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Eruca vesicaria sativa

Rocket Salad

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Rocket Salad, Arugula, Rocket, Rocket Cress, Roquette, Roquette Salad, Italian Cress; French Roquette, Rouquelle

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Mediterranean

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent (post-1990), Not naturalised; Land, lowlands, gardens

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Food (Leaf 1+)

KEY FEATURES: Leafy erect annual herb to 1m. LEAVES long-oval, with 2-several lateral lobes and one large terminal lobe. FLOWER erect terminal spike; white to cream with purple veins, 2cmØ; petals 4, long-clawed.

Enlarged Image of 'Eruca vesicaria sativa'

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea:
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
+		-			+	-	-	-

Northern Group: -
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
-	-	-	-	-	-

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Eruca vesicaria sativa Linnaeus
SYNONYMS: Eruca sativa

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); DILLENIIDAE; Capparales; BRASSICACEAE

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
POSITIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Food (Leaf 1+). Comments: Uncommon, used in salads.

IDENTIFICATION: Erect annual herb to 1m. LEAVES deeply dissected with 2-5 lateral lobes and one large terminal lobe; dark green, ~glabrous. FLOWER terminal spike; to 25mm long, whitish to creamy-yellow with purple veins; sepals 4; petals 4, long-clawed.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.443 Hortus 3rd
p.434 Royal Hort. Soc. Index of Garden Plants

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zD02

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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