Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER)
Report on invasive plant species in the Cook Islands
Appendix 13. Invasive and potentially invasive species present on other southern Cook Islands but not on ‘Atiu
Scientific Name |
Common Names |
Present on: |
Acacia aulacocarpa | English: brown salwood, brush ironbark wattle, hickory wattle | Mangaia |
Acacia auriculiformis | English: Papuan wattle, auri, earleaf acacia, northern black wattle, ear-pod wattle; Other: ākasia (Cook Islands); tuhkehn pwelmwahu (Pohnpei) | Rarotonga, Mangaia |
Acacia farnesiana | English: Ellington curse, klu, sweet acacia; French: acacia jaune, cassie; Other: titima (Cook Islands); vaivai vaka-vatona, vaivai vakavotona, ban baburi, oki (Fiji); aroma, popinac, kandaroma (Guam, CNMI); kolu (Hawai'i); te kaibakoa (Kiribati); debena (Nauru) | Rarotonga, Aitutaki |
Acacia glauca | redwood | Ma'uke |
English: black wattle; French: acacia noir; Other: ākasia (Cook Islands) | Rarotonga | |
Albizia lebbeck | English: siris-tree, rain tree, East Indian walnut, kokko, woman's-tongue tree, soros-tree, raom tree ; French: bois noir; Other: ‘arapitia (Cook Islands (Miti‘aro)); trongkon-mames, tronkon mames, mamis (Guam); kalaskas, trongkon-kalaskas (CNMI–Chamorro); schepil kalaskas (CNMI–Carolinian); ukall ra ngebard (Palau); gumorningabchey; ngumorrningobchey (Yap); 'ohai (Hawai‘i); vaivai, vaivai ni vavalangi, vaivai ni vavalagi (Fiji); tamaligi pa’epa’e (Samoa); kasia (Tonga) | Rarotonga, Miti'aro |
Annona glabra | English: pond apple, alligator apple, bullock's heart, cherimoyer; French: annone des marais, corossolier des marais; Other: uto ni mbulumakau, uto ni bulumakau, kaitambo, kaitambu (Fiji) | Rarotonga |
English: hen's eyes, Hilo holly, coral berry, Australian holly, scratchthroat; French: arbre à noël | Rarotonga | |
English: shoebutton ardisia; Other: venevene tinitō (Cook Islands); ati popa‘a, atiu (French Polynesia); togo vao (Samoa) | Rarotonga, Aitutaki, Mangaia, Ma'uke | |
Aristolochia littoralis | English: Dutchman's pipe, calico flower; Other: mokorā (Cook Islands); fue paipa holani (Tonga) | Mangaia |
Arundo donax | English: giant reed, Spanish reed, wild cane; French: canne de Provence, grand roseau; Other: ngasau ni vavalangi (Fiji); fiso palagi, fiso papalagi (Samoa); kaho folalahi (Tonga) | Rarotonga |
Asparagus densiflorus | English: asparagus fern, sprengeri fern, smilax, regal fern | Rarotonga |
English: blanket grass, carpetgrass; Other: kambutu ni vavalangi (Fiji) | Rarotonga | |
English: caratao grass, narrow-leaved carpetgrass | Rarotonga | |
English: neem, nim, margosa | Rarotonga | |
Azolla filiculoides | English: mosquito fern | Rarotonga, Mangaia, Ma'uke |
English: purple orchid tree; purple butterfly tree, pink butterfly tree (Fiji); French: fleurs pourpres | Rarotonga? | |
English: orchid tree; mountain ebony, butterfly tree (Fiji); French: bois de boeuf, sabot boeuf, arbre de Saint-Thomas | Rarotonga | |
Bothriochloa bladhii | English: blue grass, Australian beardgrass, Caucasian bluestem; Other: desum (Palau); latoka grass, thamboni grass (Fiji) | Aitutaki |
Bryophyllum delagoense | English: chandelier plant | Rarotonga |
English: life plant, air plant, resurrection plant, Canterbury bells, cathedral bells, Mexican love plant; Spanish: hoja del aire; Other: ngāngā‘ere toka (Cook Islands); bulatawamudu (Fiji); ‘oliwa ku kahakai (Hawai'i); teang (Kiribati); kibilia (Marshall Islands); tupu he lau, tupu noa (Niue); pagi (Samoa); pipi vao (Tonga) | Rarotonga, Aitutaki, Mangaia | |
