Freeman, Nicole

Hernandez, Joslyn

Leible, Allen

Serviss, Brett

Talley, Chris

UARK (University of Arkansas )

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science Volume 61 Article 24 2007 Tungoil Tree (Aleurites fordii Hemsl.) (Euphorbiaceae): New to the Arkansas Flora Brett Serviss Henderson State University, servisb@hsu.edu Nicole Freeman Henderson State University Joslyn Hernandez Henderson State University Allen Leible Henderson State University Chris Talley Henderson State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas  Part of the Plant Biology Commons Recommended Citation Serviss, Brett; Freeman, Nicole; Hernandez, Joslyn; Leible, Allen; and Talley, Chris (2007) "Tungoil Tree (Aleurites fordii Hemsl.) (Euphorbiaceae): New to the Arkansas Flora," Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science: Vol. 61 , Article 24. Available at: https://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol61/iss1/24 This article is available for use under the Creative Commons license: Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0). Users are able to read, download, copy, print, distribute, search, link to the full texts of these articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This General Note is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact scholar@uark.edu. -Tungoil Tree (Alellritesfordii Hemsl.) (Euphorbiaceae)New to the Arkansas Flora!Henderson State University, Biology Department, P.O Box H-7570, Arkadelphia, AR 71999-0001ICorrespondence: servisb@hsu.eduThe problems associated with the introduction, subsequentestablishment, and naturalization of non-native plant species inthe United States continue to increase. This can be illustrated bythe recent discovery ofKoelreuteria bipinnata Franch. (Chineseflame tree) and Euphorbia graminea Jacq. (grassleaf spurge) inArkansas (Serviss et aI. 2007, Peck and Serviss 2006). Manyof the worst invasive species are escaped ornamentals, andKoelreuteria bipinnata has shown the potential in Arkansas,subsequent to introduction and establishment, to becomeinvasive. Other non-native ornamental species, such asLigustnlm sinense Lour. (Chinese privet) and LonicerajaponicaThunb. (Japanese honeysuckle), have subsequently establishedFig. 1. Photos of Alellrites fOrdii Hems!. (tungoil tree). A.Leaves. B. Juvenile. C. Fruits and leaves (notice the largepetiolar glands on the petiole of the leaf at the upper right). D.Staminate flowers.and become invasive in Arkansas and elsewhere in the UnitedStates following intentional introduction. Over time, non-nativespecies have altered native habitats, often displacing nativespecies and reducing biodiversity (D' Antonia and Vitousek1992, Daehler and Strong 1994, Wilcove et aI. 1998). Non-native plant species comprise about 23% of the Arkansas flora(Arkansas Vascular Flora Committee 2006).AleuritesfordiiHemsI. = Verniciafordii (HemsI.)Airy-Shaw(tungoil tree, Fig. 1), another non-native ornamental species, isreported here as spontaneous in Arkansas (spontaneous is heredefined as the autonomous occurrence through sexual or asexualreproduction ofa non-native plant species in a region or flora towhich it is not native). This species is a small to medium-sizedtree that is native to China (Bailey and Bailey 1976, Kriissmann1977, Griffiths 1994). It is occasionally planted or cultivatedin the southern United States from eastern Texas to Florida, butwas also introduced in Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi, inan attempt to establish a tung oil industry in the United States(Brown 1945, Vmes 1960, Brown and Kirkman 1990). It isnow well established in some areas of southern Mississippi.Aleuritesfordii is also established to various degrees in Alabama,California, Florida, Georgia, and Louisiana (USDA, NRCS2007). Aleurites fordii is capable of sexual reproduction at onlya few years of age and is also capable of self-pollination andself-fertilization; hence a single tree has the potential to producean entire colony. While it is too early to determine whether ornot A. fordii will become invasive in Arkansas, it has shownthe ability to reproduce successfully, escape cultivation, andestablish in the Arkansas flora.We discovered 185 spontaneous plants ofA.fordiidistributedover an area ofabout 0.2 hectares, which partially encompassesa small semi-wooded portion ofthe Henderson State University(HSU) campus in Arkadelphia, AR. Spontaneous plants ofA. fordii were mostly concentrated in 2 portions of this area.Voucher specimens of A. fordii were deposited in the HSUherbarium (HEND): Serviss 7037. The habitat of the A. fordiilocation consisted of edge, wooded portions, and open areaswithout canopy cover. Interestingly, no A. fordii plants wereobserved more than a few meters into wooded areas with densecanopy cover, even though A. fordii is at least somewhat shadetolerant. The area also included several sections with variouslevels of manmade disturbance, such as lawns, flower andgarden beds, and shrub plantings. A home site with a single,large, cultivated A. fOrdii tree was present at the location. Thecultivated A. fordii tree was apparently the putative founder plantfor the spontaneous population of A. fordii plants. NumerousJonrnal of tbe Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 61,2007128128Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 61 [2007], Art. 24Published by Arkansas Academy of Science, 2007Tungoil Tree (Alellrites ford;; Hernst) (Euphorbiaceae) New to the Arkansas Flora:daspontaneous seedlings of the species were observed beneath andI in proximity to the cultivated A. fordii tree.. Spontaneousplants ranged in size from mature reproductive-I age trees, the tallest of which was about 7.7 m tall to seedlings. only a few centimeters in height (Table 1). Two of the largeri spontaneous trees recently had been cut down, but the carcasseswere still relatively fresh. with leaves still green and attached.I Numerous seedlings and saplings were observed beneath and, in proximity to larger. spontaneous, reproductive plants. WeI observed several clusters of 3 to 5 young A. fordii seedlings,! indicating that in several instances seedlings had germinated andI ~erged from fallen fruits without any shattering of the fruit or: dIspersal of the seeds (the fruits of A. fordii generally contain3to 5 seeds). Animal dispersal of the fruits/seeds is probablylimited or absent because ofthe toxicity ofthe seeds (Kriissmann! 