Falcataria moluccana
(batai wood)

Pictures

Picture	Title	Caption	Copyright
Title Natural stand Caption A mature stand near the Kepong- Damansara road, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Copyright Lai Hoe Ang	Natural stand	A mature stand near the Kepong- Damansara road, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.	Lai Hoe Ang
Title Plantation Caption 9-year-old stand. Copyright Somyos Kijkar	Plantation	9-year-old stand.	Somyos Kijkar
Title Tree stand Caption Stand of naturally regenerated, 10-year-old Falcataria moluccana. Moluccas Islands, 1996. Copyright S. Tahir Qadri	Tree stand	Stand of naturally regenerated, 10-year-old Falcataria moluccana. Moluccas Islands, 1996.	S. Tahir Qadri
Title Seedlings of superior clones Caption Copyright Somyos Kijkar	Seedlings of superior clones		Somyos Kijkar
Title Lower trunk and bark Caption Lower trunk and bark of naturally regenerated, 10-year-old Falcataria moluccana. Moluccas Islands, 1996. Copyright S. Tahir Qadri	Lower trunk and bark	Lower trunk and bark of naturally regenerated, 10-year-old Falcataria moluccana. Moluccas Islands, 1996.	S. Tahir Qadri
Title Line artwork Caption 1. tree habit 2. flowering twig with part of leaf 3. flower 4. pod Copyright PROSEA Foundation	Line artwork	1. tree habit 2. flowering twig with part of leaf 3. flower 4. pod	PROSEA Foundation

Identity

Preferred Scientific Name

• Falcataria moluccana (Miq.) Barneby & J. W. Grimes

Preferred Common Name

• batai wood

Other Scientific Names

• Adenanthera falcata L.
• Adenanthera falcatoria L.
• Albizia eymae Fosberg
• Albizia falcata (L.) Backer
• Albizia falcata auct.
• Albizia falcataria (L.) Fosberg
• Albizia falcatoria (L.) Fosberg
• Albizia fulva Lane-Poole
• Albizia moluccana Miq.
• Paraserianthes falcataria (L.) I. C. Nielsen
• Paraserianthes falcatoria (L.) I. C. Nielsen

International Common Names

• English: Molucca albizzia; peacock's plume; sau

Local Common Names

• Bangladesh: koroi; malacarma
• Brunei Darussalam: puah
• Cook Islands: 'arapitia
• Cuba: albizia
• Indonesia: albesia-wood; belalu; jeungjing; mara; parasiante; sengon
• Indonesia/Java: sengon laut; sika
• Malaysia: batai; bataiwood; kayu machis; Molucca albizia; Moluccan sau
• Malaysia/Sarawak: kayu macis
• Palau: ukall ra ngebard
• Papua New Guinea: white albizia
• Philippines: falcate; Mollucan sau
• Samoa: tamaligi; tamaligi pa'epa'e; tamaligi palagi
• USA/Hawaii: peacock's plume

EPPO code

• ALBFA (Albizia falcataria)

Summary of Invasiveness

Native to parts of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, F. moluccana has been widely introduced throughout the tropics as a very fast growing plantation tree (7 m in the first year), for shade and also as an ornamental. Still widely cultivated and exploited, it has escaped and become invasive especially in natural lowland humid forests on Pacific and also Indian Ocean islands, where it alters ecosystem function through nitrogen fixation and eliminates native species. This tendency could also occur in other countries where it is present but not yet widespread, such as tropical America and Africa, and the dangers of possible invasion should be highlighted prior to making any further introductions.

Taxonomic Tree

• Domain: Eukaryota
•     Kingdom: Plantae
•         Phylum: Spermatophyta
•             Subphylum: Angiospermae
•                 Class: Dicotyledonae
•                     Order: Fabales
•                         Family: Fabaceae
•                             Subfamily: Mimosoideae
•                                 Genus: Falcataria
•                                     Species: Falcataria moluccana

Notes on Taxonomy and Nomenclature

Falcataria moluccana has undergone considerable changing in its nomenclature over the years, previously placed in the genus Paraserianthes. It has two or three subspecies, subsp. falcataria (L.) I.C.Nielsen and subsp. fulva (Lane-Poole) I.C.Nielsen (ILDIS, 2009), and subsp. solomonensis has also been described for the Solomon Islands (Nielsen et al., 1983). The species name ‘falcata’ comes from the sickle-shaped pods. It should not be mistaken with Aleurites moluccanus, sometimes incorrectly known as A. moluccana, which is a different distinct species.

