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Chamaesyce hirta

Totototo Tītā (MK)

Hairy Spurge

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Hairy Spurge, Garden Spurge, Asthma Plant

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Totototo (RR), Totototo Tītā (MK AK), Mauku (TS TW), Vayavaya (PK); Other Polynesian - La‘au Fai Moti (SAM)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE ?American, early circumtropical

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Naturalised; Land, lowlands

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: ; Weed - moderate

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

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

Northern Group: Present
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
+++	P	P	+++		P

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

Chamaesyce hirta Linnaeus
SYNONYMS: Euphorbia hirta; Euphorbia pilulifera [sensu authors]

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); ROSIDAE; Euphorbiales; EUPHORBIACEAE

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
NEGATIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Weed - moderate. Comments: A fast growing weed in gardens. It requires constant control.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Pukapuka: fieldspecimen, 2/2004, common wayside weed, ID GMcC - not recorded during 1980s visits.

References:
p.609 Wagner et al.- Flowering Plants of Hawaii
p.516 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.2/574 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova
p.294 R* Cheeseman - Flora of Rarotonga
p.66 Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM05a

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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