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Decaisnina forsteriana

Pauma

Red Mistletoe

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Image:	Leaves, flowers, and germinating seeds	52KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Red Mistletoe

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Pauma (RR)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Fiji - Marquesas

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; S.Group only (Rarotonga only); Land, mountains (++), parasite on tree branches

KEY FEATURES: Bushy, parasitic shrub, to 1m, growing on the branches of trees. ROOT with suckers into host. LEAVES opposite, wide-oval, fleshy, both ends tapering. FLOWERS axillary clusters of erect, slender flowers, red-orange. FRUIT ovoid, 12mmL.

Enlarged Image of 'Decaisnina forsteriana'

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

Decaisnina forsteriana (J.A. & J.H.Schultes)
SYNONYMS: Loranthus forsteriana; Loranthus insularum [incl. TC/GW]; Loranthus vitiensis; Treubella; Elytranthe; Amylotheca

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); ROSIDAE; Santalales; LORANTHACEAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.3/741 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova
p.293 I Cheeseman - Flora of Rarotonga
p.46 Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga
p.388h Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands
p.65 McCormack/Kunzle - Rarotonga's Mountain Tracks and Plants

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM03a, zD05b

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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