English: red powder puff; French: pompon | Rarotonga | |
English: Surinamese stickpea | Rarotonga | |
English: calotrope, crown flower, madar; French: mercure végétal, mudar; Other: pua-kalaunu (Hawai'i); tahinu (French Polynesia) | Rarotonga | |
English: balloon vine; heart seed; Other: kopūpū takaviri? (Cook Islands) | Rarotonga | |
English: balloon vine, heart pea, love-in-a-puff; Other: wa niu, vo niu (Fiji); vinivinio (French Polynesia), poniu, haleakai‘a, ‘inalua, pohuehue uka (Hawai‘i) | Miti'aro | |
Cecropia obtusifolia | English: trumpet tree, guarumo; Other: rau-māniota (Cook Islands) | Rarotonga |
English: inkberry, day jessamine, day cestrum, China berry; Other: ariki-va‘ine (Cook Islands); thauthau (Fiji); tinta ‘n-China, tentanchinu, tintan China (Guam, CNMI); makahala (Hawai‘i); sugi vao, suni vao (Samoa); vaitohi (Tonga) | Rarotonga, Mangaia | |
English: night-flowering cestrum, night-flowering jasmine, queen (or lady) of the night; Other: teine o le po, ali‘i o le po (American Samoa and Samoa); tiare ariki-va‘ine, ariki-va‘ine (Cook Islands); thauthau, thauthau ni mbongi, kara (Fiji); dama-de-noche (Guam); ‘ala aumoe, kupaoa, onaona Iapana (Hawai‘i); joñoul ru awa (Marshall Islands); iki he po (Niue); lakau po‘uli (Tonga) | Rarotonga, Mangaia | |
Chloris barbata | English: swollen fingergrass, purpletop chloris (Australia), airport grass (Fiji); Other: mau’u lei (Hawai'i) | Rarotonga |
English: camphor tree, camphor laurel; French: camphre, camphrier | Rarotonga | |
English: cinnamon tree; French: cannelier de Ceylan; Other: ochod ra ngebard (Palau). tinamoni, tigamoni (American Samoa and Samoa) | Rarotonga, Miti'aro | |
Clerodendrum chinense | English: Honolulu rose, stickbush, glory bower; Other: losa Honolulu, losa Onolulu (American Samoa and Samoa); pītate māma‘o, tiare tupapaku? (Cook Islands); pikake hohono, pikake wauke (Hawai'i) | Rarotonga |
Clitoria ternatea | English: butterfly pea, Asian pigeonwings; French: honte; Other: buikike, bukike, paokeke, bukike paokeke, capa de la reina, kapa de la raina (Guam); putitainubia (CNMI); pepe (Niue); latoela, nawa (Fiji), paipa (Tonga) | Rarotonga |
Cortaderia selloana | English: pampas grass, silver pampas grass, Uruguayan pampas grass | Rarotonga |
Crotalaria micans | English: crotalaria; Other: pine kotalelia, pile (Niue) | Mangaia, Ma'uke |
Cuscuta campestris | English: golden dodder, field dodder, five-angled dodder; Other: tiaea (Cook Islands (Mangaia)); navereverelangi, wa vereverelangi, wa lawala, wa mbosuthu, wa ndanga, wa tikaivu, ndithangi (Fiji) | Rarotonga, Mangaia |
Cyperus involucratus | English: umbrella sedge, umbrella plant, dwarf papyrus grass; Other: ‘ahu‘awa haole, pu‘uka‘a haole (Hawai‘i) | Rarotonga, Aitutaki |
Derris elliptica | English: derris; Other: tuba, bagin (Guam); oop, op (Kosrae); dub (Palau); up (Chuuk, Pohnpei); peinuhp, uhp, upanai, upanyap, upkesetik (Pohnpei); yuub (Yap); nduva, duva ni vavalagi, nduva ni vavalangi (Fiji) | Rarotonga |
Desmodium tortuosum | English: Florida beggarweed, Spanish clover, dixie ticktrefoil | Mangaia |
Digitaria violascens | English: smooth crabgrass, violet crabgrass; Other: sau (Palau) | Rarotonga |
Dissotis rotundifolia | English: dissotis, Spanish shawl, pink lady | Rarotonga, Ma'uke |
Duranta erecta | English: duranta, golden dewdrop, pigeon-berry, sky-flower; Other: ‘olive (Tonga) | Rarotonga |
English: egeria, leafy elodea, dense waterweed | Rarotonga | |
