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Torulinium odoratum

Mauku Tonga (AT)

Torulinium Sedge

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Image:	Flower head	126KB
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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Torulinium Sedge

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Mauku Tonga (AT), Mauku Totonga (MK), Vayavaya (PK); Other Polynesian - Selesele (SAM); COMMENT: Mauke Mauku Totonga has red stem-base.

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Asia - Polynesia - trop.America

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; Land, lowlands

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Medicine, Weed; Injurous spines - moderate

KEY FEATURES: An annual or short-lived perennial sedge to 1m, with a sharp 3-angled stem. LEAVES: several basal LEAVES with serrate edges, shorter than stem; involucral LEAVES 6-8, to 50cm. INFLOR: cluster to 40cm; primary rays to 20cm, then secondary rays (± short tertiary rays) with cylindrical spikelets, to 25x2mm, with 10-25 scales.

SIMILAR SPECIES: See under Mariscus javanicus.

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

Torulinium odoratum Linnaeus
SYNONYMS: Cyperus odoratum; Cyperus ferax; Torulinium confertum [sensu TC]; Mariscus ferax

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); LILIOPSIDA (=Monocotyledones); COMMELINIDAE; Cyperales; CYPERACEAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Pukapuka: fieldspecimen, 1/2004, G.McCormack with ID as Torulinium odoratum.

References:
p.1434 Wagner et al.- Flowering Plants of Hawaii
p.1/257 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova
p.301 I Cheeseman - Flora of Rarotonga
p.23 R Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga
p.379c Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zupM05a, 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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