Falcataria moluccana
(batai wood)

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)

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

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.

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.

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.

Soil drainage

• free

Soil reaction

• acid
• alkaline
• neutral

Soil texture

• medium

Special soil tolerances

• infertile

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

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).

• 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

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).