Eichhornia crassipes | English: water hyacinth; French: jacinthe d'eau; Other: riri vai (Cook Islands (Mangaia)); mbekambekairanga, ndambendambe ni nga, jal khumbe, bekabekairaga, dabedabe ne ga, jal khumbe (Fiji); bung el ralm (Palau) | Rarotonga, Mangaia |
Erigeron karvinskianus | English: Mexican daisy, seaside daisy, daisy fleabane | Rarotonga |
English: weeping fig, baka, Java fig, weeping fig ; Other: ‘ovava fisi (Tonga) | Rarotonga | |
Ficus macrophylla | English: Moreton Bay fig | Rarotonga |
Flacourtia jangomas | English: Indian-plum, runeala-plum; French: prunier d'Inde; Spanish: ciruela forastera | Rarotonga, Mangaia, Ma’uke |
English: Indian plum, Indian prune, governor’s plum; French: prunier café, prunier de Chine, prunier malgache; Other: filimoto (Fiji, Futuna, Samoa and American Samoa, Tonga) | Rarotonga | |
Flemingia macrophylla | Rarotonga, Mangaia, Ma'uke | |
Furcraea foetida | English: Mauritius hemp, sisal, maguey, giant cabuya; French: aloès vert, chanvre de Maurice; Other: piāni, rōpiāni (Cook Islands); malina (Hawai‘i (Ni‘ihau)); toua (Niue); faumalila, fau malila (Tonga) | Rarotonga, Aitutaki, Mangaia |
English: balloon plant, bladderbush | Rarotonga | |
English: kahili flower, Banks grevillea; Other: ha‘iku, kahili (Hawai‘i); ‘oka pua ‘ula‘ula (Hawai‘i (Ni‘ihau)) | Rarotonga | |
Hedychium gardnerianum | English: kahili ginger; Other: kōpī (Cook Islands); cevuga dromodromo (Fiji); kahili, ‘awapuhi kahili (Hawai‘i); sinter weitahta (Pohnpei) | Rarotonga, Mangaia |
Hippobroma longiflora | English: star of Bethlehem, fetia, madamfate; Other: pua hōkū (Hawai'i) | Rarotonga, Aitutaki, Mangaia |
Hylocereus undatus | English: night-blooming cereus, strawberry pear, red pitaya, dragon fruit, pitahaya; French: pitaya, pitahaya rouge; Spanish: flor de Caliz; Other: paniniokapunahou, papipi pua (Hawai'i) | Rarotonga |
Ipomoea aquatica | English: aquatic morning glory, swamp cabbage, water spinach, ung-choi, kang kong; French: liseron d'eau, patate aquatique; Other: aseri, seeri, seri (Chuuk); rukau taviri? (Cook Islands); ota karisa, ota karisi, wa kumala, ndrinikava, luve ne tombithi (Fiji), akankong, cancon, kangkun, kangkung, kankan (Guam); te kang kong (Kiribati); lorenzo (Nauru), kangum, kangkum (Palau); ‘umala vai (Samoa); kangkong (Ulithi, Yap); kangking, kongkong (Yap) | Rarotonga |
Jacaranda mimosifolia | English: jacaranda | Rarotonga |
Justicia carnea | English: pink plume-flower, pink jacobinia | Rarotonga |
Kyllinga brevifolia | English: green kyllinga, green water sedge; Other: tumu ‘enua (Cook Islands (Ma‘uke)); kili‘o‘opu, kaluha, manunene, mau‘u mokae (Hawai‘i); tuise (Samoa); pakopako (Tonga) | Rarotonga, Mangaia, Ma'uke, Miti’aro |
Lablab purpureus | English: hyacinth bean, lablab, bonavist, Egyptian kidney bean, dolichos; French: dolique, dolique d'Egypte, pois nourrice; Other: ndralawa, natomba, tomba (Fiji); cheribilla apaka, chuchumeko (Guam--Chamorro); papapa, pi (Hawai'i); pini lae puaka (Tonga) | Rarotonga |
Leonurus japonicus | English: lion’s tail, Chinese motherwort; Other: vavai tara (Cook Islands (Miti‘aro) | Rarotonga, Aitutaki, Mangaia, Ma'uke, Miti'aro |
Leptospermum scoparium | English: New Zealand tea; manuka (New Zealand) | Rarotonga |
Licuala grandis | English: ruffled fan palm; French: palmier-cuillère | Rarotonga? |
Macfadyena unguis-cati | English: cat's-claw climber | Rarotonga |
Merremia tuberosa | English: wood rose, Spanish arborvine, yellow morning-glory; French: liane-à-tonelle, liane-jaune; Other: alarrak (Saipan); pilikai (Hawai‘i) | Rarotonga |
