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Pueraria phaseoloides

Kūtū (AT)

Tropical Kudzu

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Tropical Kudzu, Puero

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Kūtū (AT)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE se.Asia - Indonesia

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

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Manure; Weed - serious

KEY FEATURES: A sprawling or semi-climbing vine to 7+m, with large trifoliolate leaves. ROOT not greatly thickened. STEMS brown hairs. LEAVES 3 leaflets, stipels to 5mm. LEAFLETS laterals stalkless, wide-oval to rhomboidal, to 20x15cm, entire or 3-lobed, hairy beneath, tip acute or acuminate. FLOWERS axillary racemes, blue w/wo yellow centre. FRUITS (May-August) to 40cmx5mm, with appressed hairs.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Kudzu (Pueraria lobata - not yet recorded in Cooks) tuber oblong to 60cm (vs. no tuber); stipels 10-20mm (vs to 5mm); calyx upper lip 7-10mm (vs to 3mm); fruit 12mm broad (vs to 5mm).

Enlarged Image of 'Pueraria phaseoloides'

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea: Present
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

Pueraria phaseoloides (Roxb.)
SYNONYMS: Dolichos phaseoloides

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); ROSIDAE; Fabales (Legumes); FABACEAE

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
POSITIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Manure
NEGATIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Weed - serious. Comments: A serious weed in other Pacific countries. Could become more serious in the Cook Islands. Presently (2002) only on Atiu.

GENERAL NOTE: Present species has no uses, other than as groundcover and a green manure. It is related to Pueraria lobata, the Kudzu, which is native from India to Japan, native or Aboriginal Introduction in Melanesia as far as Fiji, where it is common - its tubers are a well-known famine food [AC.Smith, Fiji Flora]. Pueraria lobata is a major pest in the USA, and Japanese use the powdered root as a thickening agent, hence its alternative name Japanese Arrowroot.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: fieldspecimen+photo, w.flowers, Ara Metua Rutaki, 5/2003, GMcC, ID GMcC. Atiu: fieldspecimen+photo, near Atiu Motel, 1990s, GMcC.

References:
p.927 Hortus 3rd
p.3/227 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB03a, zM03a, zD03a,

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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