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Vanilla tahitensis

Vānira

Tahitian Vanilla

Multimedia & Additional Resources

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Image:	Leaves and flower	37KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Tahitian Vanilla

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Vānira (RR)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Society Islands (propagated as cuttings)

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Not naturalised; S.Group only - rare; Land, lowlands - inland valleys

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: ; Locally endangeredFood (Fruit 2+) Cond

KEY FEATURES: A climbing orchid. STEMS sometimes zigzagging. LEAVES alternate; short-stemmed; fleshy; to 20cm. FLOWERS in lateral spikes; short; to 20+ successive flowers; pale yellowish-green; petals and sepals narrow; to 60mm; lip fringe-edged; inside striped yellow-orange; shorter than petals. FRUIT long oval pods; to 20cm.

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

Vanilla tahitensis
TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); LILIOPSIDA (=Monocotyledones); LILIIDAE; Orchidales; ORCHIDACEAE

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
BIODIVERSITY: Locally endangered
POSITIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Food (Fruit 2+) Cond. Comments: The cured fruit pods are used as a flavouring agent.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
None recorded.

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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