Kauaʻi record · kba_plant_macadamia_ternifolia

Small-fruited Macadamia

Macadamia ternifolia

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About Small-fruited Macadamia

Small-fruited Macadamia (Macadamia ternifolia) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to southeastern Queensland in subtropical rainforest. A 1980 forestry ledger documents Kauaʻi planting within the 1910–1960 forestry program; no species-specific year is available from the reviewed index; it does not establish current survival, reproduction, or naturalization.

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. The 1918–1959 Kauaʻi reforestation working register records 1,004 plants under Macadamia ternifolia across 4 entries dated 1951. 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: Macadamia ternifolia
Common names: Small-fruited Macadamia · Gympie nut
Other names: Macadamia ternifolia · Small-fruited macadamia · Gympie nut
Record type: Species

Kauaʻi occurrence and status

Kauaʻi occurrence: Recorded on Kauaʻi
Origin: Introduced
Conservation status: Not yet assessed
Evidence date: 2026-10-06
Evidence limits: Current survival on Kauaʻi, number of trees, occupied habitat, flowering or fruiting, recruitment, population trend, and ecological effects are all unconfirmed; no naturalization or invasive severity is inferred from the historical planting record.

Habitat and ecology

Habitats: Not yet assessed
Food and resource needs: Not yet assessed
Reproduction: Flowers in pendent racemes require animal pollination; each mature follicle typically encloses one hard-shelled seed. Kauaʻi pollinators, fruit set, viability, and recruitment are unknown.
Shelter: Not yet assessed
Growth form: Evergreen 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: Small-fruited Macadamia (Macadamia ternifolia) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to southeastern Queensland in subtropical rainforest. A 1980 forestry ledger documents Kauaʻi planting within the 1910–1960 forestry program; no species-specific year is available from the reviewed index; it does not establish current survival, reproduction, or naturalization.

Sources and further reading

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