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Albizia lebbeck

‘Arapītia (MT)

Siris Tree

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Image:	Flower and leaves	70KB
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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Siris Tree, Siris Rain-tree [Siris is Hindi, for several trees of this genus], Woman's-tongue Tree, Lebbek Tree

TRADITIONAL NAMES: ‘Arapītia (MT)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE tropical Asia

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Not naturalised, locally naturalised; Land, lowlands

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Ornamental leaves

KEY FEATURES: A moderate tree with a spreading crown, grown for shade and its attractive flat pods. Compound leaves in terminal clusters, with yellowish spiky flowers.

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

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

Albizia lebbeck Linnaeus
SYNONYMS: Albizia lebbek [misspelt]; Mimosa lebbeck

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

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
POSITIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Ornamental leaves. Comments: MATERIAL: Timber hard, tough, suitable for cabinet work. Heart-wood rich-brown in colour.

GENERAL NOTE: The Arabian name "Labak" gave rise to various vernacular names, the most common being "Lebbek". Linnaeus selected the alternate spelling "lebbeck" and this is maintained as the correct botanical spelling.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.644 Wagner et al.- Flowering Plants of Hawaii
p.404 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.45 Hortus 3rd
p.40 Royal Hort. Soc. Index of Garden Plants
p.540 Tropica
p.3/078 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova
p.55 Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga
p.357 Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM03b, 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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