General Information

COMMON NAMES: Candlenut, Varnish Tree; German Lichtnussbaum TRADITIONAL NAMES: Tuitui (RR MG AT MK MT AK); Other Polynesian - Lama (SAM) GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Malesia se Asia COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Polynesian, Naturalised; Land, lowlands - mountains to mid-elev. SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Medicine, Food (former SD), Material (Light), Adornment.; Invasive - moderate; Poisonous raw seed - moderate KEY FEATURES: Spreading tree to 20m. LEAVES: terminal clusters; alternate; larger leaves, angular-ovate 3-5 lobed (maple-leaf shaped), to 35x30cm [LxW]; smaller leaves, ovate-pointed, to 15x10cm (LxW); large leaves green, small leaves whitish-tomentose; long petiole (to 30 cm). FLOWERS: in terminal panicles; small; white; male and female similar but separate. FRUIT: green; sub-globose; to 5cmØ; containing a walnut-shaped nut with a very thick, hard shell.

Cook Islands Distribution

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

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

Aleurites moluccana Linnaeus
SYNONYMS: Acalypha triloba; Jatropha moluccana

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); ROSIDAE; Euphorbiales; EUPHORBIACEAE

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -. Comment: NBSAP - Aitutaki (5 of 5 wild plants)
POSITIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Medicine, Food (former SD), Material (Light), Adornment.. Comments: In former times the oily nuts were threaded onto thin skewers and burnt for light. The soot from the burnt nuts was used formerly also in tattooing. The nuts were noted as a food source at times, especially during famine. The oil from the nut was used as a wood polish. Seeds were used as part of a concoction for treating ear- and headaches. A dye, called ‘iri was made from the inner bark and used to stain tapa cloth. (Whistler 1990). The cooked kernel of the seed is harmless, but when eaten raw it can cause violent vomiting and purging (Arnold 1968).The seeds are made into jewellery, and oil is extracted and made into varnish for lamps (Graf 1992). The Candlenut is highly esteemed in Hawai'in society for its multiplicity of uses, including those mentioned above, and more including those relating to the wood and bark (Neal 1965).
NEGATIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Invasive - moderate; Poisonous raw seed - moderate

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.598 Wagner et al.- Flowering Plants of Hawaii
p.505 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.42 Royal Hort. Soc. Index of Garden Plants
p.407 Tropica
p.2/548 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova
p.295 I Cheeseman - Flora of Rarotonga
p.65 Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga
p.408e Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands
p.100 McCormack/Kunzle - Rarotonga's Mountain Tracks and Plants

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM03a, zupM03b, zD02, zupD04b

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