Kauaʻi record · kba_plant_pithecellobium_dulce
Manila Tamarind
Pithecellobium dulce
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About Manila Tamarind
Manila Tamarind (Pithecellobium dulce) is an introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi by Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist and the 2026 Smithsonian checklist. Its checklist classification is naturalized; current extent is unassessed. Native from Mexico to northern South America and adapted to seasonally dry tropical vegetation. Nitrogen-fixing roots, drought tolerance, and animal-consumed seed arils support persistence in disturbed sites. Bishop Museum and Smithsonian document naturalized Kauaʻi occurrence; a separate 1910–1960 forestry ledger documents historical planting without measuring present abundance.
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 600 plants under Pithecellobium dulce across 1 entries dated 1952. 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
- Pithecellobium dulce
- Common names
- Manila Tamarind · Madras thorn
- Other names
- Pithecellobium dulce · Manila tamarind · Madras thorn
- 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
- Present island-wide abundance, occupied habitat, recruitment, population trend, and ecological effects have not been quantified; no invasive severity is inferred from checklist or forestry status.
Habitat and ecology
- Habitats
- Not yet assessed
- Food and resource needs
- Not yet assessed
- Reproduction
- Insect-visited flower heads produce twisted pods with arillate seeds. Birds, mammals, and people can move the seeds, while hard seed coats may delay germination; local dispersers and recruitment rates are unknown.
- Shelter
- Not yet assessed
- Growth form
- Shrub or 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
- Manila Tamarind (Pithecellobium dulce) is an introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi by Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist and the 2026 Smithsonian checklist. Its checklist classification is naturalized; current extent is unassessed. Native from Mexico to northern South America and adapted to seasonally dry tropical vegetation. Nitrogen-fixing roots, drought tolerance, and animal-consumed seed arils support persistence in disturbed sites. Bishop Museum and Smithsonian document naturalized Kauaʻi occurrence; a separate 1910–1960 forestry ledger documents historical planting without measuring present abundance.
Sources and further reading
- https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:1003508-2
- https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:1003508-2/general-information
- https://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/publications/pdf/tr75.pdf
- https://editedimages.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/Imadaetal.2025Hawaiianvascularplants.xlsx
- https://doi.org/10.5479/si.32124043
- https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/47617.pdf