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Elephantopus mollis

Tapuae ‘Erepani

Elephant's-foot

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Image:	Leaves and flowers	46KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Elephant's-foot

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Tapuae ‘Erepani (RR MG AT MK MT AK)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE tropical America

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Naturalised; S.Group only (widespread & common); Land, lowlands - mountains (++++)

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: ; Weed - moderate

KEY FEATURES: Erect, large-leaved herb to 1m. STEMS hairy. LEAVES

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

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

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

Elephantopus mollis Kunth
SYNONYMS: Elephantopus scaber [sensu GW]

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); ASTERIDAE; Asterales; ASTERACEAE

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
NEGATIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Weed - moderate. Comments: NBSAP - Aitutaki (8 of 10 weeds, or False EF, check ID), NBSAP - Mauke (3 of 10 weeds, or False EF, check ID)

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.310 Wagner et al.- Flowering Plants of Hawaii
p.829 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.5/260 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova
p.105 Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga
p.400c Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands
p.25 McCormack/Kunzle - Rarotonga's Mountain Tracks and Plants

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

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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