There are always a few plants that get placed in my garden that I wish I hadn’t purchased. Maybe I knew they would be too cold sensitive but tried anyway. Maybe I knew they would grow too quickly for a selected spot in the garden. Perhaps some were just ugly and grew nothing like I imagined they would. However, very seldomly have I actually despised a plant in my garden. Pisonia umbellifera ‘Variegata’ has become just that. Sadly, it has become an unwanted nuisance in my garden and I am counting down the days to when I chop it down and haul it off to the dump. I do understand that “despise” is a strong word. I mean how could a popularly cultivated tree with beautifully variegated leaves become such a nuisance? Let me explain why I am no longer a fan of the tree shown below.
The first thing that jumps out at you with the evergreen Pisonia umbellifera ‘Variegata’ are those attractive variegated leaves with mottled shades of white, yellow and green. To top it off, new leaves open with a pinkish hue to them. With beautiful foliage like shown below, Pisonia umbellifera ‘Variegata’ has become a sought after ornamental tree for frost-free gardens.
So what is the issue then? Well I forgot to mention the common name of this tree. It has the name Bird Catcher Tree or Umbrella Catchbirdtree. There is a reason for this. Starting in early summer the tree starts to go into bloom here in Southern California. The nondescript flowers that emerge appear harmless enough. But that is their plan. The “don’t let people take notice until it is too late” plan.
Once pollinated, the flowers begin to develop into fruit. Again, nothing really standing out yet to alert you to the nuisance the tree would become shortly.
Give the fruit a little more time to develop and the trouble begins. See the glossy black banding on the fruit below?
That is the sticky substance that the fruit of Pisonia umbellifera ‘Variegata’ exudes. The sticky substance will grasp onto anything it touches and proves very difficult to remove.
Here is Pisonia umbellifera ‘Variegata’ showing all three phases shown above. Flower at the bottom right, developing fruit to the left, and the sticky, fully developed fruit to the top right and bottom left.
In the tropics, Pisonia umbellifera can grow into a large tree. Here in my mediterranean climate garden it has taken almost 10 years to reach the size shown in the first picture of this post. At 15 feet tall, that tree in my garden can become covered with sticky fruit by late summer. Rarely producing fruits in pots, it took about 6 years for my small, 3-gallon plant to turn into a fruiting tree. Just within the last two years it has begun to flower and fruit all through summer and into fall.
Pisonia umbellifera ‘Variegata’ loves water and fertilizer and I give it plenty of both. However, nothing out of the norm from what I give all the tropical plants in my garden. Unfortunately, it has responded to the love by rewarding me with a nuisance I can no longer handle. Those sticky fruits end up in my kids’ hair (which is a real nightmare to get out and even involves cutting it out in severe cases), on my dogs’ fur, and both eventually track the fruits into the house because the fruit falls to the garden floor looking for paws and shoes to stick to. I don’t know how many times I have had a momentary lapse in awareness while walking by or weeding too close to my Umbrella Catchbirdtree only to bump into it and have those damn fruits stick to me or get into my hair. Look how easy it is to just get one fruit to stick to my finger. Now imagine bumping into an entire clump of them.
The threat to garden fauna can be more damaging. The Umbrella Catchbirdtree has evolved a great way to disperse its seeds. Anytime a large bird flies into the tree it is guaranteed to get a few of the fruits stuck to it. Eventually the feather or fruit will fall off the bird allowing the tree to disperse its seeds much farther away than trusting the wind. Perhaps that is why Pisonia umbellifera can be found growing throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific.
If it were just large birds that the fruit sticks to it wouldn’t be much of an issue. However, it is indiscriminate on what it will stick to and anything small will find it impossible to pull away. Flies, bees and other insects can always be found dead on my fruiting tree.
Even worse, the “Catchbirdtree” can live up to its name. Here is a poor little hummingbird that flew too close, got entangled and couldn’t pull itself free before it died. You can also see more bees and flies dead in this one clump.
