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Schizostachyum glaucifolium

Ko‘e Māori

Polynesian Bamboo

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Polynesian Bamboo

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Ko‘e Māori (RR MG MT), Ko‘e Vai (AT), Ko‘e Tautai (MK); Other Polynesian - Kofe? (TON), ‘Ofe (SAM)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Fiji - ?Samoa; EXOTIC EXOTIC Cooks - Marquesas, Hawai‘i

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Polynesian, Naturalised; Land, lowlands, volcanic only, damp valleys to hillsides

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: ; Locally endangeredFishing, Material (Wood)

KEY FEATURES: Tall bamboo, to 15m, forming extensive clumps. STEMS (=culms) dark green, erect to 15m, internodes to 100cm, to 8cmØ with thin walls to 5mm; slender branches to 120cm at upper nodes. SHEATH not persistent, to 30cm; tip narrrow, bends out and down. LEAVES (=blades) flat, linear with base round and tip sharp, to 30x3cm, midrib prominent below; stalk 5mm.

Enlarged Image of 'Schizostachyum glaucifolium'

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

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

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

Schizostachyum glaucifolium (Rupr.)
SYNONYMS: Bambusa glaucifolium

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); LILIOPSIDA (=Monocotyledones); COMMELINIDAE; Cyperales; POACEAE

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
BIODIVERSITY: Locally endangered
POSITIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Fishing, Material (Wood). Comments: Used for long fishing rods.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: fieldspecimen+photo, Takuvaine near uppermost Taro plots, 12/2003, GMcC - there is also a plot in Tupapa east of first stream crossing at Vai's house.

References:
p.1591 Wagner et al.- Flowering Plants of Hawaii
p.62 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.1/294 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova
p.370a Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM04a, zD04a

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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