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Lepidium bidentatum

Naunau Kava (MH)

Native Peppergrass

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Native Peppergrass, Native Lepidium

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Naunau (AT MK MT TS TW), Naunau ?? (AK), Wild mustard (PL), Naunau Kava (MH RK), Nau (PK NS)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE New Caledonia - French Polynesia - Hawai‘i

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; Land, coastal lowlands

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Oil ingredient, Material (Scent), Medicine

KEY FEATURES: A herb to about 50cm, with a basal rosette of simple leaves with others along the stalk and branches, and a long flower stalk. The flowers are tiny, terminal and white. The solitary fruits are flat oval discs ~6.5x4mmØ on thin 6mm stalks. The leaves, 40x6mm are simple with ~2 teeth per side.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See under Lepidium virginicum

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

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

Northern Group: Present
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
++++	P	P	+++	P	P

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

Lepidium bidentatum Montin
SYNONYMS: Lepidium piscidium [TC/GW]

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); DILLENIIDAE; Capparales; BRASSICACEAE

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
POSITIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Oil ingredient, Material (Scent), Medicine. Comments: Rakahanga: used as an ingredient in a coconut oil used on the body and hair.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Pukapuka: fieldspecimen, 2/2004, G.McCormack with ID as Lepidium bidentatum.

References:
p.406 Wagner et al.- Flowering Plants of Hawaii
p.271 I Cheeseman - Flora of Rarotonga
p.52 Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga
p.382b Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands

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

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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