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Alstonia costata

Polynesian Alstonia

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Leaves and flowers (with detail)	88KB
Image:	Leaves and flowers	54KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Polynesian Alstonia

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Southeast Polynesia (Cooks - Societies - Marquesas)

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native, Endemic of se.Polynesia; S.Group (Rarotonga only, mountains); Land, mountains (++), Slope, Ridge and Cloud forests

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: None recorded

KEY FEATURES: A slender, erect tree to 15m (trunk to 25cm). Sap white. LEAVES opposite, glossy green, oval to 25x12cm, lateral veins conspicuous giving distinctive fishbone pattern; edges smooth and wavy; tip sharp; base tapering; stalk long, to 8cm. FLOWERS terminal spreading cluster, 15cmØ; each 2cmØ, white to yellow; petals 5, spreading, slender and sharp, to 8mm. FRUIT pairs of slender pods forming inverted-V; to 15cm.

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

Alstonia costata (G.Forst.)
TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); ASTERIDAE; Gentianales; APOCYNACEAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.287 I Cheeseman - Flora of Rarotonga
p.88 Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga
p.113 McCormack/Kunzle - Rarotonga's Mountain Tracks and Plants

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

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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