Description

F. moluccana is a medium to fairly large-sized tree up to 40 m high with a small buttress. The bole is branchless up to 20 m and up to 100 cm or more in girth and in dense stands is generally straight and cylindrical. When grown in the open, trees form a large canopy, which is umbrella shaped. In plantations of 1000-2000 trees per ha the crowns become narrow. The bark is light grey with warts, inner bark smooth and pink though young parts may be densely reddish brown tomentose or puberulent. Leaves alternate, bipinnately compound and 20-40 cm long with 4-(10-12)-15 pairs of pinnae, each pinnae 5-10 cm long containing 8-(15-20)-25 falcate leaflets 10-20 mm long and 3-6 mm wide, pubescent, dull green above, paler below, obliquely elliptic, falcate, midrib strongly excentric near one of the margins. Leaves each have a large nectary below the lowermost pair of pinnae and smaller ones between or below most pairs of pinnae. Flowers are large, branched, bell-shaped, in paniculate axillary racemes ca 20 cm in diameter, often with 2 serial branches from 1 bract scar; calyx 1-1.5 mm long, silky pubescent, the teeth 0.5 mm long. The flowers are bisexual, regular and 5-merous. The corolla is creamy-white to greenish-white and sericeous 3-4.5 mm long (excl. stamens); stamens 10-17 mm long, numerous and extend beyond the corolla. Pods are narrow and flat, densely pubescent or glabrous, green turning brown and splitting on maturity, 10-13 cm long and 1.5-2.5 cm wide, winged along ventral suture with many (ca. 20) transversely arranged, ellipsoid, flat dark brown seeds, 5-7 mm long, 2.5-3.5 mm wide.

Plant Type

Distribution

It is native only to parts of Indonesia (Moluccas and Irian Jaya), Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands according to USDA-ARS (2009), whereas ILDIS (2009) give a wider native range, also encompassing Java and Sumatra (Indonesia), Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia (Malaysia) and Bougainville island (Papua New Guinea), and note it of uncertain nativity in the Solomon Islands and the Bismarck Archipelago (Papua New Guinea). The larger native range is accepted in this datasheet.

Distribution Table

The distribution in this summary table is based on all the information available. When several references are cited, they may give conflicting information on the status. Further details may be available for individual references in the Distribution Table Details section which can be selected by going to Generate Report.

History of Introduction and Spread

In the humid tropics there has been widespread planting of F. moluccana for fuelwood and charcoal, for alley farming and intercropping in forest plantations, and as an ornamental tree. It was introduced into Hawai‘i in 1917 by Joseph Rock from North Borneo and Java as an ornamental and for reforestation (Little and Skolmen, 1989; Wagner et al., 1999), with 138,000 trees were planted for reforestation between 1910 and 1960 (Skolmen, 1960) including aerial sowing of seeds (Smith, 1998) and has since naturalized (Motooka et al., 2003). In French Polynesia, 3300 ha of F. moluccana and Casuarina equisetifolia were planted by the Forest Service between 1960 and 1970 on almost all high islands, to reforest areas subject to soil erosion or which had been destroyed by bushfires, and F. moluccana was also used as a windbreak and shade tree in coffee plantations, but quickly naturalized and became invasive in natural forests (Meyer, 2007). It is likely to be present in more countries than included in the distribution table, especially in tropical Africa and the Americas.

Risk of Introduction

It was rated with a ‘high’ score of 8 in a risk assessment for the Pacific (PIER, 2014), and it was included in a decree in French Polynesia in 2006 as one of 35 invasive plants declared to be ‘species that threaten biodiversity’, subject to a ban on new imports, propagation and planting, and prohibition of transfer from one island to another of any whole plant, fragment of plant, cutting, fruit or seed (Meyer, 2007). Being valued as a shade tree, for plantation forestry and as an ornamental, it is likely to be further introduced and could prove to be a risk in many other tropical countries where it is not yet recorded as present, especially in tropical America and Africa.

Habitat

F. moluccana grows from sea level to 1500 m elevation but is most common in mesic, lowland areas. It is most commonly found in national secondary forests, the primary deciduous forests and mountain forests, but it also found in planted forests, disturbed areas, and river flood terraces. The abundance of growth of wildings in the forest only occurs when the soil is cleared from the undergrowth and the canopy opened (Soerianegara and Lemmens, 1993). In Hawaii, it has established naturally in abandoned sugarcane fields as well as in the forest wherever there are seed trees (Little and Skolmen, 1989), and it is also spreading on pasture land (Starr et al., 2003).

