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Meryta pauciflora

Kakavatua

Rarotonga Meryta

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Female and male plants	72KB
Image:	Leaves and unripe fruit	56KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Rarotonga Meryta

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Kakavatua (RR); COMMENT: Kakavatua was recorded by Cheeseman (1899) and Wilder (1920s) but not since. [

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Cook Islands (Rarotonga)

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native, Endemic of Cooks, 1-island; Land, mountains (+++)

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Endemic

KEY FEATURES: Erect small tree to 5m. BRANCHES few, erect. LEAVES terminal cluster, glossy, dark green, large, to 50x15cm, narrow-oval widest near tip, tip sharp, edge wavy with a few shallow indentations; often marked by a leaf-burrowing insect; stalk 1cm. FLOWERS plants unisexual (=dioecious); short terminal clusters. FRUITS round, styles recurved and persistent; SEEDS ~12, arranged spoke-like, wide-oval and thin, 9x7x2mm, hard.

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

Meryta pauciflora Hemsl.
TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); ROSIDAE; Apiales; ARALIACEAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.282 IE Cheeseman - Flora of Rarotonga
p.84 Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga
p.416 Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands
p.110 McCormack/Kunzle - Rarotonga's Mountain Tracks and Plants

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB03a, zM03a, 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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