Kauaʻi record · kba_plant_grevillea_robusta
Silk oak
Grevillea robusta
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About Silk oak
Grevillea robusta is an Australian tree widely planted in Hawaiʻi for forestry, shade, and ornament. Kauaʻi herbarium records repeatedly document it as an associated nonnative tree in degraded lowland wet and dry-mesic forest, supporting established island presence. Wind-dispersed seed can maintain stands beyond plantations, but ecological impact and control priority should be assessed by site rather than inferred from introduced status alone. Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist documents naturalized presence on Kauaʻi; current extent remains unassessed.
Kauaʻi evidence
Bishop Museum 2025 Checklist wide: Taxon=Grevillea robusta; Status=nat; K=K. Identification and ecological statements have the separately linked reviewed sources. The checklist establishes documented island presence; it does not establish current abundance or invasion extent. The 1918–1959 Kauaʻi reforestation working register records 673,984 plants under Grevillea robusta across 53 entries dated 1918–1950. These are recorded planting quantities, not counts of surviving trees, and they do not by themselves establish current persistence, naturalization, or ecological impact. Identical entries are retained in this source total; their event-level independence has not been established. Source: Kauaʻi Reforestation Plantings 1918–1959 working register (user-supplied; reconciled 6 October 2026).
Names and classification
- Scientific name
- Grevillea robusta
- Common names
- Silk oak
- Other names
- Silk oak · southern silky oak · silver oak · Grevillea robusta
- Record type
- Species or taxonomic group
Kauaʻi occurrence and status
- Kauaʻi occurrence
- Recorded on Kauaʻi
- Origin
- Introduced
- Conservation status
- Conservation priority; formal rank not listed
- Evidence date
- 2026-10-05
- Evidence limits
- Current extent and population trajectory require refreshed surveys; public occurrence is island level only.
Habitat and ecology
- Habitats
- Dry/mesic disturbed sites · Forestry plantings
- Food and resource needs
- Light, water, nutrients, and suitable soil or substrate
- Reproduction
- Viable propagules and suitable establishment conditions
- Shelter
- Suitable soil, substrate, and vegetation structure
- Growth form
- Tree
Threats and conservation
- Threats
- Invasive behavior in some contexts
- Conservation actions
- Map stands and manage near native restoration
- Monitoring
- Map stands and manage near native restoration
- Data gaps
- Additional ecological and conservation citations are recommended
Process and seasonal context
- Seasonal timing
- Not assessed
- Seasonal description
- Grevillea robusta is an Australian tree widely planted in Hawaiʻi for forestry, shade, and ornament. Kauaʻi herbarium records repeatedly document it as an associated nonnative tree in degraded lowland wet and dry-mesic forest, supporting established island presence. Wind-dispersed seed can maintain stands beyond plantations, but ecological impact and control priority should be assessed by site rather than inferred from introduced status alone. Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist documents naturalized presence on Kauaʻi; current extent remains unassessed.