Habitat List

Biology and Ecology

F. moluccana thrives on comparatively poor soils as long as they are well drained and survival is poor on seasonally waterlogged sites (Hocking and Islam, 1995). It also grows on both acidic and alkaline soils although it does better on alkaline soils (Ruskin, 1983). The most important indicator of site quality for F. moluccana is the depth of top soil, and it grows best with 19-26 cm of well drained topsoil with 3-8 % organic matter and exchangeable potassium of 0.36 meq/100 g soil (Nitrogen Fixing Tree Association, 1989).

Climate

Latitude/Altitude Ranges

Air Temperature

Rainfall

Rainfall Regime

Soil Tolerances

Soil drainage

• free

Soil reaction

• acid
• alkaline
• neutral

Soil texture

• medium

Special soil tolerances

• infertile

Notes on Natural Enemies

Seedlings in nurseries are prone to damping-off caused by the fungi Sclerotium, Rhizoctonia, Fusarium, Phytophthora and Pythium. Leaf-eating caterpillars and aphids are also occasional problems to seedlings and trees in plantations. Other fungal diseases include pink canker caused by Corticium salmonicolor and red root caused by Ganoderma pseudoferreum. The stem borer Xystrocera festiva (longicorn beetle) and red borer Zeuzera coffea (cossid moth) are amongst the pests found in plantations in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines (Natawiria, 1973). Pellicularia salmonicolor and P. filamentosa were found to be parasitic on F. moluccana in Assam, India (Agnihothrudu, 1962). See the Natural Enemies table for a complete list of pests recorded on F. moluccana.

Means of Movement and Dispersal

F. moluccana was originally dispersed long distances intentionally for forestry, landscaping or other purposes, before spreading to nearby forests, pastures, and open areas.

Pathway Causes

Impact Summary

Environmental Impact

On the very nutrient-poor soils of the granitic Seychelles, some pioneer invasive species produce more decomposable litter and therefore have the potential to alter rates of nutrient cycling. However, the small differences in soil fertility beneath native tree and the invasive F. moluccana and Cinnamomum verum suggest that impacts of these invasive species on nutrient cycling are more complex and less predictable in nutrient-poor ecosystems, where several nutrients may be co-limiting, and native and alien species coexist (Keuffer et al., 2008).

Threatened Species

Risk and Impact Factors

• Proved invasive outside its native range
• Tolerates, or benefits from, cultivation, browsing pressure, mutilation, fire etc
• Pioneering in disturbed areas
• Highly mobile locally
• Fast growing
• Has high reproductive potential
• Has propagules that can remain viable for more than one year
• Has high genetic variability

• Altered trophic level
• Damaged ecosystem services
• Ecosystem change/ habitat alteration
• Increases vulnerability to invasions
• Modification of nutrient regime
• Modification of successional patterns
• Monoculture formation
• Reduced native biodiversity
• Threat to/ loss of endangered species
• Threat to/ loss of native species

• Competition - monopolizing resources
• Competition - shading
• Interaction with other invasive species
• Rapid growth

• Highly likely to be transported internationally deliberately
• Difficult/costly to control

Uses

Economic Value

The narrow crown of F. moluccana provides partial shade to tea, cacao and coffee. However, the importance of this species as a shade tree for these crops is rather limited, as solitary trees are prone to wind damage. When planted in rows they are also suitable as a windbreak for bananas (NFTA, 1989), but F. moluccana is easily damaged by wind and is therefore not suitable to be planted in areas prone to strong winds, and it also not suitable for steep slopes (Ruskin, 1983).

Uses List

Animal feed, fodder, forage

• Fodder/animal feed

Environmental

• Agroforestry
• Amenity
• Land reclamation
• Revegetation
• Shade and shelter
• Soil improvement
• Windbreak

Fuels

• Charcoal
• Fuelwood

General

• Ornamental

Human food and beverage

• Seeds

Materials

• Bark products
• Green manure
• Tanstuffs
• Wood/timber

Wood Products

Boats

Containers

• Crates
• Pallets

Furniture

Pulp

• Long-fibre pulp

Sawn or hewn building timbers

• Carpentry/joinery (exterior/interior)
• For light construction

Veneers

Wood wool

Wood-based materials

• Composite boards
• Fibreboard
• Gypsum board
• Hardboard
• Laminated veneer lumber
• Laminated wood
• Medium density fibreboard
• Particleboard
• Plywood
• Wood cement

Woodware

• Industrial and domestic woodware
• Matches
• Musical instruments
• Toys
• Turnery
• Wood carvings

Similarities to Other Species/Conditions

A related species that was widely planted in Hawaii from 1910-1960 is Paraserianthes lophantha subsp. montana, and other species planted in lesser numbers include Albizia acle, A. caribaea, A. chinensis, A. katangensis, A. lebbekoides, A. procera, A. saponaria, and A. zygia (Skolmen, 1960). P. lophantha has also naturalised in Hawaii (Oppenheimer and Bartlett, 2002) and is also invasive in New Zealand (Haley, 1997).

