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Chamaesyce sparrmanii

Small Spurge

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Plant, flower and fruit (Pukapuka)	68KB
Image:	Leaves. Flowers and fruit (Henderson)	38KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Small Spurge

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Vayavaya (PK)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Vanuatu - Pukapuka, Marotiri (s.Australs), Pitcairn group (disjunct)

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; S.Group - unknown; N.Group - Pukupuka only (rare); Land, coastal

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: ; Endangered nationally (seriously)

KEY FEATURES: Sprawling shrub to 30cm. STEMS slender, to 60cm, green to pink, sap white. LEAVES opposite, wide-oval, to 10x9mm, tip round, base w/wo uneven lobes. FLOWERS terminal clusters of 5-15 flower-like cyathia. CYATHIUM 2.5mmØ, cuplike, edged with 4 green glands each with a wide white petalloid; centre with minute non-petalled unisexual flowers; female one with protruding ovoid ovary; male many, each with one stamen. FRUIT pendent, 1.5mmØ, green, 3-angled, angles without hairs.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Chamaesyce fosbergii is erect (vs sprawling); stems greater than 4mmØ (vs. less than 4mm); leaves to 4x2cm (vs. to 1.5x1cm); flower-like cyathium with 30+ male flowers (vs. less than 15).

Enlarged Image of 'Chamaesyce sparrmanii'

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: - Makatea: -
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

Chamaesyce sparrmanii (P.E.Boissier)
SYNONYMS: Chamaesyce pitcairnensis; Chamaesyce ramosissima; Euphorbia sparrmanii

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); ROSIDAE; Euphorbiales; EUPHORBIACEAE

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
BIODIVERSITY: Endangered nationally (seriously). Comment: On Pukapuka only, a few plants in one very localised area (pers.obs. GMcC 3/2004).

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Pukapuka: specimen+photo, in Matanga cemetery, 3/2004, G.McCormack, ID B.Sykes as Chamaesyce sparrmanii, 8/2004.

References:
None recorded.

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB04b, zM04b, zD04b

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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