retained as provenance rather than a current synonym. The planting record does not establish survival or reproduction today.

Sources and further reading

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