Prevention and Control

F. moluccana is verysusceptible to hormone type herbicides, being severely injured by cut-surface application of 2,4-D and by glyphosate and killed outright by dicamba and triclopyr. It is susceptible to basal bark or cut stumps applications of triclopyr (Motookaet al., 2003). For the related Paraserianthes lophantha subsp. montana in New Zealand, Starr et al. (2003) reports that trees can be controlled by either a cut stump and herbicide method, or, as Haley (1997) reports that felling trees may open up new space and light gaps for more seedling to establish, frilling is the preferred method. Girdle or ringbark 20 cm from the ground and paint the exposed area immediately with a herbicide, and there is also no costs associated with the removal of material.

References

Agnihothrudu V, 1962. Two species of Pellicularia parasitic on Albizzia falcata in Assam. Plant Protection Bulletin, F.A.O, 10:143-5.

Allison SD; Nielsen C; Hughes RF, 2006. Elevated enzyme activities in soils under the invasive nitrogen-fixing tree Falcataria moluccana. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 38(7):1537-1544. http://www.sciencedirect.co./science/journal/00380717

Booth TH; Jovanovic T, 2000. Improving descriptions of climatic requirements in the CABI Forestry Compendium. A report for the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research. CSIRO - Forestry and Forest Products, Client Report No. 758.

CABI, 2005. Forestry Compendium. Wallingford, UK: CABI.

Faridah Hanum I; Maesen LJG van der, eds. , 1997. Plant resources of southeast Asia. No. 11. Auxillary plants. Leiden, Netherlands: Backhuys.

Haley N, 1997. Weeds in New Zealand. Weeds in New Zealand. Auckland, New Zealand: Department of Conservation. http://www.boprc.govt.nz/www/green/weed49.htm

Hocking D; Islam K, 1995. Trees in Bangladesh paddy fields. 2. Survival of trees planted in crop fields. Agroforestry Systems, 31(1):39-57; 21 ref.

Hughes RF; Denslow JS, 2005. Invasion by a N2-fixing tree alters function and structure in wet lowland forests of Hawaii. Ecological Applications, 15:1615-1628.

ILDIS, 2009. International Legume Database and Information Service. Reading, UK: School of Plant Sciences, University of Reading. http://www.ildis.org/

Krisnawati H; Varis E; Kallio MH; Kanninen M, 2011. Paraserianthes falcataria (L.) Nielsen: ecology, silviculture and productivity. Jakarta, Indonesia: Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), vi + 13 pp. http://www.cifor.org/nc/online-library/browse/view-publication/publication/3394.html

Kueffer C; Klingler G; Zirfass K; Schumacher E; Edwards PJ; Güsewell S, 2008. Invasive trees show only weak potential to impact nutrient dynamics in phosphorus-poor tropical forests in the Seychelles. Functional Ecology, 22(2):359-366. http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1365-2435.2007.01373.x

Lança AJde C; Parreira AMR, 2004. The pastures and forages of East-Timor. Pastagens e Forragens, 24/25:69-84.

Little EL Jr; Skolmen RG, 1989. Common forest trees of Hawaii. USDA Agriculture Handbook No 679. Washington DC, USA: United States Department of Agriculture.

Meyer JY, 2007. Conserving natural forests and managing protected areas in French Polynesia. (Conservation des forêts naturelles et gestion des aires protégées en Polynésie française.) Bois et Forêts des Tropiques, No.291:25-40. http://bft.revuesonline.com

Missouri Botanical Garden, 2009. Tropicos database. St Louis, USA: Missouri Botanical Garden. http://www.tropicos.org

Motooka P; Castro L; Nelson D; Nagai G; Ching L, 2003. Weeds of Hawaii's pastures and natural areas: an identification and management guide. Honolulu, HI, USA: College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 184 pp.

Natawiria D, 1972. Pests and diseases of Albizia falcataria [A. falcata]. Rimba Indonesia, 1973, 17(1-2):58-69; 16 ref.

