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Asplenium nidus

Kōta‘a Tua-rua (MG)

Smooth Bird's-nest Fern

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Fern in tree and detail of midrib	105KB
Image:	Whole plant and detail of midrib	94KB
Image:	Ferns in tree (Atiu)	97KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Smooth Bird's-nest Fern; German Nestfarn

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Kōta‘a (RR), Kōta‘a Tua-rua (MG), Kōta‘a Panau / Kōta‘a Roroa (AT), Kōta‘a / Kōta‘a Pānau (MK MT), Raukōtaha (MH RK), Laukotawa (PK NS); Other Polynesian - Laugapāpā (SAM); COMMENT: Pānau is the round-tipped broad-leaved form.

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE trop. Africa - se.Asia/Australia - Marquesas - Henderson; Hawai‘i

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; Land, lowlands - mountains (++)

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Ornamental fern

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

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

Northern Group: Present
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
-	04++++	P	++++	P	-

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

Asplenium nidus L.
TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; PTERIDOPHYTA (=Pterophyta); Aspidiales; ASPLENIACEAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Pukapuka: fieldspecimen+photo, 2/2004, widespread on old stumps and on ground, ID GMcC.

References:
p.21 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.107 Royal Hort. Soc. Index of Garden Plants
p.443 Tropica
p.372a Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands
p.36 McCormack/Kunzle - Rarotonga's Mountain Tracks and Plants

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zupM04a

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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