Family: Moringaceae

Origin, Description & Uses
Moringa drouhardii, commonly known as the bottle tree, is a striking succulent tree native to Madagascar. It is recognized for its thick, swollen trunk that stores water, sparse branching, and delicate green leaves that give it a distinctive sculptural appearance. This drought-tolerant species is well adapted to dry tropical climates and is often grown as an ornamental landscape tree in arid and coastal regions. Like other moringas, it has been valued for its resilience and occasional use in traditional agroforestry and horticultural collections.

Risks & Threats
Bottle tree is considered a low risk species for Hawaii. It is not known to be invasive and has not shown evidence of spreading aggressively in tropical island environments. Its slow growth, specialized dry-climate adaptations, and limited natural reproduction outside cultivation reduce the likelihood of it becoming a significant environmental weed. As with any introduced plant, responsible planting and monitoring are recommended, but current evidence suggests this species poses minimal risk to Hawaii’s ecosystems.

High Risk Traits:

• Grows in tropical climates
  
• Gap colonizer
  
• Other Moringa species have weedy traits and tendencies
  
• Reproduces by seeds
  
• Rapid growth rate (1 m/yr)
  
• Reaches maturity in 3+ years
  
• Seeds possibly dispersed by wind, gravity and intentionally by people
  
• Limited ecological information may limit accuracy of risk prediction

Low Risk Traits:

• No reports of invasiveness or naturalization, but no evidence of widespread introduction outside native range
  
• Unarmed (no spines, thorns or burrs)
  
• Provides fodder for livestock
  
• Medicinal uses
  
• Light demanding
  
• Grows on calcareous soils in native range
  
• Not reported to spread vegetatively