1977, Burrows and TyrI2001). Of the 185 spontaneous plants,140 or 75.6% were 1 meter or less in height. Only 7 of the 185spontaneous plants were reproductive.In addition to the population discussed above, we haveobserved 2 other instances of spontaneity of A. fordii in ClarkFig. 2. Photos of Firmiana simplex (L.) Wright. A. Leaves. B.Juvenile. C. Fruits. D. Flowers.County. One of the 2 sites contained 7 spontaneous seedlingsthat were present beneath a small. cultivated, but reproductivetree ofA.fordii (specimen at REND: Serviss 6300A). The othersite had 5. spontaneous, juvenile plants that measured 320.0•259.0.208.2,88.9, and 52.0 cm tall. These 5 plants were presentin an overgrown and unkempt area in a yard, which was adjacentto a large wooded area. A small cultivated tree ofA. fordii is alsopresent near this second, smaller population. We do not knowhow the A. fordii plants arrived at this location, but we suspect.because of the amount of vegetative debris and refuse presentat the vicinity of the spontaneous A. fordii plants. that fruits orseeds were transported to that area inadvertently by the propertyowner with subsequent germination and establishment of the 5plants in question.Aleurites fordii is somewhat similar to Firmiana simplex(L.) F. W. Wright (Chinese parasol tree, Fig. 2). another non-native species of woody ornamental that is established in theArkansas flora. The similarity of the 2 species to one another isespecially pronounced during juvenility. though they can easilybe distinguished by using the following key:I. Leaves with a cluster of 2 to 3 large red or black glandson the distal portion ofthe petiole (just prior to start ofthelamina) Alellritesfordiil. Leaves without large red or black glands on the petiole............................ Firmiana simplexACKNOWLEDGMENTS.-We would like to thank JamesPeck (UALR) and two anonymous reviewers for their helpfulsuggestions with this manuscript. We would also like to thankthe HSU Biology Department for supporting this research.Literature CitedArkansas Vascular Flora Committee. 2006. Checklist of thevascular plants of Arkansas. Fayetteville (AR): ArkansasVascular Flora Committee, University of Arkansas. 216pp.Bailey LH and EZ Bailey. 1976. Hortus Third. A concisedictionary of plants cultivated in the United States andCanada. Vol. 1. Cornell University. New York: MacMillan.628pp.Brown CA. 1945. Louisiana trees and shrubs. Bull. 1. BatonRouge (LA): Louisiana Forestry Commission. 262 pp.Brown CL and LK Kirkman. 1990. Trees of Georgia andadjacent states. Portland (OR): Timber Press. 292 pp.Burrows GE and RJTyri. 2001. Toxic plants ofNorthAmerica.Ames (IA): University ofIowa Press. p.460-462.Daebler CC and DR Strong. 1994. Native plant biodiversityvs. the introduced invaders: Status of the conflict and futuremanagement options. In: SK Majumdar, FJ Brenner, JEJournal of tbe Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol 61, 2007129129Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 61 [2007], Art. 24ttps://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol61/iss1/24Brett Serviss, Nicole Freeman, Joslyn Hernandez, Allen Leible, and Chris TalleyLovich, JF SchaIIes, and EW Miller, editors. Biologicaldiversity: Problems and chaIIenges. Easton (PA):Pennsylvania Academy of Science. p. 92-113.D' Antonia CM and PM Vitoosek. 1992. Biological invasionsby exotic grasses, the grass/fire cycle and global change.Annual Review ofEcology and Systematics 23:63-87.Griffiths M. 1994. Index of garden plants. Portland (OR):Timber Press. 1234 pp.Krfissmann G. 1977. Manual ofcultivated broad-leaved treesand shrubs. Vol. 1. Portland (OR): Timber Press. 440 pp.Peck, JAand BE Serviss. 2006. New and noteworthy collectionsfor Arkansas. Sida 22:817-820.Serviss BE, N Freeman, and S Melancen. 2007. Chineseflame tree (Koeireuteria bipinnata Franch.) (Sapindaceae)new to the Arkansas flora. Joumal ofthe Arkansas Academyof Science 60: 197-199.USDA, NRCS. 2007. The PLANTS Database. National PlantData Center, Baton Rouge, LA 708744490 USA. Availableat http://plants.usda.gov. Accessed on 29 January 2007Vines RA. 1960. Trees, shrubs, and woody vines of thesouthwest. Austin (TX): University of Texas Press. 1104pp.Wilcove DS, D Rothstein, D Dubow, J Phillips, and A Losos.1998. QuantifYing threats to imperiled species in the UnitedStates. Bioscience 48:607-615. Flowers.Table 1. List of spontaneous Aiel/rites fordii individuals documented in Clark County, Arkansas, includingreproductive status and height range.Reproductive Number ofplants Height in metersno 140 0.1-0.49no 24 0.5-0.9no 6 1.0-1.9yes (1 plant) 5 2.0-2.9yes (2 plants) 3 3.0-3.9no 1 4.0-4.9yes (1 plant) 3 5.0-5.9yes (2 plants) 2 6.0-6.9yes (l plant) 1 7.0-7.9Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol 61, 2007no130Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 61 [2007], Art. 24Published by Arkansas Academy of Science, 2007

