Tournefortia argentea
Tournefortia argentea
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
A plant of coastal areas in tropical to subtropical regions. It is generally found in areas where the mean annual rainfall can be seasonal or all year round and is within the range 300 - 5,000mm[1]. It tolerates an annual drought of up to 4 months[1]. It prefers a mean annual temperature within the range 23 - 29°c, tolerating a minimum temperature of 18°c[1]. Requires a sunny position[1]. Requires a well-drained soil, preferring those of a light to medium texture[1]. Succeeds in nutrient-poor sandy and rocky soils[1]. Tolerant of saline soils, even succeeding where occasional seawaves wash over its root system[1]. Prefers a pH in the range 6.1 - 7.4[1]. Very tolerant of maritime exposure[1]. Although seldom considered to be a pest, the plant does have some potential to become invasive when introduced to new coastal environments[1]. This needs to be measured, however, with the fact that the plant is becoming rare in parts of its range because of its use as a readily available firewood[1]. It has seeds that float in seawater and remain viable, so it can spread by ocean currents[1]. A slow-growing plant, generally increasing in height by less than 75cm in a year[1]. The tree can take several years before it commences flowering from seed, though it can then flower and produce fruit nearly all year round[1]. Another report says that it can commence flowering when still a shrub only 2 metres tall[2]. The tree has very strong vertical and lateral roots that can anchor it even in the harshest conditions[1].
Propagation
Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe, either in a nursery seedbed or in individual containers, in either a sunny or a lightly shaded position[1]. Germination takes 2- 4 weeks[1]. Seedlings take 12 months or more to become large enough to plant out, the preferred size is around 35cm tall with a woody stem around 10mm wide at the base[1]. The seed is likely to have a viability of at least a few weeks if kept cool[1]. Cuttings root easily[1]. Hardwood cuttings are more successful than greenwood - they should be around 15 - 30cm long and generally form roots in 3 - 6 weeks[1]. Air layering. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Tournefortia+argentea>
Pollinators
Bees, Butterflies
References
- [1]Traditional Trees of Pacific Islands — Elevitch. Craig. R. (Editor) · Permanent Agriculture Resources, Hawaii · 2006 · ISBN 0970254458 ↩︎Beautifully produced book with superb photos and detailed information on over 50 species of useful plants of the Pacific Islands.
- [2]Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants — http://www.anbg.gov.au/cpbr/cd-keys/rfk/index.html ↩︎An online resource giving botanical information, and a little bit about plant usage, for over 2,700 species of plants found in the Australian rainforest.
- [3]Flora Malesiana Series 1 — Various · Nationaal Herbarium Nederiand, Universiteit Leiden branch · http://www.archive.org ↩︎A massive treatment of the plants of the Malaysian Archipelago. Much of it has been made available to download from the Internet
- [4]Medicinal Plants in Papua New Guinea — World Health Organisation · 2009 · ISBN 978-92-9061-249-0 ↩︎Traditional medicinal uses of 126 species from Papua New Guinea, including information on modern research into the plants.