Common name: Guest Tree

Guest Tree is an ornamental, minor timber tree originating from a wide geographical area, with its natural range extending from India through Southeast Asia to northern Australia and the Pacific.

It is fast-growing and, on favourable sites, reaches heights of up to 20 m (65 ft), though it is more commonly 10 to 15 m (33 to 50 ft) tall, with a short, sometimes crooked trunk and upright branches forming a densely leafy, rounded crown. The bark is grey and fissured.

The leaves are heart-shaped, up to 15 cm (6 in) long, sharply pointed at the tip, dull green on top and pale green underneath. They are alternately arranged along the ends of the branches and remain on the tree year-round.

From late spring to autumn, small, pale pink flowers bloom in large clusters. They are followed by curious five-lobed, air-filled seedpods with a papery coat, allowing the wind to carry them and their seed a long distance from the parent tree. 

Environmental uses

Street tree - It is cultivated as a street and landscape tree in its native range,

Foliage ornamental - ...for its shapely form,

Flowering ornamental - ...showy flowers, and unusual five-lobed seedpods.

Seaside garden plant - It is particularly suited to coastal areas because it tolerates salt spray.

Bee forage - The flowers produce abundant nectar and attract foraging honeybees. However, little information appears to exist about its value as a honey plant.

Material uses

Softwood - The wood is whitish and lightweight, weighing 300 to 400 kgs per cubic meter (19 to 25 lbs per cubic ft).

Wood craft and wares - A minor timber tree, the wood is used mainly in woodcraft,

Wood turning - ...including turnery. Artisans are particularly interested in the knotted pieces, which they use to craft ornate knife and dagger handles.

Firewood - The limbs, branches and off-cuts of the trunk wood make good firewood.

Rope or cordage - In the Philippines, people used to strip the bark and weave it into rope used to harness livestock.

Floral arrangement - Florists use stems with the eye-catching, pink, five-lobed seedpods in floral arrangements.

Health uses

The leaves reportedly have insecticidal properties and are used in traditional medicinal preparations to treat head lice.

Climate

Grows naturally in sub-humid to humid tropical lowland climates, generally areas with annual lows of 18 to 25°C, annual highs of 27 to 35°C, annual rainfall of 700 to 3500 mm and a dry season of 7 months or less. However, it develops best as a tree in areas with annual rainfall of 1700 mm or more.

Growing

New plants are usually started from seed. It performs best on free-draining loam and sandy soils of an acid to alkaline nature, generally with a pH of 5.0 to 7.5, and on sites with full to partial sun exposure.

Problem features

Guest Tree has escaped cultivation and is recorded as a weed in Hawaii and as naturalised in other areas of the United States.

The bark and leaves are poisonous.

Books

• Barwick, M., et al. 2004, Tropical & subtropical trees : a worldwide encyclopaedic guide, Thames and Hudson, London

• Brown, William Henry, 1884-1939 & The LuEsther T Mertz Library & the New York Botanical Garden 1919, Philippine fiber plants, Bureau of Printing, Manila

• Elevitch, C. R & Wilkinson, K. M. 2000, Agroforestry Guides for Pacific Islands, 1st ed., Permanent Agriculture Resources, Holualoa, Hawaii

• Little, E. L. 1974, Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, Vol. 2, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Washington D.C.

• Macmillan, H. F. 1943, Tropical planting and gardening : with special reference to Ceylon, 5th ed, Macmillan Publishing, London

• Martin, F. W & Ruberte, R. M. 1975, Edible leaves of the tropics, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Mayaguez, Puerto Rico

• Randall, R. P. 2002, A global compendium of weeds, R.G. and F.J. Richardson Press, Melbourne

• Reyes, G. 1992, Wood densities of tropical tree species, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station, New Orleans, Louisiana