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Tungoil Tree (Aleurites fordii Hemsl.) (Euphorbiaceae): New to the Arkansas Flora

ScholarWorks@UARK

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of ScienceVolume 61 Article 242007Tungoil Tree (Aleurites fordii Hemsl.)(Euphorbiaceae): New to the Arkansas FloraBrett ServissHenderson State University, servisb@hsu.eduNicole FreemanHenderson State UniversityJoslyn HernandezHenderson State UniversityAllen LeibleHenderson State UniversityChris TalleyHenderson State UniversityFollow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaasPart of the Plant Biology CommonsThis article is available for use under the Creative Commons license: Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0). Users are able toread, download, copy, print, distribute, search, link to the full texts of these articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking priorpermission from the publisher or the author.This General Note is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of the ArkansasAcademy of Science by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact scholar@uark.edu.Recommended CitationServiss, Brett; Freeman, Nicole; Hernandez, Joslyn; Leible, Allen; and Talley, Chris (2007) "Tungoil Tree (Aleurites fordii Hemsl.)(Euphorbiaceae): New to the Arkansas Flora," Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science: Vol. 61 , Article 24.Available at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol61/iss1/24-Tungoil Tree (Alellritesfordii Hemsl.) (Euphorbiaceae)New to the Arkansas Flora!Henderson State University, Biology Department, P.O Box H-7570, Arkadelphia, AR 71999-0001ICorrespondence: servisb@hsu.eduThe problems associated with the introduction, subsequentestablishment, and naturalization of non-native plant species inthe United States continue to increase. This can be illustrated bythe recent discovery ofKoelreuteria bipinnata Franch. (Chineseflame tree) and Euphorbia graminea Jacq. (grassleaf spurge) inArkansas (Serviss et aI. 2007, Peck and Serviss 2006). Manyof the worst invasive species are escaped ornamentals, andKoelreuteria bipinnata has shown the potential in Arkansas,subsequent to introduction and establishment, to becomeinvasive. Other non-native ornamental species, such asLigustnlm sinense Lour. (Chinese privet) and LonicerajaponicaThunb. (Japanese honeysuckle), have subsequently establishedFig. 1. Photos of Alellrites fOrdii Hems!. (tungoil tree). A.Leaves. B. Juvenile. C. Fruits and leaves (notice the largepetiolar glands on the petiole of the leaf at the upper right). D.Staminate flowers.and become invasive in Arkansas and elsewhere in the UnitedStates following intentional introduction. Over time, non-nativespecies have altered native habitats, often displacing nativespecies and reducing biodiversity (D' Antonia and Vitousek1992, Daehler and Strong 1994, Wilcove et aI. 1998). Non-native plant species comprise about 23% of the Arkansas flora(Arkansas Vascular Flora Committee 2006).AleuritesfordiiHemsI. = Verniciafordii (HemsI.)Airy-Shaw(tungoil tree, Fig. 1), another non-native ornamental species, isreported here as spontaneous in Arkansas (spontaneous is heredefined as the autonomous occurrence through sexual or asexualreproduction ofa non-native plant species in a region or flora towhich it is not native). This species is a small to medium-sizedtree that is native to China (Bailey and Bailey 1976, Kriissmann1977, Griffiths 1994). It is occasionally planted or cultivatedin the southern United States from eastern Texas to Florida, butwas also introduced in Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi, inan attempt to establish a tung oil industry in the United States(Brown 1945, Vmes 1960, Brown and Kirkman 1990). It isnow well established in some areas of southern Mississippi.Aleuritesfordii is also established to various degrees in