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Cook Islands Tropical Moist Forests
The Cook Islands tropical moist forests is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion that covers the Southern Cook Islands in the Cook Islands. Geography The Southern Cook Islands are a chain of volcanic islands in the Pacific Ocean. The principal islands are Aitutaki, Atiu, Mangaia, Manuae, Mauke, Mitiaro, Palmerston, Rarotonga, and Takutea. The ecoregion covers an area of . The islands are volcanic in origin, although all the volcanoes are now extinct. Rarotonga is the highest of the islands, with the deeply-eroded, steep-sided volcanic cone Te Manga (652 metres elevation) at its center. Mitiaro, Atiu, Mauke, and Mangaia went through a long geologic cycle of erosion, subsidence, and emergence followed by uplift in the Tertiary era. Each has central eroded volcanic hills, reaching an elevation of about 100 metres, surrounded by a belt of uplifted ancient coralline limestone, known as makatea, up to 2 km wide. Aitutake is a small central volcanic island ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atiu
Atiu, also known as Enuamanu (meaning ''land of the birds''), is an island of the Cook Islands archipelago, lying in the central-southern Pacific Ocean. Part of the Nga-pu-Toru, it is northeast of Rarotonga. The island's population has dropped by two-thirds in the last 50 years. Geography Atiu is a raised volcanic island surrounded by a reef from which rise cliffs of fossilized coral (''makatea''). The makatea cliff forms a ring round the island, creating a virtual plateau. Erosion of the inside of the ring has formed a dip of about into fertile land, which gradually rises again to a central flat-topped hill. The low swampy land consists of taro plantations, marshes and a lake, Tiroto. This fertile area also grows bananas, citrus fruits, pawpaws, breadfruit and coconuts. The island is surrounded by a fringing reef. The ''makatea'' is honeycombed with caves, some of which have been used for burials. History Polynesians are believed to have lived on Atiu since at least ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avarua
Avarua (meaning "Two Harbours" in Cook Islands Māori) is a town and district in the north of the island of Rarotonga, and is the national capital of the Cook Islands. The town is served by Rarotonga International Airport (IATA Airport Code: RAR) and Avatiu Harbour. The population of Avarua District is 4,906 (census of 2016). Sub-districts The district of Avarua is subdivided into 19 tapere (traditional sub-districts) out of 54 for Rarotonga, grouped into 6 Census Districts, listed from west to east. Census figures are not available on the tapere level, but only for the so-called Census Districts, also listed from west to east:P.H. Curson: "Population Change in the Cook Islands - The 1966 Population Census". In: ''New Zealand Geographer'', Vol. 28, 1972, pp. 51-65, map p.52 # Nikao-Panama (1,373 inhabitants), covering the taperes of: ## Pokoinu, ## Nikao (seat of Cook Islands parliament), and ## Puapuautu; # Avatiu-Ruatonga (951 inhabitants), covering the taperes of: ## Are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coprosma
''Coprosma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It is found in New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Borneo, Java, New Guinea, islands of the Pacific Ocean to Australia and the Juan Fernández Islands. Description The name ''Coprosma'' means "smelling like dung" and refers to the smell (methanethiol) given out by the crushed leaves of a few species. Many species are small shrubs with tiny evergreen leaves, but a few are small trees and have much larger leaves. The flowers have insignificant petals and are wind-pollinated, with long anthers and stigmas. Most species are dioecious, but some (particularly those native to New Zealand) species can sometimes have individuals with perfect flowers. Natural hybrids are common. The fruit is a non-poisonous juicy berry, most often bright orange (but can be dark red or even light blue), containing two small seeds. The orange fruit of the larger species were eaten by Māori children, and are also popular with birds. It is said t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alyxia
''Alyxia'' is an Australasian genus of flowering plant in the dogbane family, Apocynaceae. It contains at present 106 species, but ''Alyxia stellata'' and '' A. tisserantii'' are very variable, might be cryptic species complexes, and are need of further study. It consists of shrubby, climbing or scrambling plants. This genus occurs in China, the Himalayas, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Caledonia and the Pacific Islands. There are 14 species in Australia, 21 in New Caledonia and 7 in the other Pacific Islands, including Hawaii.Middleton (2000, 2001) The leaves are opposite or in whorls of three to seven. There are colleters (groups or tufts of mucilaginous secretory hairs) present in the leaf axils. The inflorescence is axillary or terminal with solitary flowers or simple cymes. Flowers consist of five petals and five sepals. The flowers have a slender tube which expands abruptly. The stamens have short filaments and are inserted in the upper half of the corolla. The fruit is a p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canthium
''Canthium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. They are shrubs and small trees. The leaves are deciduous and the stems are usually thorny. Distribution ''Canthium'' species are predominantly found in Southeast Asia, especially in Thailand and the Philippines. A small number of species is found in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. Only a limited number of species is found on the African continent, especially in Southern and East Africa. Taxonomy ''Canthium'' was named by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck in 1785 in Encyclopédie Méthodique. The name is a latinisation of "kantankara", a Malayalam name from Kerala for ''Canthium coromandelicum''. ''Kantan'' means "shining" and ''kara'' means "a spiny shrub". The biological type for the genus consists of specimens originally described by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck as ''Canthium parviflorum''''Canthium'' In: Index Nominum Genericorum. In: Regnum Vegetabile but this species is now included in ''Canthium coromandelicum''. '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Homalium
