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Cerbera odollam

Reva

Yellow-eye Sea-mango

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Leaves, flower, and fruit	57KB
Image:	Leaves, flower and fruit	52KB
Image:	Compare: Cerbera odollam and C. manghas	44KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Yellow-eye Sea-mango

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Reva (RR MG); Other Polynesian - Leva (TON), Leva (SAM), Reva (TAH)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Sri Lanka - se.Asia - Indonesia - New Caledonia - Marquesas

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Naturalised; Land, mountains (++) (lower slopes), Villages

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Medicine; Invasive - moderate; Poisonous fruit - serious

KEY FEATURES: Tree to 20m. LEAVES in terminal clusters, glossy green, narrow-oval to 25x8cm. FLOWERS nocturnal, fragrant, white, tubular 'throat' with broad petals forming 'face'. FRUIT ovoid with a peach-like furrow down one side, ripening red.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Cerbera manghas has red eye (vs yellow eye). Ther is much debate as to the importance of the eye colour, which seems to be the only feature separating the two species. Yellow-eyed plants occur from Sri Lanka to the Marquesas; red-eyed plants Indonesia to Societies. Sri Lanka yellow only, Java both, New Caledonia both, Fiji red only, Cooks yellow only, Tahiti both.

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

Cerbera odollam Gaertn.
SYNONYMS: Cerbera manghas [sensu, incl. GW] [taxonomy disputed]

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); ASTERIDAE; Gentianales; APOCYNACEAE

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
POSITIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Medicine. Comments: The milky sap was formerly used as a "liniment" in severe cases of rheumatism (Cheeseman 1903). The flowers and fruit were used (externally) medicinally. Taken internally they are said to be poisonous (Wilder 1931). Contains cerberin, which is very similar to thevetin and has a digitalis-like action on the heart. It is intensively irritating to the lining of the mouth and intestines. (Arnold 1968)
NEGATIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Invasive - moderate; Poisonous fruit - serious

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.74 Tropica
p.4/089 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova
p.287 I Cheeseman - Flora of Rarotonga
p.89 R Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga
p.398d Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM03b, zD02

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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