Mickey Mouse Plant

Kauaʻi evidence

Generated media is not occurrence evidence. Proposed monitoring endpoints are not reported observations, measured effects or causal findings.

Names and classification

Scientific name

Ochna thomasiana

Common names

Mickey Mouse plant

Other names

Ochna thomasiana · Mickey Mouse plant

Record type

Species

Kauaʻi occurrence and status

Kauaʻi occurrence

Recorded on Kauaʻi

Origin

Introduced

Conservation status

Not yet assessed

Evidence date

2026-10-07

Evidence limits

Island-level public occurrence only. Use Ochna thomasiana anatomy rather than an undifferentiated image of other ornamental Ochna species.

Habitat and ecology

Habitats

Not yet assessed

Food and resource needs

Not yet assessed

Reproduction

Not yet assessed

Shelter

Not yet assessed

Growth form

Shrub or subshrub; shrub or tree

Threats and conservation

Monitoring

Occupied area and vegetation cover; Mature plants and new recruits; Reproductive plants and fruiting frequency. Proposed monitoring endpoints are not reported observations, measured effects or causal findings.

Data gaps

Current island extent and population trend · Measured local ecological effects

Process and seasonal context

Seasonal timing

Not yet assessed

Seasonal description

A shrub with gray bark, lenticel-dotted young shoots and leathery pointed elliptic leaves with gland-tipped marginal bristles. Bright-yellow flowers have clawed petals and orange anthers. Enlarged sepals turn red in fruit and surround several small black ellipsoid drupelets. Established wild occurrence warrants observations of occupied cover, reproductive plants and new recruits. These measurements can test persistence and spread. The reviewed accounts do not quantify an island-wide effect on Kauaʻi native vegetation.

Sources and further reading

• https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/606804-1
• https://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/publications/pdf/tr75.pdf