Mimosa diplotricha | English: giant sensitive plant, nila grass; French: grande sensitive, sensitive gèante; Other: pikika‘a papa‘ā (Cook Islands (Aitutaki)); vao fefe palagi (American Samoa and Samoa), wa ngandrongandro levu, wa ngandrongandro ni wa ngalelevu, co gadrogadro (Fiji); mechiuaiuu (Palau); limemeihr laud (Pohnpei); singbiguin sasa (Saipan); la'au fefe tele, la'au fefe palagi (Samoa); | Aitutaki |
Muntingia calabura | English: jam tree, strawberry tree, Jamaican cherry, Singapore cherry, Panama cherry, Panama berry, ornamental cherry, calabura, sirsen; French: bois ramier; Other: venevene (Cook Islands (Penrhyn)); capulin (Fiji, French Polynesia); manzanilla, mansanita, manzanita (Guam, CNMI), budo (Palau, Yap) | Rarotonga |
Odontonema tubaeforme | English: fire spike, cardinal flower; Other: totoē (American Samoa and Samoa) | Rarotonga, Mangaia |
Opuntia spp. | English: prickly pear; Other: lengua de vaca (Guam) | Rarotonga, Aitutaki |
Paraserianthes lophantha | English: brush wattle, plume albizia, plume acacia, stink bean | Rarotonga |
Paspalum dilatatum | English: paspalum, dallis grass, water grass; French: paspalum dilaté, herbe sirop, herbe de miel, herbe de dallis, millet bâtard; Other: hiku nua (Niue) | Rarotonga, Ma'uke, Miti'aro |
Paspalum urvillei | English: Vasey grass; French: herbe de Vasey, paspalum d'Urville; Other: tinikarāti (Cook Islands (Mangaia)) | Rarotonga, Mangaia |
Passiflora foetida | English: love-in-a-mist, wild passion fruit, passionflower, stinking passionflower; French: passiflore; Spanish: bedoca (Galapagos Is.); Other: pasio vao (American Samoa and Samoa); bombom (Chuuk), sou, loliloli ni kalavo, qaranidila (Fiji); pohapoha (Hawai‘i); lani wai (Hawai‘i (Ni‘ihau)); tea biku (Kiribati); vine vao (Niue); kudamono (Palau); pompom, pwomwpwomw (Pohnpei); kinahulo‘ atdao, dulce (Saipan); vaine ‘initia (Tonga); tomates (Yap) | Rarotonga |
English: yellow granadilla, belle apple, yellow water-lemon; French: pomme-liane, pomme d'or; Other: pasio vao (Samoa); vaine 'ae kuma (Tonga) | Ma‘uke | |
English: sweet granadilla, yellow passionfruit; French: granadille, grenadille douce, barbadine; French: granadille, grenadille douce, barbadine; Other: lemi wai, lani wai, lemona (Hawai‘i) | Ma'uke | |
English: fountain grass | Rarotonga | |
Phyllostachys bissetii | English: running bamboo | Mangaia |
English: black bamboo; French: bambou noir | Rarotonga | |
Pistia stratiotes | English: water lettuce, tropical duckweed; French: laitue d'eau, pistie; Other: lechuguita de agua, repollo de agua , apon-apon, apoe-apoe, beo-cai, chawk | Rarotonga |
Platycerium bifurcatum | English: elkhorn fern, staghorn fern | Rarotonga |
English: flame vine, flame flower, golden shower, orange trumpet vine | Rarotonga | |
English: Rangoon creeper | Rarotonga | |
Samanea saman | English: monkeypod, rain tree, saman; French: arbre de pluie; Other: tronkon mames, trongkon-mames (CNMI-Chamorro); filinganga (CNMI-Carolinian); gumor ni spanis (Yap); 'ohai, pu ‘ohai (Hawai'i); vaivai ni vavalangi, vaivai ni vavalagi (Fiji), malapa (Samoa); kasia (Tonga) | Rarotonga, Mangaia, Ma'uke, Miti'aro |
Sanchezia speciosa | English: sanchezia. | Rarotonga |
Schefflera actinophylla | English: octopus tree, umbrella tree, ivy palm; French: arbre-pieuvre, arbre ombelle | Rarotonga |
Senna alata | English: candle bush; candelabra bush, Roman candle tree, emperor's candlesticks, ringworm bush (Australia), alcapulco; French: epis d’or, bois dartre, dartres; Other: fa‘i lafa, la‘au fai lafa (American Samoa, Samoa and Tonga); arakak (Chuuk); mbai ni thangi (Fiji); akapuku, andadose, candalaria, take-biha (Guam); mulamula (Niue); kerula besokel, yult (Palau); rakau honuki, truke-n-kili-n-wai, tuhkehn kilin wai, tirakahonuki (Pohnpei); bakau plant (Solomon Islands); te‘elango (Tonga); flay-n-sabouw (Yap) | Rarotonga |
