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FACT SHEET: ASIATIC COLUBRINA

Asiatic Colubrina 

Colubrina asiatica (L.) Brongn. 

Buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae) 

NATIVE RANGE 

Eastern Africa to India, Southeast Asia, tropical Australia, and the Pacific 

Islands 

DESCRIPTION 

Asiatic colubrina, also called latherleaf, because of its ability to produce a 

lather in water, is a shrubby member of the buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae). It 

is a low shrub with long, climbing or drooping branches that can reach 20 feet 

long or more. The leaves are 11⁄2 to 51⁄2 inches long, egg-shaped, and easily 

recognized by their shiny, green upper surfaces and toothed edges. They are 

attached to stems by slender stalks and are arranged alternately along the 

branches. Flowering, which usually occurs in July, produces clusters of small, 

greenish-white flowers at the junctures of leaf and stem. The fruits are small 

capsules, measuring less than 1⁄2 inch across, which reach maturity as early as 

September. At first green and fleshy, the capsules become dark brown with 

age. Each fruit contains three tiny grayish seeds. 

NOTE: Asiatic colubrina should not be confused with U.S. native species of the genus (Colubrina) that are all trees with 

erect branches and hairy leaves. Other members of the buckthorn famiy include such plants as the jujube, California lilac, 

and buckthorn. 

ECOLOGICAL THREAT 

Asiatic colubrina produces a thick mat of tangled stems that can be several feet thick, impacting the underlying vegetation 

by growing on it or shading it out. The occurrence of Asiatic colubrina in Florida’s coastal tropical hardwood forests is of 

special concern due to the uniqueness of this habitat and the rarity of some of its constituent plant species, including a 

number of Florida State-listed threatened and endangered species such as West Indian mahogany, Florida thatch palm, 

wild cinnamon, manchineel, prickly-pear and dildo cacti, and a number of bromeliads and orchids. Sites infested by 

colubrina experience a great reduction in biological diversity as very few plants (including seedlings of Asiatic colubrina 

itself) can persist under these conditions. Impacts to natural areas include alterations of community composition and 

structure, diminishment of natural habitats for native wildlife, disruption of species relationships and interactions, and 

interference with ecological and geological processes such as water and nutrient cycling. 

DISTRIBUTION IN THE UNITED STATES 

Asiatic colubrina only occurs along the eastern and western coastlines of 

central and southern Florida (more or less frost-free), including the Florida 

Keys. As it is widespread throughout the Caribbean Basin, it is also likely to 

occur in the U.S. possessions of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

HABITAT IN THE UNITED STATES 

Asiatic colubrina is an upland plant that inhabits only the higher portions of 

coastal areas. It can invade both disturbed and undisturbed forest sites. 

Coastal forests (or hammocks) comprised of tropical hardwoods and 

buttonwoods are especially vulnerable as they occur on such flood-free sites, 

created from the deposition of soils left by storms and tidal influences. Natural ridges or berms that have formed within 

inundated mangrove forests can also support Asiatic colubrina. It is also frequently found along elevated road shoulders in 

coastal areas, from which it can spread into adjacent natural areas. 
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Xeeds HoneXild: Alien Plant Invaders of Natural Areas 

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BACKGROUND 

Asiatic colubrina is believed to have been carried to Jamaica in the 1850s by 

East Asian immigrants, probably on account of its traditional uses (food, 

medicine, fish poison, and soap substitute). From there, it spread on its own to 

other Caribbean islands, Mexico (Yucatan Peninsula), and Florida. The earliest 

known record of its occurrence in Florida is 1937 where it was collected in the 

Florida Keys. The first reports of it on the mainland are specimens collected in 

Everglades National Park in the early 1950s. 

BIOLOGY & SPREAD 

Asiatic colubrina reproduces sexually and vegetatively. It has been reported 

that plants can flower and fruit within the first year of growth. Seeds are 

believed to retain their viability in the soil for at least several (3-5) years. Little 

is known about seed germination except that it requires loose soil and does not 

normally occur on exposed rock. 

