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Ricinus communis

Tuitui Papa‘ā

Castor-bean Tree

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Castor-bean Tree, Castor-oil Tree, Palma Christi; German Rizinusbaum

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Tuitui Papa‘ā (RR AT), Pākarāni / Pākarāna (MG), Tuitui (AK)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Africa

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

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: ; Poisonous to eat raw seed - very serious

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

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

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

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

More Information

GENERAL NOTE: ACSm syas probably an Abo Intro to Fiji. The seeds are sometimes eaten for the purgative action of their caster oil, But this is a very dangerous practise as they contain a poison called ricin, which resembles snake venom. If the poison enters the bloodstream through a cut or sore in the mouth or intestines it can cause a loss of appetite for several days, followed by emesis, diarrhea, delirium, collapse and death. (Arnold 1968)

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.629 Wagner et al.- Flowering Plants of Hawaii
p.509 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.428 Tropica
p.2/499 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova
p.295 R* Cheeseman - Flora of Rarotonga
p.68 Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga
p.408g Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands

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

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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