If you want to witness how sticky the fruit really is you can watch this YouTube video I made. It shows how fast you can get into trouble with this plant’s fruit.
So there you have it. Now you now why I suggest that people not plant Pisonia umbellifera ‘Variegata’ in their garden. Don’t let the beautiful leaves fool you like they did me. Once established and happy, you too will come to despise this plant. I guess if I didn’t have kids and dogs I might be more upbeat on this plant. I would just plant it far away from foot traffic. But I do have kids and dogs, so the axe is coming…
I was wondering where this was going, not having experience with a fruiting specimen. I think your reasoning makes perfect sense, and is sensible warning to others. I’m not sure whether it successfully sets fruit here in the SF Bay Area, I think they have this in Golden Gate Park at the SFBG. I have reservations about the variegated Schefflera pueckleri I grow, for the invasive greedy roots, or the unending sticky mess of the Pittosporum tenuifolium and even stickier P. undulatum trees in my garden, but have learned to coexist. I just have messy plants, not bird and insect killers! Perhaps he one beautiful tree I use in garden designs that generates conflicted feelings is the Wigandia caracasana; beautiful blooms and fascinating bold tropical looking foliage, but at a price to the unwary…
That would be great if their wasn’t enough year-round heat for them to fruit. It is a beautiful plant. You are right about Schefflera being greedy. Roots can run massive distances to find water too. I have a tall Pittosporum undulatum and yes it can be a mess, but it breaks down fast and isn’t much of an issue for me. The sticky Pisonia fruit last for weeks and my mow-and-blow gardener won’t even touch the stuff anymore.
I don’t recall if it was you or Stan that turned me on to Wigandia caracasana. Been looking to try one since.
This plant should be classed as a noxious weed and banned from growing it anywhere except its native (endemic) country of origin; New Zealand.
As a NZer myself, the plant looks good but it kills birds and once a bird becomes entangled in the very sticky seed heads it would be impossible to liberate the bird.
I would also recommend that you contact the authorities in your country and try to get this plant eradicated from every country except NZ.
Hi Robert, thanks for your comments. Did you watch the video I put on this post? I show a trapped hummingbird dead in the plant.
Did you get rid of this tree? That’s a pretty terrible plant!
Yep, it’s long gone 🙂
Thanks for the tip.
We live south coast NSW , Australia and planted two of these a few years ago.
One thrives on a fence trellis and the other is a free standing shrub/tree in a garden bed. Apart from their attractive leaf presentation they also show a magnificient large flower which lasts only a day or two. When they develop to flower in the manner you have shown they will be removed immediately.
All the best , Ron, Kiama , NSW Australia.
Thanks for reading Ron!
Interesting reading. I was gifted one which I potted under the patio. Was growing ok but now suddenly is wiltering and seems to be dying. Think I will stop trying to save it! Blessing in disguise.
Great read, and a very informative article, thanks. We have one in a corner of the garden where it shades a bedroom window. Been there from before us. It’s always been a bit of a nuisance, but I tolerated it until today. Our poor puppy found a path in under it and emerged COVERED in the sticky fruit. Poor thing. My fault for not seeing the hazard. The tree does look good and provides nice shade, but being on the South side of the house, that’s less of a concern. I actually suspect it was planted by mistake as it looks (to the untrained eye like mine) very much like a Port Jackson Fig, and I believe they don’t have the “I will stick to anyone who comes within 2 m of me!” problem. I hate to cut down a tree, but it’s days are numbered now.
Great string of comments. I have a Pisonia Brunoniana Variegata in my garden here in New Zealand. (Very similar to P.Umbellifera I guess). It started life as an indoor pot plant, but got too big so was relegated to a raised ledge garden outside clear of foot traffic and has been doing fine. It’s such a beautiful shrub. I prune it back every spring to about 1.2m (4 ft) high so it doesn’t turn into an uncontrollable tree. As for the sticky seeds, when they appear I wear old gardening gloves and snip them all off; problem solved, the birds are safe.
Actually in NZ these plants really are surviving wild mainly only on offshore islands where there are few feral browsing animals.