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Polyscias fruticosa

Kāpaiē

Fine-leafed Panax

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Fine-leafed Panax, Ming Aralia

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Kāpaiē (RR AT MT AK TS TW), Kaope Pā (MK)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Indonesia? - Vanuatu?

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

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Ornamental Leaf-H

KEY FEATURES: Erect shrub to 3m. LEAVES to 70cm, compound, mainly 2x divided, mainly as opposite pairs; stalks purple-brown below. LEAFLETS dark green, to 8cm, narrow to very narrow, sharp teeth; 0-4 basal lobes, more than 1cm, narrow, toothed. FLOWERS long open cluster of small flowers.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Polyscias guilfoylei 'Laciniata' has basal lobes absent or less than 1cm (vs. 0-4, more than 1cm), stalks pale below (vs. purple-brown), margins ~white (vs. green).

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

Polyscias fruticosa Linnaeus
SYNONYMS: Panax; Nothopanax; Tieghemopanax

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); ROSIDAE; Apiales; ARALIACEAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.657 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.899 Hortus 3rd
p.919 Royal Hort. Soc. Index of Garden Plants
p.144 Tropica
p.3/640 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM04b, zupM05a, 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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