Nielsen I; Guinet P; Baretta Kuipers T, 1984. Studies in the Malesian, Australian and Pacific Ingeae (Leguminosae-Mimosoideae): the genera Archidendropsis, Wallaceodendron, Paraserianthes, Pararchidendron and Serianthes (part 3). Bulletin du Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, B Adansonia, 6(1):79-111; 41 ref.

Nitrogen Fixing Tree Association, 1989. Paraserianthes falcataria - Southeast Asia's growth champion, USA: NFTA, 89-05.

Oppenheimer HL; Bartlett RT, 2002. New plant records from the main Hawaiian Islands. Bishop Museum Occassional Paper, 69(2):1-14.

Oviedo Prieto R; Herrera Oliver P; Caluff MG, et al. , 2012. National list of invasive and potentially invasive plants in the Republic of Cuba - 2011. (Lista nacional de especies de plantas invasoras y potencialmente invasoras en la República de Cuba - 2011). Bissea: Boletín sobre Conservación de Plantas del Jardín Botánico Nacional de Cuba, 6(Special Issue 1):22-96.

Peh TB; Khoo KC, 1984. Timber properties of Acacia mangium, Gmelina arborea, [and] Paraserianthes [Albizia] falcataria and their utilization aspects. Malaysian Forester, 47(3-4):285-303; 37 ref.

PIER, 2014. Pacific Islands Ecosystems at Risk. Honolulu, USA: HEAR, University of Hawaii. http://www.hear.org/pier/index.html

Roshetko J, 1998. Albizia and Paraserianthes production and use: a field manual. Morrilton, AR, USA: Forest, Farm, and Community Tree Network (FACT Net).

Ruskin FR, 1983. Firewood crops. Shrub and tree species for energy production. Volume 2. 1983, vii + 92 pp.; 36 pl. BOSTID Report No. 40. Washington DC, USA: National Academy Press. 6 pp. ref.

Schubert TH, 1985. Preliminary results of Eucalyptus/legume mixtures in Hawaii. Nitrogen Fixing Tree Research Reports, 3: 65-66.

Skolmen RG, 1960. Plantings on the Forest Reserves of Hawai'i: 1910-1960. Plantings on the Forest Reserves of Hawai'i: 1910-1960., USA: Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry, Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment.

Smith CW, 1998. Pest Plants of Hawaiian Native Ecosystems. Pest Plants of Hawaiian Native Ecosystems. Manoa: Hawaiian Alien Plant Studies, University of Hawai'i, unpaginated. http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/cw_smith/par_fal.htm

Soerianegara I; Lemmens RHMJ, eds. , 1993. Plant Resources of South-East Asia No. 5(1). Timber trees: major commercial timbers. Wageningen, Netherlands: Pudoc Scientific Publishers. Also published by PROSEA Foundation, Bogor, Indonesia. pp. 610.

Starr F; Starr K; Loope L, 2003. Falcataria moluccana, Molucca albizia, Fabaceae. Falcataria moluccana, Molucca albizia, Fabaceae. http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/reports/pdf/falcataria_moluccana.pdf

Toral O; Simón L, 2001. Relative acceptability of fodder trees in the genera Leucaena and Albizia. (Aceptabilidad relativa de especies arboreas forrajeras de los generos Leucaena y Albizia.) Pastos y Forrajes, 24(3):209-216.

Tuttle NC; Beard KH; Pitt WC, 2009. Invasive litter, not an invasive insectivore, determines invertebrate communities in Hawaiian forests. Biological Invasions, 11(4):845-855. http://www.springerlink.com/content/m6758273u9721k12/?p=78c6ae758b9047309fda9148bef95ab9&pi=6

USDA-ARS, 2009. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online Database. Beltsville, Maryland, USA: National Germplasm Resources Laboratory. https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomysearch.aspx

USDA-NRCS, 2009. The PLANTS Database. Baton Rouge, USA: National Plant Data Center. http://plants.usda.gov/

Wagner WL; Herbst DR; Sohmer SH, 1999. Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai'i. Vols 1 and 2. Bishop Museum Special Publication 83. Honolulu, USA: University of Hawai'i and Bishop Museum Press.

Yan Shu; Hu DeHuo; Wei RuPing; Wang RunHui; Liu Jun; He HanBo; Zeng JianXiong, 2011. Criteria for selecting superior trees of Paraserianthes falcataria. Forest Research, Beijing, 24(2):272-276. http://lykx.chinajournal.net.cn

Links to Websites

Contributors

14/07/2009 Updated by:

Nick Pasiecznik, Consultant, France

Distribution Maps