Common Name: Toi

General Information

Alphitonia zizyphoides is a tree, occasionally only a shrub, that can reach a height of 20 - 30 metres[, ]. The bole is generally unbranched for about half the height of the tree[].
The plant is often harvested from the wild by local people for medicinal and other uses, and is also often grown in backyard gardens[]. The plant has good potential for being grown as an ornamental[].
Alphitonia zizyphoides has a very wide distribution, large population, is not currently experiencing any major threats and no significant future threats have been identified. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Pacific - French Polynesia, Fiji; Niue; Samoa; Tonga; Vanuatu; Wallis and Futuna Islands.

Habitat

Lowland and lower montane forest associations, including secondary forests and the margins of closed forests[]. Locally common in dry or dense lowland and foothill forests and thickets[].

Properties

Conservation Status	Least Concern
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Tree
Height	20.00 m
Growth Rate	Fast
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Alphitonia zizyphoides is a plant of the humid tropical lowlands, found naturally at elevations up to 700 metres[]. It grows naturally in areas where the annual rainfall is in the range 1,800 - 4,000 mm and there is either no dry season or a short dry season of up to 2 months[]. The mean annual temperature ranges from 24 - 26°c, with a maximum of 32°c and minimum of 17°c[]. Plants cannot tolerate temperatures lower than 10°c[].
Grows best in a sunny position on fertile, well drained, medium-heavy, neutral, friable volcanic ash soils overlying limestone[]. Plants can succeed on a very wide range of soils so long as they are well-drained[]. It prefers acid to neutral soils with a pH in the range 4.0 - 7.4[]. Plants are often found growing near to the sea and so are likely to have moderately high tolerance of salt spray[]. Both saplings and trees in open areas have been observed to have excellent tolerance of strong cyclonic winds[].
A fast-growing tree, on good sites it can grow at a rate of 2 - 3 metres per year during its first 3 - 4 years, thereafter reducing to 1 - 2 metres per year[].
The age to first flowering is unknown, but is expected to be 3 - 4 years[].
A potentially invasive species when grown outside of its natural range[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

The bark is boiled, often along with the bark of other tree species, to produce a decoction for treating numerous ailments, including stomach-aches, constipation, coughs, headaches, menstrual pain, prolapsed rectum in postpartum women[, ].
Externally, a lotion made from the bark is used to treat skin diseases like eczema[]. The sap of the bark is used to treat earache[].
The bark contains triterpenoid saponins and a phenolic compound[, ]. The phenolic compound alphitol has been shown to have anti-inflammatory activity[].

The sap is used to treat earache, swelling, fever, and cancer[].

Agroforestry Uses:

A pioneer species, growing rapidly in open land and able to persist for many decades as the forest closes in[]. It can be planted in open land in order to bring about suitable conditions for planting woodland trees[].
The species has good resistance to cyclones and would be well suited for inclusion as an upper-mid-level layer of mixed-species windbreaks of wide dimensions[].

Other Uses

The crushed leaves foam up in water and were commonly used as a soap[].
The leaves and flowers, together with those of Colubrina asiatica and Citrus macroptera, were used to make a shampoo in Samoa[].

The attractive, reddish-brown wood is of medium-density, is easy to saw, finish, and season. The sapwood is immune to Lyctus attack, but the heartwood is not durable and is not recommended for use in high-decay situations[]. It is used for house construction (including building members, posts, flooring moldings, and panelling) and furniture[]. It is used throughout Polynesia to make tools (such as tapa mallets and digging sticks), tool handles, weapons (clubs and spears), and carved artefacts (including kava bowls)[]. It has also been used for making both canoes and canoe paddles[].
The wood makes an excellent fuelwood and is a preferred species for such purposes. The naturally shed lateral
branches are ideal for burning[].

Propagation

Seed - pre-soaking in water for 12 - 24 hours is reported to improve the germination rate in older seed batches (e.g., more than 10 months old)[]. For the closely related A. ponderosa, nicking or partial abrasion of the seed coat has been found to speed germination[]. Seeds may be sown in trays in a protected, well lit or sunny situation. They are covered with a thin layer, 2- 3mm thick, of sand, loamy soil, or potting medium. Germination may commence about 7 - 16 days after sowing, but some seed lots take several months to germinate[]. Seedlings should be pricked out and transplanted to individual containers at the cotyledon or four-leaf stage[]. Seedlings are ready for planting out after about 16 - 20 weeks when they are about 25cm tall[].
The seed can be stored for many years in hermetically sealed containers under cool, dry conditions[].

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