Elaeocarpus carolinensis is a canopy tree that grows to 15 m in height. The leaves are alternately arranged on the stem and are elliptic in shape reaching 10 -15 cm long and 3-5 cm wide. The leaf margins are finely serrated and the leaf blade is quite thick. The old leaves turn red before falling. The flowers are borne in clusters containing 5-10 flowers. The flowers are small and the calyx is almost as long as the petals. The petals have a characteristic notch at the apex or tip. The fruit of Elaeocarpus carolinensis is round and bright blue that has a somewhat wrinkled surface when mature.
Elaeocarpus carolinensis is found in the Federated States of Micronesia on the Caroline and Palau Islands in lowland-upland wet forest and tropical montane cloud forests from sea-level to 400 m. This species is also found in Taiwan.
The genus Elaeocarpus contains 250 species in Asia, Australia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Melesia, New Zealand, the Papua New Guinea, and the Pacific (including Hawai`i). The Hawaiian species, Elaeocarpus bifidus, is endemic and is found in mesic-wet forest on Kaua`i and O`ahu at 900-1,220 m elevation.
(Wagner, W. L., Herbst, D. R., and S. H. Sohmer. 1999. Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai`i. Revised Edition. Volume 1. Bishop Museum Special Publication 97. University of Hawai`i Press, Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, Hawai`i.)
Yao, N. 1996. Species list of Vascular Plants of Taiwan. Experimental Forest of National Taiwan University, Taiwan.)
The Elaeocarpus carolinensis tree found in the NTBG is grown from seed from collections made from Kosrae Island in the Caroline Islands. In its native range this species is now often found as remnant trees surrounded by agroforestry plantations.
We currently have 9 herbarium specimens for Elaeocarpus carolinensis in our collection. Click on any specimen below to view the herbarium sheet data.