Kauaʻi record · kba_plant_thespesia_populnea
Portia tree
Thespesia populnea
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About Portia tree
Portia tree (Thespesia populnea) is indigenous in the Hawaiian Islands and recorded on Kauaʻi. Shrub or tree usually 5–10 m tall, sometimes taller, with gray shallowly fissured bark.
Kauaʻi evidence
Taxonomy, nativity, island-level occurrence, growth form, names, and source conservation assessments are documented in the 2026 census audit. Broader ecology and conservation recommendations still require claim-level source review. Generated imagery is not occurrence evidence.
Names and classification
- Scientific name
- Thespesia populnea
- Common names
- Portia tree · Indian tulip tree · Pacific rosewood · Portiatree · milo
- Hawaiian names
- Milo
- Other names
- Portia tree · Thespesia populnea · Hibiscus bacciferus · Hibiscus populneus · Indian tulip tree · Pacific rosewood · Portiatree · Milo
- Family
- Malvaceae
- Order
- Malvales
- Record type
- Species or taxonomic group
Kauaʻi occurrence and status
- Kauaʻi occurrence
- Recorded on Kauaʻi
- Origin
- Indigenous
- Conservation status
- Smithsonian checklist assessment: Apparently Secure; U.S. source status: No Status
- Evidence date
- 2026-10-05
- Evidence limits
- Island-level occurrence is retained; finer locality is intentionally withheld. Growth-form tags describe the taxon across its range, not a measured Kauaʻi population. Checklist source statuses are not a new legal-status determination. Current census nativity is indigenous; older accounts may describe Polynesian introduction. Cultural cultivation and transport history remain distinct from native status.
Habitat and ecology
- Habitats
- Coastal strand · Lowland cultural plantings
- 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
- Coastal development, storm damage, invasive pressure
- Conservation actions
- Protect mature trees, restore coastal strand mosaics
- Monitoring
- Protect mature trees, restore coastal strand mosaics
- Data gaps
- Additional ecological and conservation citations are recommended
Process and seasonal context
- Seasonal timing
- Not assessed
- Seasonal description
- Portia tree (Thespesia populnea) is indigenous in the Hawaiian Islands and recorded on Kauaʻi. Shrub or tree usually 5–10 m tall, sometimes taller, with gray shallowly fissured bark.
