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Vaccinium cereum

East Polynesian Blueberry

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Image:	Leaves, flowers and fruit	30KB
Image:	Leaves, flowers and fruit	40KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: East Polynesian Blueberry, Pacific Blueberry

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Southeast Polynesia (Rarotonga, Societies, Marquesas)

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native, Endemic of se.Polynesia; Land, mountains (++) (Cloud Zone ridges)

KEY FEATURES: Small erect shrub, to 1m. BRANCHES ascending. LEAVES alternate, glossy green - paler below, elliptical, to 40x18mm, edge sharp toothed, tip sharp; stalk short, to 4mm. FLOWERS axillary, white, urn-like; lobes 5, small, curved back; 10x5mm(LxØ). FRUIT round, glossy black, 10mmØ, with puckered tip.

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

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

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

Vaccinium cereum Forster
SYNONYMS: Vaccinium reticulatum [sensu GW, is an Hawai‘i endemic]; Vaccinium cereum cheesemanii [Cook Islands endemic subspecies]

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); DILLENIIDAE; Ericales; ERICACEAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.286 I Cheeseman - Flora of Rarotonga
p.85 Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga
p.415 Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands
p.128 McCormack/Kunzle - Rarotonga's Mountain Tracks and Plants

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zupM04b, zD05b

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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