General Information

COMMON NAMES: Indian Mulberry, Yaw Bush, Awl Tree; German Indischer Maulbeerbaum; French Nono TRADITIONAL NAMES: Nono (RR MG AT MK MT PL), Nano / Nono (AK), Noni (TS TW), Nenu (MH RK), Nonu (PK NS); Other Polynesian - Kura (FIJ), Nonu (SAM, TON) GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE se.Asia - Indonesia / e.Australia - French Polynesia; EXOTIC anciently to India, recently circumtropical COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; Land, lowlands - mountains (++) SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Medicine, Ornamental Tree, Food (former Fruit), Material (Dye) KEY FEATURES: Shrub to 6m. BRANCHES 4-angled. LEAVES opposite, glossy, green, large, to 40x20cm; stipules round, 2cmØ; stalk thick, to 2cm. FLOWERS ~90 on stalked ball, opening a few at a time; white petals. FRUIT ovoid, to 9x6cm, ~90 polygonal sectors, pale yellow, ripening translucent grey and pungent. SEEDS 4-per-sector in translucent flesh; narrow, to 9mm, hard, with air-cell, float in water.

Cook Islands Distribution

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

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

Morinda citrifolia Linnaeus
SYNONYMS: Morinda citrifolia var. citrifolia

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

IDENTIFICATION: Shrub to 6m. BRANCHES 4-angled. LEAVES along the branches, opposite, large, to 40x20cm, glossy, green; stipules round to 2cmØ; stalk short, to 2cm. FLOWERS a stalked sphere with a few open flowers, eventually totally 70-100; lobes 5, white, 7mm. FRUIT (a syncarp of fused flower-bases) ovoid, to 9x6cm, 70-100 ~5-sided sectors with central circle, yellow-white, ripens translucent grey, pungent. SEEDS 4-per-sector in translucent flesh, narrow-ovoid, to 9x4mm, very hard, large air-cell, float in water. cv 'Potteri' leaves mottled white, from Fiji, now elsewhere in Polynesia (not known in Cook Islands at present).

GENERAL NOTE: On Mangaia is was present in the oldest pollen samples dated at 7,300 years B.P. [Ellison 1994]. Yellow dye from roots and red dye from the bark in Fiji [ACSmith Flora] and also in Hawaii [Wagner et.al.].

Vouchers:
Pukapuka: fieldspecimen, 2/2004, G.McCormack with ID as Morinda citrifolia.

References:
p.1157 Wagner et al.- Flowering Plants of Hawaii
p.804 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.742 Hortus 3rd
p.757 Royal Hort. Soc. Index of Garden Plants
p.862 Tropica
p.4/334 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova
p.283 I Cheeseman - Flora of Rarotonga
p.102 Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga
p.383d Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands

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

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