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Tacca leontopetaloides

Pia Māori

Pacific Arrowroot

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Pacific Arrowroot, Polynesian Arrowroot, Southsea Arrowroot

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Pia / Pia Māori / Piā-‘ei (RR), Pia (MG), Pia Māori (AT MK MT AK), Arrowroot (PL), Pia Henua / Pia Māoli (TS), Pia Henua / Pia Māori (TW), Pia Māori / Pia ‘E (MH), Pia Henua (RK), Pia Wenua (PK NS); Other Polynesian - Mahoa‘a (TON), Māsoā (SAM); COMMENT: Rarotonga: the Takitumu name Piā-‘ei is derived from Pia (Polynesian Arrowroot) and A‘ei (shingles).

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE India - Micronesia - Vanuatu - ?Fiji - ?Samoa

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

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Medicine, Food (Root 1+) Outer

Enlarged Image of 'Tacca leontopetaloides'

Cook Islands Distribution

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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
++++	P	P	+	++?	P

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

Tacca leontopetaloides Linnaeus
SYNONYMS: Tacca pinnatifida; Leontice leontopetaloides

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); LILIOPSIDA (=Monocotyledones); LILIIDAE; Liliales; TACCACEAE

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -. Comment: NBSAP - Te Au-o-Tonga (3 of 6 wild), NBSAP - Takitumu (1 of 6 wild plants), NBSAP - Mauke (7 of 9 domestic plants), NBSAP - Mitiaro (4 of 4 wild plants), NBSAP - Atiu (U‘i Teve, 1 of 5 wild)
POSITIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Medicine, Food (Root 1+) Outer

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Pukapuka: fieldspecimen, 2/2004, G.McCormack with ID as Tacca leontopetaloides.

References:
p.1612 Wagner et al.- Flowering Plants of Hawaii
p.228 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.1/172 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova
p.30 Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga
p.389a 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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