Falcataria moluccana
Moluccan albizia | |
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Specimen at Waiehu, Maui | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
(unranked): | Angiosperms |
(unranked): | Eudicots |
(unranked): | Rosids |
Order: | Fabales |
Family: | Fabaceae |
Subfamily: | Mimosoideae |
Genus: | Falcataria |
Species: | F. moluccana |
Binomial name | |
Falcataria moluccana (Miq.) Barneby & J.W.Grimes | |
Synonyms | |
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Falcataria moluccana, commonly known as the Moluccan albizia, is a species of fast-growing tree in the legume family, Fabaceae.[2] It is native to New Guinea, Maluku Islands, the Solomon Islands, and the Bismarck Archipelago in Papua New Guinea, and is cultivated for timber throughout South Asian and Southeast Asian countries. This tree is considered to be invasive in Hawaii, American Samoa and several other island nations in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.[3][4] It is about 30m tall tree in nature with a massive trunk and an open crown.[3]
Common names
Falcataria moluccana is cultivated throughout the wet tropical and subtropical regions of the world and so has many common names. These include: albizia (Hawaii), Moluccan albizia, sengon (Java), batai (Malaysia), sau and falcata.
Description
- Leaves - twice pinnately compound with small leaflets
- Flowers - creamy white small flowers are faintly fragrant
- Fruits - pods
- Uses - soft wood is used for make match sticks of match boxes. Pulp is used for paper-making.[5]
- The tree has become invasive in forests in Hawaii and on other Pacific islands.[6]
Insects found on Falcataria moluccana
In Hawaii the caterpillars of the endemic Hawaiian koa looper (Scotorythra paludicola) has been found to defoliate Falcataria moluccana and complete their development on this invasive tree without the larvae eating the leaves of their native host Acacia koa.[7]
In Borneo the following moth species have been identified as feeding on Falcataria moluccana.[8]
- Lymantria brunneiplaga - Family Lymantriidae
- Hypochrosis cryptopyrrhata - Family Geometridae
- Erygia spissa - Family Erebidae
- Hypopyra pudens - Family Erebidae
In the broader Indomalayan region the following species have also been found feeding on F. moluccana:
- Charaxes bernardus - Lepidoptera: Family Nymphalidae[9]
Diseases of Falcataria moluccana
Falcataria moluccana is the primary host of the gall rust fungus Uromycladium falcatarium,[10] and is also been recorded as a host of Uromycladium tepperianum.[11] Both of these gall rust species cause severe damage throughout all stages of the tree's growth.
Two Actinomycetales bacteria Streptomyces asiaticus and S. cangkringensis have been isolated from the rhizosphere soil surrounding F. moluccana in Indonesia. Although at least 10 species of Streptomyces are plant pathogens it is unclear if these two species have any negative impacts on the roots or other tissues of this tree.
Gallery
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Sapling in forest -
Foliage -
Flower heads and green pods -
Seed pods
References
- ↑ http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/ild-42690
- ↑ http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/forestry/trees/CommonTreesHI/CFT_Albizia_falcataria.pdf
- 1 2 http://wildlifeofhawaii.com/flowers/1415/falcataria-moluccana-moluccan-albizia/
- ↑ http://www.issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?si=1249
- ↑ http://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/dna/organisms/hdetails/530/9
- ↑ http://www.invasive.org/proceedings/pdfs/Hughes.pdf
- ↑ William P. Haines, Kasey E. Barton, and Patrick Conant (2013). "Defoliation of the invasive tree Falcataria moluccana on Hawaii Island by the native koa looper moth (Geometridae: Scotorythra paludicola), and evaluation of five Fabaceous trees as larval hostplants" (PDF). Proceedings of the Hawaiian Entomological Society 45: 129–139.
- ↑ Holloway, Jeremy Daniel. "Moths of Borneo".
- ↑ "nhm.ac.uk Caterpillar Host-Plant Database".
- ↑ Doungsa-ard, C., McTaggart, A.R., Geering, A.D.W., Dalisay, T.U., Ray, J. Shivas, R.G. 2015. Uromycladium falcatarium sp. nov., the cause of gall rust on Paraserianthes falcataria in south-east Asia. Australasian Plant Pathol. 44: 25–30. DOI 10.1007/s13313-014-0301-z
- ↑ Widyastuti, S.M., Harjono, and Z.A. Surya. 2013. Initial infection of Falcataria moluccana leaves and Acacia mangium phyllodes by Uromycladium tepperianum fungi in a laboratory trial. JMHT (Jurnal Manajemen Hutan Tropika - Journal of Tropical Forest Management) 19(3): 187-193.
External links
Media related to Falcataria at Wikimedia Commons Data related to Falcataria moluccana at Wikispecies