Kauaʻi record · kba_plant_schinus_terebinthifolia
Christmas berry
Schinus terebinthifolia
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About Christmas berry
Schinus terebinthifolia is a South American tree introduced and naturalized in Hawaiʻi, including documented Kauaʻi vegetation records. Birds spread the abundant fruits, and the plant can form dense stands that shade out native plants in dry to mesic disturbed habitat. Hawaiʻi sources often use the grammatically incorrect spelling S. terebinthifolius, which should be retained only as a search alias. Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist documents naturalized presence on Kauaʻi; current extent remains unassessed.
Kauaʻi evidence
Bishop Museum 2025 Checklist wide: Taxon=Schinus terebinthifolia; 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 2,670 plants under Schinus terebinthifolius across 3 entries dated 1930–1937. 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
- Schinus terebinthifolia
- Common names
- Christmas berry
- Other names
- Christmas berry · Brazilian peppertree · Brazilian pepper · wilelaiki · Schinus terebinthifolius · Schinus terebinthifolia
- Family
- Anacardiaceae
- Order
- Sapindales
- 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 to mesic lowlands · Disturbed areas
- 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 shrub
Threats and conservation
- Threats
- Invasive pressure on dry/mesic systems
- Conservation actions
- Control fruiting stands, restore native dryland species
- Monitoring
- Control fruiting stands, restore native dryland species
- Data gaps
- Additional ecological and conservation citations are recommended
Process and seasonal context
- Seasonal timing
- Not assessed
- Seasonal description
- Schinus terebinthifolia is a South American tree introduced and naturalized in Hawaiʻi, including documented Kauaʻi vegetation records. Birds spread the abundant fruits, and the plant can form dense stands that shade out native plants in dry to mesic disturbed habitat. Hawaiʻi sources often use the grammatically incorrect spelling S. terebinthifolius, which should be retained only as a search alias. Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist documents naturalized presence on Kauaʻi; current extent remains unassessed.
Sources and further reading
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Schinus_terebinthifolius,_aroeira-da-praia_-_Flickr_-_Tarciso_Le%C3%A3o.jpg
- https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/hisc/info/invasive-species-profiles/
- https://www.fdacs.gov/Agriculture-Industry/Pests-and-Diseases/Plant-Pests-and-Diseases/Noxious-Weeds/Schinus-terebinthifolia-Brazilian-Pepper
- https://ntbg.org/database/herbarium/detail/PTBG1000083928
- https://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/publications/pdf/tr75.pdf
