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Elaeocarpus tonganus

Karaka Rarotonga*

Polynesian Elaeocarpus

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Leaves, flowers and fruit	51KB
Image:	The red-leaved form (Kuana on Atiu)	87KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Polynesian Elaeocarpus

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Karaka (RR), Orotea (MG), Kuāna / Rare (AT); Other Polynesian - A‘amati‘e (SAM)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Southern Polynesia (Tonga - Samoa - Cooks - Australs)

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native, Endemic of s.Polynesia; Land, mountains (++++) and makatea

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Material (Wood)

KEY FEATURES: Tree to 20m. LEAVES terminal clusters, alternate, oval, to 15x7cm; stalk to 4cm, with ventral swelling as it joins the blade. FLOWERS dense clusters of small cream to white flowers. FRUIT wide-ovoid, 1cmØ, ripen bluish.

Enlarged Image of 'Elaeocarpus tonganus'

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

Elaeocarpus tonganus Burkill
SYNONYMS: Elaeocarpus rarotongensis [TC/GW]; Elaeocarpus samoensis

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); DILLENIIDAE; Malvales; ELAEOCARPACEAE

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -. Comment: NBSAP - Puaikura (1 of 3 wild plants)
POSITIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Material (Wood). Comments: MATERIAL: Occasionally used for timber (GM). Timber difficult to work but attractive, brown and white with grain, heavy. Used for rafters on Atiu.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.275 IE Cheeseman - Flora of Rarotonga
p.71 I Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga
p.367a Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands
p.106 McCormack/Kunzle - Rarotonga's Mountain Tracks and Plants

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zupM03a, zD02, zupD06a

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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