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Tournefortia argentea

Tau‘unu

Heliotrope Tree

Multimedia & Additional Resources

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Image:	Leaves, flowers and fruit	70KB
Image:	Tree	81KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Heliotrope Tree, Tree Heliotrope, Velvetleaf Soldierbush, Octopus Tree

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Tau‘unu (RR MK), Tai‘inu (MG MT AK), Tau‘inu (AT), Taushunu (PL), Tausunu (TS TW), Tauhunu (MH RK), Taeyinu (PK NS); Other Polynesian - Tasuni (SAM)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE e.Africa - se.Asia - n.Australia - Pitcairn

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; S.Group - common; N.Group - common; Land, coastal

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Medicine

Enlarged Image of 'Tournefortia argentea'

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

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

Northern Group: Present
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
++++	P	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

Tournefortia argentea L.fil.
SYNONYMS: Argusia argentea [(L.f.) Heine]; Messerschmidia argentea [(L.f.) Johnst.]

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); ASTERIDAE; Lamiales; BORAGINACEAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Pukapuka: fieldspecimen, 2/2004, G.McCormack with ID as Tournefortia argentea.

References:
p.398 Wagner et al.- Flowering Plants of Hawaii
p.716 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.5/156 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova
p.288 I Cheeseman - Flora of Rarotonga
p.92 Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga
p.401f 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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