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Canavalia sericea

Silky Jackbean

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Leaves, flower and fruit	102KB
Image:	Leaves, flower and fruit	108KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Silky Jackbean

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Micronesia - ne.Australia - New Caledonia - Societies

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; S.Group only - widespread; Land; strand and upper beach

KEY FEATURES: Sprawling vine with silky stem and leaves. LEAVES w 3-leaflets. LEAFLETS wide-oval, to 10x8cm. FLOWERS pea-like, dark pink; main petal to 3x2cm. FRUIT pod, straight and flat, to 15x3cm; strong ridge near edge; woody, ripening dry and dark brown; seeds ~8, brown.

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

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

Canavalia sericea A.Gray
TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); ROSIDAE; Fabales (Legumes); FABACEAE

More Information

IDENTIFICATION: Sprawling, silky-haired vine. STEMS ±angled; furry. LEAVES alternate; 3 leaflets. LEAFLETS oval to round; to 10x8cm; silky hairs esp. below & on young leaves. FLOWERS short clusters at leaf bases; large; pea-like; petals dark pink, to 3x2cm. FRUIT flat pod to 15x3cm; woody; conspicuous ridge near one edge; ripens dry and dark brown; seeds ~8, flat-oval, 15x12x5mm, brown.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
Special Reference: Whistler92 - Seashore, p116.

p.654 Wagner et al.- Flowering Plants of Hawaii
p.464 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.3/222 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova
p.277 I Cheeseman - Flora of Rarotonga
p.56 Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM04b, 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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