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Cassia javanica

Pink-and-white Shower

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Pink-and-white Shower, Java Shower, Pink Cassia, Pink Shower, Apple-blossom Shower; French Cassier

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE e.India - s.China - Malesia

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Not naturalised; Land, lowlands

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Ornamental flowers

KEY FEATURES: Spreading tree to 15m. LEAVES compound, paired leaflets; LEAFLETS 8-16 pairs, to 8x3cm, tip acute to rounded. FLOWERS on rigid stalk to 10cm; each on long stalks, 3-6cm; sepals red or green; petals 12-35mm long, pink turning red or pink to white turning yellowish-pink; stamen-stalks 3 long abruptly dilated centrally.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Rose Cassia (Cassia roxburghii has smaller leaflets to 4x2cm (vs. to 8x3cm), flower-stalk shorter to 2cm (vs. 3-6cm), and flower petals shorter to 14mm long (vs. 12-35mm long), and stamen-stalks not centrally dilated (vs. abuptly dilated).

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

Cassia javanica Linnaeus
SYNONYMS: Cassia nodosa [for Cassia javanica var. indochinensis; Pink Shower]

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

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.424 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.215 Royal Hort. Soc. Index of Garden Plants
p.551 Tropica
p.3/103 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM03b, zD04a

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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