Kauaʻi record · kba_plant_syzygium_smithii

Lilly Pilly

Syzygium smithii

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About Lilly Pilly

Lilly Pilly (Syzygium smithii) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to eastern Australia, from Queensland through New South Wales to Victoria; it occurs in rainforest from coast to ranges, often along watercourses. Government forestry records document historical planting on Kauaʻi within the 1910–1960 ledger period; no exact species planting year has been extracted. Historical planting does not establish present survival, naturalization, abundance or ecological effects. Public occurrence is island-level only.

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 13 plants under Eugenia smithii across 1 entries dated 1943. 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: Syzygium smithii
Common names: Lilly Pilly · Monkey apple
Other names: Syzygium smithii · Lilly pilly · Monkey apple · Eugenia smithii · Acmena smithii
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, numbers, occupied habitat, reproduction and ecological effects are unconfirmed; historical planting does not establish naturalization.

Habitat and ecology

Habitats: Not yet assessed
Food and resource needs: Not yet assessed
Reproduction: Small flowers have short stamens; fleshy fruits contain a single seed. Kauaʻi flowering, pollination, fruit set, seed viability, dispersal and recruitment are unconfirmed.
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: Lilly Pilly (Syzygium smithii) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to eastern Australia, from Queensland through New South Wales to Victoria; it occurs in rainforest from coast to ranges, often along watercourses. Government forestry records document historical planting on Kauaʻi within the 1910–1960 ledger period; no exact species planting year has been extracted. Historical planting does not establish present survival, naturalization, abundance or ecological effects. Public occurrence is island-level only.

Sources and further reading

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