Senna tora | English: foetid cassia, stinking cassia, Java-bean, sickle senna, sicklepod, Chinese senna, peanut weed, sickle senna; French: cassier sauvage, pois puant, séné; Other: vao pinati (American Samoa and Samoa); kaumoce, kaumothe, pini, tarota (Fiji); mumutun admelon, mumutun palaoan, amot-tumaga carabao (Guam), te’epulu, tengafefeka (Tonga) | Ma'uke |
Sesbania grandiflora | English: sesbania, hummingbird tree, sesban, scarlet wisteria tree, corkwood tree; French: agati a grandes fleurs; Other: agati, agathi (Fiji); oufai, ofai, ouai (French Polynesia); katurai (Guam); ohai ke‘oke‘o (Hawai‘i); sepania (Samoa) | Rarotonga, Mangaia |
Setaria palmifolia | English: palmgrass, short pitpit, hailans pitpit, broadleaved bristlegrass; Other: vao ‘ofe‘ofe (Samoa) | |
Solandra maxima | English: golden cup, cup of gold, chalice vine; Spanish: copa de oro | Rarotonga, Mangaia |
Solanum mauritianum | English: bugweed, wild tobacco, tree tobacco; Other: rau ‘ava‘ava (Cook Islands); pua nana honua (Hawai'i); pula (Tonga) | Rarotonga, Aitutaki |
Sporobolus indicus | English: smutgrass, wiregrass, Indian dropseed; Other: fisihina (Tonga) | Rarotonga, Aitutaki |
Stenotaphrum secundatum | English: buffalo grass, St. Augustine grass; French: chiendent de boeuf; Spanish: pasto San Augustín; Other: ‘aki‘aki haole, mānienie ‘aki‘aki, mānienie ‘aki‘aki haole, mānienie māhikihiki (Hawai‘i) | Rarotonga |
Tabebuia heterophylla | English: pink tecoma, pink trumpet tree, white cedar; Other: calice du pape | Rarotonga |
English: yellow oleander, be-still tree, lucky nut; French: oléandre jaune; Other: koneta (Chuuk); venevene (Cook Islands (Mangaia)), ‘enere (Cook Islands (Ma‘uke, Miti‘aro)); nohomalie (Hawai'i); irelepsech (Yap) | Rarotonga, Mangaia, Miti'aro | |
English: black-eyed susan vine; French: suzanne aux yeux noirs | Rarotonga | |
English: white lady, white thunbergia, sweet clock-vine; Other: fue hina (Tonga) | Rarotonga, Mangaia | |
English: Bengal trumpet, blue trumpet vine, clock vine, skyvine, large-flowerd thunbergia; Other: bung el etiu (Palau) | Rarotonga | |
English: purple allamanda, laurel-leaved thunbergia, laurel clock vine | Rarotonga | |
Tibouchina urvilleana | English: glorybush, lasiandra, princess flower | Rarotonga |
Toona ciliata | English: Australian red cedar, toon, surian, Indian mahogany; Other: wood pikake (Hawai‘i); tuna (Samoa);, sita kula (Tonga) | Mangaia |
Tradescantia zebrina | English: wandering zebrina, wandering jew, inchplant; Other: mauku papa‘ā (Cook Islands (Mangaia)) | Rarotonga, Mangaia, Ma'uke |
Trema orientalis | English: charcoal tree, gunpowder tree; Other: agaunai, banahl, tal amama (CNMI); elodechoel (Palau); uanin (Yap); ndrou, ndroundrou, ndrikanaithembe (Fiji); aere (French Polynesia), mangele, manele, magele (Niue, Samoa, Tonga) | Mangaia |
Triumfetta semitriloba | English: Sacramento bur; Other: dadangsi, masiksik lahe (Guam) | Rarotonga, Aitutaki |
English: California grass, para grass, buffalo grass, Mauritius grass, signal grass; French: herbe de Para; Other: mauku puakatoro (Cook Islands); puakatau (Tonga) (Swarbrick, 1997) | Rarotonga, Aitutaki, Miti'aro | |
English: brachiaria, green summer grass, tropical signalgrass, cori grass | Ma'uke, Miti'aro |
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This page revised 22 April 2006