''Homalium'' is a genus of plants in the family Salicaceae. Species Species include: * ''Homalium acuminatum'' * '' Homalium betulifolium'' * ''Homalium brevidens'' * '' Homalium buxifolium'' * ''Homalium ceylanicum'' * ''Homalium cochinchinense'' * '' Homalium dalzielii'' * ''Homalium dasyanthum'' * ''Homalium foetidum'' * '' Homalium gracilipes'' * ''Homalium henriquesii'' * '' Homalium hypolasium'' * '' Homalium jainii'' * '' Homalium juxtapositum'' * ''Homalium kunstleri'' * '' Homalium longifolium'' * '' Homalium mathieuanum'' * '' Homalium moto'' * ''Homalium mouo ''Homalium mouo'' is a species of plant in the family Salicaceae. It is endemic to French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = "Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , i ...'' * '' Homalium nepalense'' * '' Homalium ogoouense'' * '' Homalium pallidum'' * '' Homalium paniculatum'' * '' Homalium patoklaense'' * ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fitchia Speciosa
''Fitchia'' is the scientific name of two genera of organisms and may refer to: * ''Fitchia'' (bug), a genus of insects in the family Reduviidae * ''Fitchia'' (plant), a genus of plants in the family Asteraceae {{Genus disambiguation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fagraea Berteroana
''Fagraea berteroana'' ( orth. variant ''F. berteriana''), commonly known as the pua keni keni, pua kenikeni or perfume flower tree, is a small spreading tree or a large shrub which grows in the sub-tropics, where temperatures are 10 °C or more. It is indigenous to the Samoa Islands where it is known as the ''pua-lulu'' plus in Tonga and Tahiti as ''pua''. Its occurrence spans from New Caledonia to eastern Polynesia Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of .... The ITIS database clarifies the spelling of the name ("Published as "berteriana" in honor of Bertero; correctable to "berteroana,"..). Description The plant has quad-angular branches, blunt tipped leaves, and fragrant 7 cm tubular shaped flowers of creamy white, which become yellow with time. Cultural us ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Entada Phaseoloides
''Entada phaseoloides'' commonly named the box bean or St. Thomas’ bean, first described by Linnaeus, with its current name described by Merrill. ''E. phaseoloides'' is a liana in the pea family: called ''gugo'', ''balugo'' or ''tamayan'' in the Philippines and ''bàm bàm'' in Viet Nam. No subspecies are listed in the Catalogue of Life. Description ''Entada phaseoloides'' is a large liana that climbs high into the lowland tropical forest canopy and found in lowland coastal forests of Africa, Australia, Asia and the Western Pacific. The lianas are often (but not exclusively) associated with waterways and seeds are widely dispersed by oceanic currents. Two subspecies have been described: * ''Entada phaseoloides'' subsp. ''phaseoloides'' * ''Eentada phaseoloides'' subsp. ''tonkinensis'' The leaf structure is bi-pinnate compound divided into one to two pairs of leaflets. Leaflets are somewhat elliptical, between long and wide. Flowers are arranged in a raceme with green to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liana
A liana is a long- stemmed, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the canopy in search of direct sunlight. The word ''liana'' does not refer to a taxonomic grouping, but rather a habit of plant growth – much like ''tree'' or ''shrub''. It comes from standard French ''liane'', itself from an Antilles French dialect word meaning to sheave. Ecology Lianas are characteristic of tropical moist broadleaf forests (especially seasonal forests), but may be found in temperate rainforests and temperate deciduous forests. There are also temperate lianas, for example the members of the ''Clematis'' or ''Vitis'' (wild grape) genera. Lianas can form bridges amidst the forest canopy, providing arboreal animals with paths across the forest. These bridges can protect weaker trees from strong winds. Lianas compete with forest trees for sunlight, water and nutrients from the soil. Forests without lian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ixora Bracteata
''Ixora'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It is the only genus in the tribe Ixoreae. It consists of tropical evergreen trees and shrubs and holds around 544 species. Though native to the tropical and subtropical areas throughout the world, its centre of diversity is in Tropical Asia. ''Ixora'' also grows commonly in subtropical climates in the United States, such as Florida where it is commonly known as West Indian jasmine. Other common names include viruchi, kiskaara, kepale, rangan, kheme, ponna, chann tanea, techi, pan, siantan, jarum-jarum/jejarum, jungle flame, jungle geranium, and cruz de Malta, among others. The plants possess leathery leaves, ranging from 3 to 6 inches in length, and produce large clusters of tiny flowers in the summer. Members of Ixora prefer acidic soil, and are suitable choices for bonsai. It is also a popular choice for hedges in parts of South East Asia. In tropical climates they flower year round and are commonly used ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elaeocarpus Tonganus
''Elaeocarpus'' is a genus of nearly five hundred species of flowering plants in the family Elaeocarpaceae native to the Western Indian Ocean, Tropical and Subtropical Asia, and the Pacific. Plants in the genus ''Elaeocarpus'' are trees or shrubs with simple leaves, flowers with four or five petals usually, and usually blue fruit. Description Plants in the genus ''Elaeocarpus'' are mostly evergreen trees or shrubs, a few are epiphytes or lianes, and some are briefly deciduous. The leaves are arranged alternately, simple (strictly compound with only one leaflet) with a swelling where the petiole meets the lamina, often have toothed edges, usually have prominent veins and often turn red before falling. The flowers are usually arranged in a raceme, usually bisexual, have four or five sepals and petals and many stamens. The petals usually have finely-divided, linear lobes. The fruit is a oval to spherical drupe that is usually blue, sometimes black, with a sculptured endocarp. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