Alabama,California, Florida, Georgia, and Louisiana (USDA, NRCS2007). Aleurites fordii is capable of sexual reproduction at onlya few years of age and is also capable of self-pollination andself-fertilization; hence a single tree has the potential to producean entire colony. While it is too early to determine whether ornot A. fordii will become invasive in Arkansas, it has shownthe ability to reproduce successfully, escape cultivation, andestablish in the Arkansas flora.We discovered 185 spontaneous plants ofA.fordiidistributedover an area ofabout 0.2 hectares, which partially encompassesa small semi-wooded portion ofthe Henderson State University(HSU) campus in Arkadelphia, AR. Spontaneous plants ofA. fordii were mostly concentrated in 2 portions of this area.Voucher specimens of A. fordii were deposited in the HSUherbarium (HEND): Serviss 7037. The habitat of the A. fordiilocation consisted of edge, wooded portions, and open areaswithout canopy cover. Interestingly, no A. fordii plants wereobserved more than a few meters into wooded areas with densecanopy cover, even though A. fordii is at least somewhat shadetolerant. The area also included several sections with variouslevels of manmade disturbance, such as lawns, flower andgarden beds, and shrub plantings. A home site with a single,large, cultivated A. fOrdii tree was present at the location. Thecultivated A. fordii tree was apparently the putative founder plantfor the spontaneous population of A. fordii plants. NumerousJonrnal of tbe Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 61,2007128128Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 61 [2007], Art. 24Published by Arkansas Academy of Science, 2007Tungoil Tree (Alellrites ford;; Hernst) (Euphorbiaceae) New to the Arkansas Flora:daspontaneous seedlings of the species were observed beneath andI in proximity to the cultivated A. fordii tree.. Spontaneousplants ranged in size from mature reproductive-I age trees, the tallest of which was about 7.7 m tall to seedlings. only a few centimeters in height (Table 1). Two of the largeri spontaneous trees recently had been cut down, but the carcasseswere still relatively fresh. with leaves still green and attached.I Numerous seedlings and saplings were observed beneath and, in proximity to larger. spontaneous, reproductive plants. WeI observed several clusters of 3 to 5 young A. fordii seedlings,! indicating that in several instances seedlings had germinated andI ~erged from fallen fruits without any shattering of the fruit or: dIspersal of the seeds (the fruits of A. fordii generally contain3to 5 seeds). Animal dispersal of the fruits/seeds is probablylimited or absent because ofthe toxicity ofthe seeds (Kriissmann! 1977, Burrows and TyrI2001). Of the 185 spontaneous plants,140 or 75.6% were 1 meter or less in height. Only 7 of the 185spontaneous plants were reproductive.In addition to the population discussed above, we haveobserved 2 other instances of spontaneity of A. fordii in ClarkFig. 2. Photos of Firmiana simplex (L.) Wright. A. Leaves. B.Juvenile. C. Fruits. D. Flowers.County. One of the 2 sites contained 7 spontaneous seedlingsthat were present beneath a small. cultivated, but reproductivetree ofA.fordii (specimen at REND: Serviss 6300A). The othersite had 5. spontaneous, juvenile plants that measured 320.0•259.0.208.2,88.9, and 52.0 cm tall. These 5 plants were presentin an overgrown and unkempt area in a yard, which was adjacentto a large wooded area. A small cultivated tree ofA. fordii is alsopresent near this second, smaller population. We do not knowhow the A. fordii plants arrived at this location, but we suspect.because of the amount of vegetative debris and refuse presentat the vicinity of the spontaneous A. fordii plants. that fruits orseeds were transported to that area inadvertently by the propertyowner with subsequent germination and establishment of the 5plants in