Kauaʻi record · kba_plant_hovenia_dulcis

Japanese Raisin Tree

Hovenia dulcis

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About Japanese Raisin Tree

Japanese Raisin Tree (Hovenia dulcis) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to central and southern China through Korea and Japan in subtropical to warm-temperate forest. A 1980 forestry ledger documents Kauaʻi planting within the 1910–1960 forestry program; no species-specific year is available from the reviewed index; it does not establish current survival, reproduction, 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. The 1918–1959 Kauaʻi reforestation working register records 1 plants under Hovenia dulcis across 1 entries dated 1943. These are recorded planting quantities, not counts of surviving trees, and they do not by themselves establish current persistence, naturalization, or ecological impact. Source: Kauaʻi Reforestation Plantings 1918–1959 working register (user-supplied; reconciled 6 October 2026).

Names and classification

Scientific name: Hovenia dulcis
Common names: Japanese Raisin Tree · Oriental raisin tree
Other names: Hovenia dulcis · Japanese raisin tree · Oriental raisin tree
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: 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 are insect-pollinated; the peduncles swell as the dry fruits mature and may attract animals that move the seeds. Kauaʻi flowering, dispersal, viability, and recruitment are unknown.
Shelter: Not yet assessed
Growth form: Deciduous 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: Japanese Raisin Tree (Hovenia dulcis) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to central and southern China through Korea and Japan in subtropical to warm-temperate forest. A 1980 forestry ledger documents Kauaʻi planting within the 1910–1960 forestry program; no species-specific year is available from the reviewed index; it does not establish current survival, reproduction, or naturalization.

Sources and further reading

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