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Dicranopteris linearis

Tuanu‘e

Tangle Fern

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Plant	148KB
Image:	Dicranopteris (L) and Lycopodiella cernua (R)	68KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Tangle Fern, False Staghorn-fern, Umbrella Fern

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Tuanu‘e (RR MK), Tuānu‘e (MG), Tuenu‘e (AT); Other Polynesian - Asaua (SAM)

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; S.Group only (RR, MG, AT, MK - v.common); Land, lowlands - mountains (++++)

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Medicine

KEY FEATURES: A tough angular-branching fern. The Fernlands consist almost entirely of a single species, Tuanu‘e (Tangle Fern). It is a wiry, hard-stemmed fern which has a spreading, entangling top with small ladder-like “leaflets” (pinnules). Although Tuanu‘e is an indigenous fern, the extensive nature of the Fernlands is probably related to the removal of the native forests in ancient times.

Enlarged Image of 'Dicranopteris linearis'

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

Dicranopteris linearis (Burm.)
SYNONYMS: Gleichenia dichotoma [TC]; Gleichenia linearis [GW]

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; PTERIDOPHYTA (=Pterophyta); Gleicheniales; GLEICHENIACEAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.9 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.408b Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands
p.92 McCormack/Kunzle - Rarotonga's Mountain Tracks and Plants

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zupM04b, 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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