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Caesalpinia major

Tātarāmoa

Yellow Nickernut

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Leaves and stipules (Rarotonga)	81KB
Image:	Compare: Caesalpinia bonduc (Pitcairn)	121KB
Image:	Compare: Caesalpinia bonduc (Marquesas)	73KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Yellow Nickernut, Yellow Nicker, Hawaiian Pearls

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Tātarāmoa (RR AT), Tātarāka (MG), Tātarāmoa ‘Enua (MK); Other Polynesian - Soni (FIJ), ‘Ānoso (SAM), Tātarāka (TAH)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE pantropical (except Africa), incl. Fiji to Henderson, Hawai‘i

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; S.Group (RR - rare, makatea islands - uncommon); Land, mountains (+), outer makatea

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: games (formerly); Injurous spines - moderate

KEY FEATURES: Climber or sprawling shrub to 15m. STEM with recurved thorns. LEAVES alternate, prickly, compound with 3-5 pairs side-stalks (=pinnae) to 10cm with 4-7 ~pairs of leaflets; LEAFLETS oval to 7x4cm, edge smooth, tip sharp, base round. LEAF STIPULE very small, slender, to 3mm. FLOWERS sexes separate on same plant; long axillary clusters, yellow. FRUIT oval pods, to 13x6cm, with nasty prickles (to 10mm). SEEDS dull grey, 2-4, round, very hard.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Grey Nickernut (Caesalpinia bonduc) has stipules leaf-like to 25mm (vs. slender to 3mm); leaf-sidestalks with leaflets 6-12 pairs (vs 4-7 pairs); seeds 1-2 (vs 2-4) - widespread in Polynesia but not known within Cook Islands.

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea: Present
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

Caesalpinia major (Medic.)
SYNONYMS: Bondoc majus; Caesalpinia bondoc [sensu TC]; Caesalpinia crista [sensu GW]

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

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
POSITIVE SIGNIFICANCE: games (formerly). Comments: Seeds formerly used as marbles (by children).
NEGATIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Injurous spines - moderate. Comments: NBSAP - Atiu (2 of 3 wild weeds)

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Mauke: field specimen by Vae Oti, NBSAP 3/2001, makatea, ID GMcC.

References:
p.648 Wagner et al.- Flowering Plants of Hawaii
p.433 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.3/094 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova
p.277 I Cheeseman - Flora of Rarotonga
p.55 Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga
p.401c Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM03a, zupD03a

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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