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Ixora triflora

‘Itoa

Polynesian Ixora

Multimedia & Additional Resources

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Image:	Leaves, flowers and fruit	45KB
Image:	Leaves, flowers and fruit	38KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Polynesian Ixora, Ixora

TRADITIONAL NAMES: ‘Itoa (RR), Kūkupa (MT); Other Polynesian - Suni (SAM)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Southeast Polynesia (Cooks - ?Societies)

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native, Endemic of se.Polynesia; Land, mountains (+++)

KEY FEATURES: Shrub to 4m. TRUNKS 1-few. LEAVES opposite, with adjacent pairs at right angles; oval, to 16x8cm, glossy dark green, base round to lobed, tip obtuse to round; stalk to 5mm; stipules soon shed, to 10mmTL, base wide then slender. FLOWERS as a triplet protruding from between opposite leaf-like bracts; 20mmØ; petals 4, long and slender, white. FRUIT ovoid, to 14x9mm, fleshy, ripening red. SEEDS 2, flat-oval, 7x5mm; brown.

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea: Present
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

Pests & Hosts

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Relationship	Pests
Parasite - external	Ceroplastes rubens,

Scientific Taxonomy

Ixora triflora (G.Forst.)
SYNONYMS: Ixora bracteata Cheeseman, 1903

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); ASTERIDAE; Rubiales; RUBIACEAE

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -. Comments: MATERIAL: Timber good, hard but small.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Atiu: fieldsight, 800m SW of Oravaru, 11/2000, found V-M Koronui, ID GMcC.

References:
p.283 IE Cheeseman - Flora of Rarotonga
p.102 Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga
p.363f Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands
p.111 McCormack/Kunzle - Rarotonga's Mountain Tracks and Plants

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zupM03a, zD02, zupD06a

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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