General Information

COMMON NAMES: Governor's Plum, Rukam, Indian Cherry, Indian Plum, Paniala, Eastindian Plum [Governor's Plum elsewhere is Flacourtia indiica, while present species is Rukam, as is Flacourtia rukam] TRADITIONAL NAMES: Venevene Pāma (RR) GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE not known in wild, possibly a cultigen of India or Burma COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent (~1920), Naturalised; Land, lowlands - mountains (++) (mid-elev.) SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Food (Fruit 3+); Invasive - moderate KEY FEATURES: Small spreading tree, to 10m, with branched spines on trunk and branch-bases. LEAVES alternate, oval, to 10x5cm, teeth low and round, dark green. FLOWERS small axial clusters; unisexual and small; female style single with 4 lobes. FRUIT to 2.5cmØ, ripens purple-red with brown flecking. SEEDS 5 pairs, flattened, to 10x7x3mm. SIMILAR SPECIES: Indian Prune (Flacourtia rukam) as no spines (vs spines on trunk and branches-bases); style 4-8 (vs 1 with 4 lobes). Elsewhere Governor's Plum (Flacourtia indica) has spines and has 5-7 styles (not presently recorded in the Cook Islands).

Cook Islands Distribution

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

Northern Group: -
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
-	-	-	-	-	-

Flacourtia jangomas (Lour.)
SYNONYMS: Flacourtia cataphracta [mis-ID]; Flacourtia ramoutchi [GW]; Flacourtia indica [AW90]

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); DILLENIIDAE; Violales; FLACOURTIACEAE

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
POSITIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Food (Fruit 3+). Comments: Food (Fruit 3+)
NEGATIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Invasive - moderate

IDENTIFICATION: Small spreading tree to 10m. TRUNK and BRANCH-BASES with large branching spines. LEAVES alternate, oval to 10x5cm, tip drawn out, glossy, dark green, teeth very low; stalk 1cm. FLOWERS unisexual, axial, small in small clusters; female without petals, 3x2mm(LxØ), style single with 4 lobes; male anthers many. FRUIT round, 2.5cmØ, ripen purple-red with brown flecking; remnant style column with 4 lobes; sour, sweetened by kneading. SEEDS 5 pairs, flattened, to 10x7x3mm.

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.594 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.481 Hortus 3rd
p.475 Royal Hort. Soc. Index of Garden Plants
p.2/639 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova
p.76 R Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga
p.412f Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands
p.103 McCormack/Kunzle - Rarotonga's Mountain Tracks and Plants

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zD02, zup03a

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