Taxonomic name: Cecropia peltata L.
Synonyms:
Common names: Ameisenbaum (German), faux-ricin (French), parasolier (French), pisse-roux (French), pumpwood (English), trumpet tree (English), yagrumo hembra
Organism type: tree Cecropia peltata is a fast-growing, short-lived tree that grows in neotropical regions. It is light-demanding and rapidly invades disturbed areas, such as forest canopy gaps. It naturally occurs in tropical Central and South America, as well as some Caribbean islands and has been introduced to Malaysia, Africa and Hawaii. It may be replacing, or competing with, other native pioneer species in some locations. Description
Trees grow to 20m tall or more. Their stems are hollow and are partitioned at the nodes. The leaves alternate and are long-lobed, ovate, and somewhat pointed. They are 10-50cm wide or more, dark green and scabrous above and densely white-tomentose beneath. The flower is an umbellate cluster of three or more spikes 3-5.5cm long. Occurs in:
natural forests, planted forests, ruderal/disturbed Geographical range
Native range: Native to tropical Central and South America,
Known introduced range: The trumpet tree is invasive in Malaysia, Ivory Coast and Cameroon where it competes with its native equivalent, the umbrella tree Musanga cecropioides. It is also present in Hawaii and is widely established in the forests to several hundred metres elevation on Tahiti and Raiatea. Local dispersal methods
Consumption/excretion: Seeds are dispersed by frugivorous birds. Management information
Preventative measures: A Risk Assessment of
Cecropia peltata for Hawai‘i and other Pacific islands was prepared by Dr. Curtis Daehler (UH Botany) with funding from the Kaulunani Urban Forestry Program and US Forest Service. The alien plant screening system is derived from Pheloung et al. (1999) with minor modifications for use in Pacific islands (Daehler et al. 2004). The result is a score of 9 and a recommendation of: "Likely to cause significant ecological or economic harm in Hawai‘i and on other Pacific Islands as determined by a high WRA score, which is based on published sources describing species biology and behaviour in Hawai‘i and/or other parts of the world." This species has been nominated as among 100 of the "World's Worst" invaders Reviewed by: Major update under progress
Compiled by: IUCN/SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG)
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Last Modified: Thursday, 22 December 2005
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