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Cassia X nealiae

Rainbow Shower

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Rainbow Shower

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE hort.

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

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Ornamental flowers

KEY FEATURES: Tree to 10m. LEAVES alternate, compound with 6-10 pairs of leaflets, to 50x25cm; LEAFLETS oval, to 11x5cm, stalks short; stipules small, 2-lobed. FLOWERS in large hanging clusters to 50cm long; each 6cmØ; petals 5, white, yellow, cream to orange-red, 3x2mm; style long, curved; stamens 7, long or short, often very short-lived. Cvs. numerous with three registered: 'Wilhelmina Tenney' with odourless yellow flowers flushed variously pink; 'Queen's Hospital White' with odourless yellowish flowers turning white; and 'Lunalilo Yellow' with fragrant bright yellow flowers.

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

Cassia X nealiae Irwin & Barneby
SYNONYMS: Cassia javanica X fistula; Cassia X nealii

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

More Information

GENERAL NOTE: Forester David Haughs discovered the first natural hybrids in Hawai'i between 1910 and 1917, and soon after started to make manmade hybrids, which he started distributing to the public for planting in 1918 or 1919. The hybrids varied greatly and by 1950 grafting was used to propagrate the more popular hybrids. The two most popular in Hawaii were the 'Wilhelmina Tenney' and the 'Queen's Hospital White', and 'Wilhelmina Tenney' became the official tree of Honolulu in 1965. [various souces, including Clay 1974-79]

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.424 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.550 Tropica

Data Update History (information):
zB02, zD03b, zupD04a

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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