Kauaʻi record · kba_plant_ochroma_pyramidale

Balsa

Ochroma pyramidale

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About Balsa

Balsa (Ochroma pyramidale) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to tropical America in lowland wet forest gaps, river margins, and disturbed ground. 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.

Names and classification

Scientific name: Ochroma pyramidale
Common names: Balsa
Other names: Ochroma pyramidale · Balsa
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: Large nocturnal flowers are animal-pollinated; capsules release many lightweight seeds in silky floss for wind dispersal. Kauaʻi pollination, seed viability, and recruitment are unknown.
Shelter: Not yet assessed
Growth form: Large pioneer 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: Balsa (Ochroma pyramidale) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to tropical America in lowland wet forest gaps, river margins, and disturbed ground. 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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