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Phyllanthus amarus

Moemoe

Phyllanthus amarus

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Image:	Leaves, flowers and fruit	68KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Phyllanthus amarus, Weedy Phyllanthus

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Moemoe ??? (RR), Moemoe (AT MT AK MH), Pī Moemoe (MK), Mauku (TS TW), Rakau Niho (RK), Vayavaya / Moemoe (PK); Other Polynesian - Moemoe (TAH)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE tropical America; EXOTIC pantropical weed

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Naturalised; Land, lowlands, horticultural - coastal

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Medicine, Weed; Weed - minor

KEY FEATURES: Semi-erect or erect, to 50cm. STEM vestigial leaves spirally arranged. LEAVES alternate, narrow linear to obovate, to 12x4mm, base ~round, tip ~round; stipules needle-like, to 1.5mm. FLOWERS axial, separate male and female, stalks 1-2mm; to 1.5mmØ; petals 5, oval, tips acute. CAPSULE spherical, 2mmØ. SEED longitudinal ribs.

SIMILAR SPECIES: One of four similar plants to about 80cm with alternate leaves to 2x1cm: Phyllanthus debilis, Phyllanthus tenellus and Phyllanthus urinaria. 20x microscope needed to study female flowers. Phyllanthus amarus has 5 petals (vs others have 6), and levaes to 12mm (vs others to 20cm). Phyllanthus tenellus has female flower-stalk to 6mm (vs. others to 2mm.). Phyllanthus urinaria female flower-stalk to 0.5mm (vs others 1-2mm & to 6mm). Phyllanthus debilis angular lower-stem (vs others round and not angled).

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

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

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

Phyllanthus amarus Schum. & Thonn.
SYNONYMS: Phyllanthus niruri [L., sensu authors, incl. TC/GW, is probably a different species]

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

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Pukapuka: fieldspecimen, 2/2004, G.McCormack with ID as Phyllanthus amarus.

References:
p.2/465 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova
p.294 R* Cheeseman - Flora of Rarotonga
p.68 Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga
p.380d Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM03a, 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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