Family: Meliaceae

Origin, Description & Uses
Santol (Sandoricum koetjape) is a tropical fruit tree native to Malesia and New Guinea. It is widely cultivated throughout Southeast Asia and other tropical regions for its edible fruits, which have a sweet to tart flavor and are eaten fresh or used in jams, preserves, desserts, and traditional dishes. Santol is a medium to large evergreen tree with a broad, dense canopy, attractive foliage, and round yellow to reddish fruits. Because of its fruit production, shade value, and ornamental appearance, it is sometimes planted in home gardens, orchards, and agroforestry systems. In Hawaiʻi, santol has become naturalized on Maui.

Risks & Threats
Although santol is valued as a fruit tree, its naturalization in Hawaiʻi indicates that it can reproduce and persist outside cultivation. The species possesses traits that are cause for concern, including the production of fleshy fruits that may be dispersed by birds, bats, and other animals, potentially allowing it to spread into surrounding habitats. At present, the full extent of its ecological impacts in Hawaiʻi is not well understood, and available information is insufficient to determine whether it will become significantly invasive. Ongoing evaluation is needed, and caution is recommended when considering planting this species to ensure that it does not negatively impact Hawaiʻi’s native ecosystems and natural areas.

High Risk Traits:

• Naturalized in the Philippines, Seychelles, and Hawaii
  
• Forms dense sapling layers in Seychelles plantations
  
• Allelopathic
  
• Tolerates wide range of soil types
  
• Produces viable seed
  
• Intentionally spread by people for fruit, shade, and timber
  
• Seeds survive gut passage (dispersed by gibbons, macaques, elephants, pigs)

Low Risk Traits:

• Restricted to tropical climates (not above 1,000 m)
  
• No spines, thorns, or burrs
  
• Not toxic, or unpalatable to livestock
  
• No vegetative reproduction
  
• No persistent seed bank (recalcitrant seeds)
  
• Large seeds limit dispersal; not wind-dispersed
  
• Not an agricultural, forestry, or horticultural weed
  
• No known congeneric weeds
  
• Flowers and sets seed within 5–7 years (3–4 years if grafted)