Kauaʻi record · kba_plant_macaranga_tanarius

Parasol leaf tree

Macaranga tanarius

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About Parasol leaf tree

Parasol leaf tree (Macaranga tanarius) is an introduced tree treated as naturalized on Kauaʻi by Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist and the 2026 Smithsonian checklist. Current extent is unassessed. Native from tropical and subtropical Asia to the western Pacific and introduced in Hawaiʻi. World Agroforestry describes it as a very fast-growing pioneer of secondary forest, logging areas, thickets, village groves, and beach vegetation. The reviewed 2025 checklist documents naturalized presence on Kauaʻi, while separate historical forestry records show planting; neither source alone establishes present abundance or ecological impact.

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 30 plants under Macaranga tanarius across 1 entries dated 1927. 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: Macaranga tanarius
Common names: Parasol leaf tree · Hairy mahang
Other names: Macaranga tanarius · Parasol leaf tree · Hairy mahang · Ricinus tanarius · Mappa tanarius · Rottlera tanarius
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 abundance, precise distribution, population trend, ecological effects, reproductive recruitment, and management status on Kauaʻi are unassessed; no fine locality is published in this record.

Habitat and ecology

Habitats: Not yet assessed
Food and resource needs: Not yet assessed
Reproduction: The species is dioecious, so male and female flowers occur on separate trees. Female flowers develop into soft-prickled two-celled capsules with globose seeds. Source material supports seed propagation; Kauaʻi-specific sex ratios, pollinators, fruiting season, seed viability, dispersal, and recruitment remain unassessed.
Shelter: Not yet assessed
Growth form: 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: Parasol leaf tree (Macaranga tanarius) is an introduced tree treated as naturalized on Kauaʻi by Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist and the 2026 Smithsonian checklist. Current extent is unassessed. Native from tropical and subtropical Asia to the western Pacific and introduced in Hawaiʻi. World Agroforestry describes it as a very fast-growing pioneer of secondary forest, logging areas, thickets, village groves, and beach vegetation. The reviewed 2025 checklist documents naturalized presence on Kauaʻi, while separate historical forestry records show planting; neither source alone establishes present abundance or ecological impact.

Sources and further reading

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