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Tradescantia spathacea

Riri Mangio (MK)

Oyster Lily

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Image:	Leaves and flowers	71KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Oyster Lily, Oyster Plant, Boat Lily, Cradle Lily, Moses-in-a-boat, Moses-in-a-cradle, Men-in-a-boat; German Rhoeo

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Riri (RR), Riri Mangio (MK), Riri Vareau (AK RK), Riri Katikati (MH)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Mexico - Guatemala

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

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Ornamental leaves; Weed - moderate (Rakahanga)

KEY FEATURES: Erect, leafy herb, to 50cm. LEAVES in spiral whorl, ascending, topside green, underside purple. FLOWERS in axils within purplish, clam-shaped bract (to 50x50mm); flowers white; petals 3. Cvs. 'Concolor' leaves uniformly green; 'Dwarf' small, to 25cm; 'Vittata' leaves with pale yellow stripes.

Enlarged Image of 'Tradescantia spathacea'

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

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

Northern Group: Present
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

Tradescantia spathacea Sw.
SYNONYMS: Rhoeo discolor [incl. GW]; Rhoeo spathacea

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); LILIOPSIDA (=Monocotyledones); COMMELINIDAE; Commelinales; COMMELINACEAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.184 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.307 Tropica
p.1/281 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova
p.28 R Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zD04a, zM02, zupM03a

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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