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Geniostoma rarotongensis

‘Ange

Rarotonga Geniostoma

Multimedia & Additional Resources

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Image:	Leaves, flowers and fruit (1)	46KB
Image:	Leaf, flower and fruit (2)	58KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Rarotonga Geniostoma

TRADITIONAL NAMES: ‘Ange (RR)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Cook Islands (Rarotonga)

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native, Endemic of Cooks, 1-island; S.Group only (Rarotonga only); Land, mountains (+++)

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: (Material (Adornment)

KEY FEATURES: Shrub to 5m. LEAVES opposite, adjacent pairs at right angles; oval to long-oval, to 11x5cm, glossy green, edge smooth and very wavy, tip sharp, base obtuse; stalk to 1.5cm; no spine between leaf-stalks. FLOWERS axillary, clusters 3-9, in subgroups of 3; small, face 6mmØ; petals 5, greenish-white, tip round. FRUIT ovoid, 10x5mm(LxØ) splits in half longitudinally.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Rarotonga Coprosma (Coprosma laevigata) is easily confused when not flowering, but it has domatia in vein axils (vs. no domatia), and a small triangular inter-leafstalk stipule (vs. no stipule).

Enlarged Image of 'Geniostoma rarotongensis'

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

Geniostoma rarotongensis Fosberg & Sachet
SYNONYMS: Geniostoma rupestre [sensu TC]

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); ASTERIDAE; Gentianales; GENIOSTOMACEAE. COMMENT: Formerly LOGANIACEAE, but similarities due to parallelism (Mabberley)

More Information

GENERAL NOTE: The two endemic species of Geniostoma might be sunk into Geniostoma rupestre with a range from Melanesia to e.Polynesia. Formerly, dried fragrant leaves for ‘ei or to scent coconut oil.(AW90)

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.288 I Cheeseman - Flora of Rarotonga
p.354a Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands
p.119 McCormack/Kunzle - Rarotonga's Mountain Tracks and Plants

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM03a, zupM05a, zD02, zupD05b

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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