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Gloriosa superba

Riri Vavai-moa (AT)

Gloriosa Lily

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Leaves and flowers	74KB
Image:	Flower - detail	36KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Gloriosa Lily, Glory Lily, Crisped Glory-lily, Climbing Lily; German Flammenlilie

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Riri (RR), Riri Vavai-moa (AT), Vavai Moa (MK), Riri Vaviā-moa (MT), Riri Vaevae-moa (AK), Lili Vaevae Mokolā (TS), Riri Vaevae Mokorā (TW), Tiare Mokora (RK), Lili (PK)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE India - Malesia

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Naturalised; Land, lowlands

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Poison, Ornamental flowers

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

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

Northern Group: Present
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

Gloriosa superba Linnaeus
TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); LILIOPSIDA (=Monocotyledones); LILIIDAE; Liliales; LILIACEAE

More Information

GENERAL NOTE: All parts of the plant contain the narcotic poison (superbine) and other poisons, such as colchicine, which can cause violent purging and death. (Arnold 1968)

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Pukapuka: fieldspecimen, 2/2004, G.McCormack with ID as Gloriosa superba.

References:
p.190 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.593 Tropica
p.1/141 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova

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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