Origin: Central and South America

This small tree or shrub was first seen in Singapore in 2003. It was suspected to arrive here from Peninsular Malaysia based on a publication in 2008. The seeds were reported to be dispersed by birds and fruit bats. It was first introduced to the Botanical Gardens of Bogor, Indonesia in the 1860s and appeared in Malaysia in 1960. The possible routes of invasion of the shrub into this region was extensively documented in an article published 2010 on the status of this shrub in Papua New Guinea. The first time that I came across this shrub was in 2009 in Kranji area. Thereafter, I had been seeing it in many locations.