Kauaʻi record · kba_plant_antiaris_toxicaria

Upas tree

Antiaris toxicaria

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About Upas tree

Upas tree (Antiaris toxicaria) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through cultivation records. Upas tree is a large forest-canopy component, typically scattered rather than forming pure stands, and occupies primary, riverine and lower-montane forests. Its red one-seeded fleshy infructescences link mature trees to vertebrate dispersers, while deciduousness and recovery after disturbance allow it to persist across varied tropical forest settings. Its latex is a defining defensive trait and has well-documented traditional uses, but the atlas treats it chiefly as a botanical diagnostic and does not infer ecological spread on Kauaʻi.

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.

Names and classification

Scientific name: Antiaris toxicaria
Common names: bark-cloth tree · ipoh · false iroko · antiaris · Upas tree
Other names: Antiaris toxicaria · Upas tree · bark-cloth tree · ipoh · false iroko · antiaris · Ipo toxicaria (J.F.Gmel.) Pers. · Cestrum toxicarium J.F.Gmel. · Mithridatea toxicaria (J.F.Gmel.) F.Dietr.
Record type: Species

Kauaʻi occurrence and status

Kauaʻi occurrence: Recorded on Kauaʻi
Origin: Introduced
Conservation status: Not yet assessed
Evidence date: 2026-10-05
Evidence limits: Current extent is unassessed; public locality is island level only.

Habitat and ecology

Habitats: Not yet assessed
Food and resource needs: Not yet assessed
Reproduction: Male and female flowers occur separately on the same tree in axillary or subaxillary heads. Female flowers mature into a fleshy receptacle enclosing one seed; birds and bats are reported as seed dispersers across the native range, and propagation by seed is documented. No flowering, fruiting, dispersal or seedling recruitment has been established for the Kauaʻi collection.
Shelter: Not yet assessed
Growth form: Large deciduous wet-tropical canopy 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: Upas tree (Antiaris toxicaria) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through cultivation records. Upas tree is a large forest-canopy component, typically scattered rather than forming pure stands, and occupies primary, riverine and lower-montane forests. Its red one-seeded fleshy infructescences link mature trees to vertebrate dispersers, while deciduousness and recovery after disturbance allow it to persist across varied tropical forest settings. Its latex is a defining defensive trait and has well-documented traditional uses, but the atlas treats it chiefly as a botanical diagnostic and does not infer ecological spread on Kauaʻi.

Sources and further reading

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