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Euodia hortensis

Maire Vai‘ī

Pungent Shrub

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Pungent Shrub, Island Musk

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Maire Vai‘ī (RR), Maire Tahiti (MG), Maire (MK); Other Polynesian - Uhi (TON), Usi (SAM)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE New Guinea - w.Melanesia.; EXOTIC EXOTIC Aboriginal Fiji-Samoa; Recent e.Polynesia.

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Not naturalised; Land, lowlands, gardens

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Ornamental leaves, Fragrant

KEY FEATURES: Shrub to 6m. LEAVES with pungent fragrance; glossy, dark green; slender-oval, to 20x1.5cm; tapering gradually to round tip; edge rough; stalk 1cm. FLOWERS slender cluster to 8cm; pungent fragrance; very small, 4mmØ; petals 4, sharp, white. TWO FORMS: simplifolia one leaflet 9-15x longer than wide (as above, to 20x1.5cm); hortensis 1-3 leaflets 4-5x longer than wide, to 25x6cm. Both from PNG to Samoa.

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

Euodia hortensis J.R.Forster & G.Forster
SYNONYMS: Euodia hortensis form hortensis [1-3 LFT form] ,Euodia hortensis form simplicifolia [1 LFT form]; Evodia hortensis [misspelling]

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); ROSIDAE; Sapindales; RUTACEAE

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
POSITIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Ornamental leaves, Fragrant. Comments: Fragrant leaves used for adornment. MEDICINAL: Fiji the juice is used for various diseases; in Niue the leaves are chewed for toothaches and stomach aches; and in Tonga the plant has various medicinal uses.

GENERAL NOTE: A.C.Smith (Flora Vitiensis Nova, 1985) has it as an Aboriginal Introdcution to Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. f. hortensis collected by Forsters on Cook's Second Voyage from Tanna in Vanuata. f. simplifolia collected New Guinea in 1834, and Samoa in 1910.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.3/498 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova
p.374d Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM05a, zD02, zupD05a

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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