History in the United States

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.