Asiatic colubrina exhibits tremendous vegetative regeneration, including 

adventitious rooting from branches coming in contact with the soil and vigorous 

resprouting from cut or injured stems. Plants require considerable light and 

growth rates of seedlings increase with the removal of the shading canopy. 

Seedlings normally occur near larger, reproductively mature plants, suggesting 

that long-distance dispersal is uncommon. Asiatic colubrina’s buoyant and salttolerant seeds and fruits are dispersed by ocean currents. Because the seeds 

resemble small pebbles, it has been suggested that they may be used as crop 

stones by seed-eating birds, which may disperse them long distances. 

MANAGEMENT OPTIONS 

Mechanical and chemical methods are the primary means of control of Asiatic colubrina. The application of a 10% solution 

of triclopyr (e.g., Garlon® 4) in a band around the base of the trunk (basal bark method) or application of a 50% solution of 

the same (e.g., Garlon® 3A) on a freshly cut trunk (cut stump method) are the most effective ways to kill adult plants. The 

application of a 3% solution of triclopyr to the foliage (foliar application method) may be used if non-target vegetation in 

the immediate vicinity will not be impacted by herbicide drift. Because of the possibility of resprouting from the rooted 

portions of the plant, follow-up inspections and retreatments may be necessary for a year (if not longer) following the initial

treatment. In addition, the long viability of seeds in the soil requires monitoring of treatment sites for several years after 

the initial treatment. Seedlings and young plants, up to about 5 feet tall, may be hand-pulled as long as their root systems 

are small and can also be removed. Care should be taken not to disturb the soil any more than necessary. 

USE PESTICIDES WISELY: Always read the entire pesticide label carefully, follow all mixing and application instructions and wear all 

recommended personal protective gear and clothing. Contact your state department of agriculture for any additional pesticide use 

requirements, restrictions or recommendations. 

NOTICE: mention of pesticide products on this page does not constitute endorsement of any material.

CONTACTS 

For more information on the management of Asiatic Colubrina, please contact: 

• David T. Jones, South Florida Natural Resources Center, Everglades National Park, Homestead, FL; david_jones 

at nps.gov; office: 305/242-7800; fax: 305/242-7836 

OTHER LINKS 

• http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/colubrina_asiatica.htm

AUTHOR 

David T. Jones, South Florida Natural Resources Center, Everglades National Park, Homestead, FL 

EDITOR 

Jil M. Swearingen, National Park Service, Washington, DC 
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Plant Conservation Alliance®s Alien Plant Working Group 

Xeeds HoneXild: Alien Plant Invaders of Natural Areas 

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PHOTOGRAPHS 

David T. Jones, South Florida Natural Resources Center, Everglades National Park, Homestead, FL 

Mandy Tu, The Nature Conservancy, Davis, CA 

REFERENCES 

Jones, D.T. 1996. The Status and Management of Colubrina asiatica (latherleaf) in Everglades National Park. South 

Florida Natural Resources Center, Everglades National Park, Homestead. 

Jones, D.T. 1997. Ecological consequences of latherleaf (Colubrina asiatica) in southern Florida. Wildland Weeds (Winter 

1997): 11-12. 

Langeland, K.A. (ed.). 1998. Most Invasive Plants of Natural Areas in Florida. Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, 

University of Florida, Gainesville. [in press] 

Langeland, K.A. and R.K. Stocker. 1997. Control of Non-native Plants in Natural Areas of Florida – SP242. Institute of 

Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville. 

The Nature Conservancy. Colubrina: Element Stewardship Abstract. In: Wildland Weeds Management & Research 

Program, Weeds on the Web. 

Tomlinson, P.B. 1980. The Biology of Trees Native to Tropical Florida. Harvard University Printing Office, Allston. 

Schultz, G.E. 1992. Stewardship Abstract – Colubrina asiatica. The Nature Conservancy, Florida Musuem of Natural 

History, Gainesville.

Swearingen, J. 2009. WeedUS Database of Plants Invading Natural Areas in the United States: Asiatic Colubrina 

(Colubrina asiatica). http://www.invasive.org/weedus/subject.html?sub=5358. 

USDA, NRCS. 2009. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 

70874-4490 USA.