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Manihot esculenta

Māniota

Cassava

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Leaves and tubers	81KB
Image:	Leaves - plain and variegated	70KB
Image:	Leaves - wide and slender	70KB
Image:	Tubers	130KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Cassava, Manioc, Tapioca, "Arrowroot"; German Maniok, Kassava, Tapioka

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Māniota (RR MG AT MK MT TS TW PK), Pia (AK), Arrowroot (PL); Other Polynesian - Manioka / Tapioka (SAM)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE C.America - ne.Brazil

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Not naturalised; Land, lowlands

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Food (Root 4+), Medicine; Poisonous to eat raw tuber and leaves - very serious

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
+++	P		O+		-

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

Manihot esculenta Crantz
SYNONYMS: Manihot utilissima [incl. TC/GW]; Jatropha esculenta

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); ROSIDAE; Euphorbiales; EUPHORBIACEAE

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -. Comment: NBSAP - Atiu (3 of 5 domestic)
POSITIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Food (Root 4+), Medicine
NEGATIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Poisonous to eat raw tuber and leaves - very serious

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.513 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.428 Tropica
p.2/543 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova
p.295 R* Cheeseman - Flora of Rarotonga
p.68 Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga
p.375a Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zupM04b

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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