question.Aleurites fordii is somewhat similar to Firmiana simplex(L.) F. W. Wright (Chinese parasol tree, Fig. 2). another non-native species of woody ornamental that is established in theArkansas flora. The similarity of the 2 species to one another isespecially pronounced during juvenility. though they can easilybe distinguished by using the following key:I. Leaves with a cluster of 2 to 3 large red or black glandson the distal portion ofthe petiole (just prior to start ofthelamina) Alellritesfordiil. Leaves without large red or black glands on the petiole............................ Firmiana simplexACKNOWLEDGMENTS.-We would like to thank JamesPeck (UALR) and two anonymous reviewers for their helpfulsuggestions with this manuscript. We would also like to thankthe HSU Biology Department for supporting this research.Literature CitedArkansas Vascular Flora Committee. 2006. Checklist of thevascular plants of Arkansas. Fayetteville (AR): ArkansasVascular Flora Committee, University of Arkansas. 216pp.Bailey LH and EZ Bailey. 1976. Hortus Third. A concisedictionary of plants cultivated in the United States andCanada. Vol. 1. Cornell University. New York: MacMillan.628pp.Brown CA. 1945. Louisiana trees and shrubs. Bull. 1. BatonRouge (LA): Louisiana Forestry Commission. 262 pp.Brown CL and LK Kirkman. 1990. Trees of Georgia andadjacent states. Portland (OR): Timber Press. 292 pp.Burrows GE and RJTyri. 2001. Toxic plants ofNorthAmerica.Ames (IA): University ofIowa Press. p.460-462.Daebler CC and DR Strong. 1994. Native plant biodiversityvs. the introduced invaders: Status of the conflict and futuremanagement options. In: SK Majumdar, FJ Brenner, JEJournal of tbe Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol 61, 2007129129Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 61 [2007], Art. 24http://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol61/iss1/24Brett Serviss, Nicole Freeman, Joslyn Hernandez, Allen Leible, and Chris TalleyLovich, JF SchaIIes, and EW Miller, editors. Biologicaldiversity: Problems and chaIIenges. Easton (PA):Pennsylvania Academy of Science. p. 92-113.D' Antonia CM and PM Vitoosek. 1992. Biological invasionsby exotic grasses, the grass/fire cycle and global change.Annual Review ofEcology and Systematics 23:63-87.Griffiths M. 1994. Index of garden plants. Portland (OR):Timber Press. 1234 pp.Krfissmann G. 1977. Manual ofcultivated broad-leaved treesand shrubs. Vol. 1. Portland (OR): Timber Press. 440 pp.Peck, JAand BE Serviss. 2006. New and noteworthy collectionsfor Arkansas. Sida 22:817-820.Serviss BE, N Freeman, and S Melancen. 2007. Chineseflame tree (Koeireuteria bipinnata Franch.) (Sapindaceae)new to the Arkansas flora. Joumal ofthe Arkansas Academyof Science 60: 197-199.USDA, NRCS. 2007. The PLANTS Database. National PlantData Center, Baton Rouge, LA 708744490 USA. Availableat http://plants.usda.gov. Accessed on 29 January 2007Vines RA. 1960. Trees, shrubs, and woody vines of thesouthwest. Austin (TX): University of Texas Press. 1104pp.Wilcove DS, D Rothstein, D Dubow, J Phillips, and A Losos.1998. QuantifYing threats to imperiled species in the UnitedStates. Bioscience 48:607-615. Flowers.Table 1. List of spontaneous Aiel/rites fordii individuals documented in Clark County, Arkansas, includingreproductive status and height range.Reproductive Number ofplants Height in metersno 140 0.1-0.49no 24 0.5-0.9no 6 1.0-1.9yes (1 plant) 5 2.0-2.9yes (2 plants) 3 3.0-3.9no 1 4.0-4.9yes (1 plant) 3 5.0-5.9yes (2 plants) 2 6.0-6.9yes (l plant) 1 7.0-7.9Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol 61, 2007no130Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 61 [2007], Art. 24Published by Arkansas Academy of Science, 2007

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Tungoil Tree (Aleurites fordii Hemsl.) (Euphorbiaceae): New to the Arkansas Flora

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