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Mikania micrantha

Pōkutekute Teatea* (AT)

Mile-a-minute Weed

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Image:	Leaves and flowers	69KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Mile-a-minute Weed

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Pōkutekute (AT); Other Polynesian - Fue Saina (SAM)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Mexico - Caribbean - S.America

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent (post-1930), Naturalised; S.Group - widespread, very common, N.Group - absent; Land, lowlands - mountains (++++)

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Medicine; Invasive - serious, Weed - serious

KEY FEATURES: A slender-stemmed vine, climbing to 20m. LEAVES opposite, glossy green, triangular dissected at base, to 20x10cm, edge wavy, tip sharp; stalk to 10cm. FLOWERS large clusters of small composite flowers 4mmØ, each with 4 disc florets, 2mmØ, white; ray florets absent. SEED black, to 2mm long, with bristles for wind dispersal. Flowers southern winter.

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

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

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

Mikania micrantha Kunth ????
TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); ASTERIDAE; Asterales; ASTERACEAE

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
POSITIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Medicine. Comments: Crushed leaves applied to bleeding wounds, and leaf-juice drunk for ?diabetes/?hypertension (Tahitian medicines used on Aitutaki, 2002, the latter use approved for an amputee patient by Dr Mata Stickland)
NEGATIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Invasive - serious, Weed - serious. Comments: NBSAP - Te Au-o-Tonga (5 of 9 weeds) One of world's 100 invasive alien species [ISSG,2001].

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.5/297 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova
p.392e Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands
p.85 McCormack/Kunzle - Rarotonga's Mountain Tracks and Plants

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zD02, zupD05a

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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