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Abrus precatorius

Pitipitiō

Crab's-eye Vine

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Image:	Leaves, flowers and fruit	56KB
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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Crab's-eye Vine, Rosary Pea, Bead Vine, Black-eyed Susan

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Pitipitiō (RR), Kōviriviri Mata-tako (MG), Uiui (AT MK MT), Kirikiri Rangi (AK); Other Polynesian - Matamoso (SAM)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Africa - Asia - Australia - Tuamotus

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native or Introduced - Polynesian, Naturalised; Land, lowlands

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: ; Poisonous to eat seed - very serious

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

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

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

Abrus precatorius Linnaeus
SYNONYMS: Glycine precatorius

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); ROSIDAE; Fabales (Legumes); FABACEAE

More Information

GENERAL NOTE: The seeds contain a poison, abrin, which acts like a snake venom. If it enters the bloodstream through a cut or sore, it can cause delirium and death within a few hours or several days. (Arnold 1968)

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.638 Wagner et al.- Flowering Plants of Hawaii
p.455 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.3/162 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova
p.276 I Cheeseman - Flora of Rarotonga
p.54 Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga
p.392a Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands

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

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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