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Terminalia catappa

Kavariki

Tropical Almond

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Image:	Leaves and fruit	57KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Tropical Almond, Indian Almond, Coastal Almond, Olive-bark Tree; German Indischer Mandelbaum

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Kavariki / Kauariki (RR), Kaukauariki (AK), Kauariki (PL MH); Other Polynesian - Telie (TON), Talie (SAM)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE tropical Asia - Malesia - n.Australia - ?

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Not naturalised; Land, lowlands

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Medicine, Ornamental flowers, Food (SD 1+)

KEY FEATURES: introduced Tropical Almond (Kauariki), which is restricted to the lowland, is very similar to the native Kauariki ‘Enua*. The introduced species is distinguished by usually having: conspicious whorls of horizontal branches, distinctive lobes at the bases of the leaf-blades and sharp-edged wings on the fruit, which are more than 5 cm long. The nuts of both species are edible.

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

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

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

Terminalia catappa Linnaeus
TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); ROSIDAE; Myrtales; COMBRETACEAE

More Information

GENERAL NOTE: ACSm Abo. Intro to parts of South Pacific.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.547 Wagner et al.- Flowering Plants of Hawaii
p.627 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.467 Tropica
p.3/432 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova
p.80 RC Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga
p.367e Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM03a, zD02

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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