THE RARE PLANTS OF NIUE by Art Whistler Isle Botanica Honolulu, Hawai‘i Funded by Conservation International and the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund 2013 1

CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………. 1 1.1. The Vegetation of Niue ………………………………………. 1 1.2. The Flora of Niue …………………………….......................... 2 1.3. Botanical Collections from Niue …………………………….. 3 1.4. Reasons for Rarity ……………………………………………. 4 2. METHODOLOGY ………………………………………………… 5 3. RESULTS ………………….………………………………………. 8 3.1. Polynesian introductions …..........…………………………….. 8 3.1.1. Polynesian Weeds. .......................................................... 9 3.1.2. Polynesian cultigens ........................................................ 10 3.2. Indigenous Species .................................................................... 11 3.2.1. Littoral Species ……....................………………............ 11 3.2.2. Inland Species ……………………......................…….... 13 3.2.3. Orchid Species …………………………......................... 14 3.2.4. Fern and Fern-ally Species .............................................. 15 4. DISCUSSION…………………………….………………………....16 4.1. Niue Plants Needing Protection ................................................. 18 4.1.1. Indigenous Species Recommended for Red-Listing ........18 4.1.2. Polynesian Weeds and Cultigens of Concern …….......... 19 5. RECOMMENDATIONS…………………………………………... 21 6. SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY ………………………………………. 23 7. APPENDIX 1. CHECKLIST OF RARE PLANTS OF NIUE …...... 24 8. APPENDIX 2. RARE NIUEAN PLANT PROFILES .......................26 9. APPENDIX 3. LIST OF PARTICIPANTS ....................................... 84 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author would like to thank all the people and organizations that have contributed to thepreparation of this report. He is greatly indebted to Conservation International (CI) and theCritical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) that kindly provided funding for this work. Hewould like to give special thanks to Director of the Environment Sauni Tongatule and his officestaff for their great effort in arranging and running the weeklong workshop in Niue, and thefifteen attendees who faithfully attended the workshop over the five day period. Special thanks isalso given to environmental officer Logo Seumanu for his invaluable help in organizing theworkshop and afternoon field trips. The author would also like to thank his colleague Dr.Michael Thomas, who helped coordinate the workshop, set up the website upon which this reportwill be uploaded, and proofread of the manuscript. Special thanks is also due to the author’scolleagues Bill Sykes and Rhys Gardner, both of whom have done floras of Niue, for their help inpreparing and proofreading the manuscript. The help from the staff of the Allan Herbarium inLincoln, New Zealand, in relaying information about Niue specimens is also greatly appreciated. 2

1. INTRODUCTION Niue lies in the South Pacific Ocean at latitude 19S and longitude 169W, between Samoato the west and the Cook Islands to the east. The oval-shaped island, with an area of 260 km2and a maximum elevation of 69 m, was formed in recent geological times by the emergence andelevation of a coral atoll that sits atop a long-dormant undersea volcano. The outer portion orcoastal zone of the island comprises several terraces formed during periods when the islandpaused during its emergence from the sea. This series of terraces is quite weathered in someareas and is marked by deep crevices and rugged pinnacles. The central basin, which makes upthe bulk of the island, represents the former lagoon of the atoll. The surface of the basin is nothomogeneous since it varies in soil and rockiness. Areas with pockets of soil are favored by treesfor the growth of dense lowland forests, but also by human inhabitants for the cultivation of food. The climate in Niue is wet and tropical. The mean annual temperature is 25 C, the meandiurnal range is 8 C, and the mean maximum temperature ranges from 21 to 27C. Rainfall isrelatively heavy with a mean annual total of 204 cm. The months from June to September are thedriest, but even these months average at least 10 cm per month. Humidity is nearly always high,averaging 89% at 9 a.m. (Wright and van Westerndorp 1965). Droughts occasionally occur, andcyclones periodically hit the island during the summer months (mostly November to April). Thehigh rainfall and warm temperatures partly make up for the relatively poor soil conditions andallow the island (the central basin at least) to support a tropical rainforest.1.1. The Vegetation of Niue Brief accounts of the vegetation were given by Frost and Berryman (1966), a timber surveyby the Niue Forestry Section (1990), and Sykes (1970). Another brief account of the vegetationwas given by Yuncker (1943). Frost and Berryman divided the forest into three categories,“coastal forest,” “light and scattered forest,” and “merchantable forest,” but did not discuss non-forest vegetation. The Forestry Section report also did not deal with overall vegetation, butreiterated the three forest types of Frost and Berryman and added a fourth vegetation category,“open areas.” Sykes gave a more detailed account of the vegetation and noted that the island wasoriginally covered with a rainforest of tall trees that formed a relatively dense canopy, belowwhich was a relatively poorly developed shrub and herbaceous layer. However, because of thelong period of human habitation and the modifications made during shifting agriculture, and, inmore recent times by a timber industry, most of the mature forest has now been removed andreplaced by secondary forest. Sykes noted that the best remaining forest is in the central, east,and southeastern portions of the island, and that a low-stature “coastal forest” that merges intoinland forest covers the outer portion of the island. Much of the remaining tall stature inland forest is actually secondary forest in various stagesof development. This secondary forest, according to Sykes, is generally richer in species numberthan is mature forest. In addition to the forest types, Sykes also recognized “scrub” areas that arean extreme result of man’s activity. This vegetation referred to by Yuncker (1943) as “thickets”and by Wright and van Westerndorp as “desert” is typically dominated by the fern Nephrolepishirsutula (mohuku). Sykes also noted the absence of a sharp distinction between mature andsecondary forest, and between secondary forest and scrub. 1

Whistler and Atherton (1997) provided a more extensive description of the vegetation intheir study of the Huvalu Conservation Area. They first divided the vegetation of the island intotwo categories: Managed Land Vegetation and Natural Vegetation. Managed Land Vegetation isin a continual state of disturbance from the activities of man, i.e., it is being used continuously,and two categories were recognized—Cropland and Fernland. The Natural Vegetation categoryincludes all vegetation that is not currently (in the long term) being used by man, or at least hasnot been disturbed for many years. The native vegetation on the shore is herbaceous andshrubby, comprising Littoral Shrubland. Four plant communities were recognized inland fromthe shore: littoral forest, coastal forest, mature forest (=primary forest); and secondary forest.1.2. The Flora of Niue The “flora” of an area is usually thought of as a list (or book) that includes all the plantsoccurring in that area. This list can include all flowering plants, all vascular plants (floweringplants, gymnosperms, and ferns), or all plants (including algae, lichens, etc.). Together theflowering plants, gymnosperms, and ferns are referred to as “higher plants,” a category knownscientifically as Tracheophyta. The higher plants are divided into two main groups (called“divisions,” which together comprise the “plant kingdom”)—ferns, which are placed in thePteridophyta (individually called pteridophytes), and seed plants, which are placed in theSpermatophyta (individually called spermatophytes). Between the ferns and seed plants, buttypically included in the pteridophytes, is a heterogeneous assemblage of plants called “fernallies,” which in Niue comprises only the genera Lycopodium (one species) and Psilotum (onespecies). Fern allies are usually studied separately from the seed plants by botanists whospecialize in ferns. The seed plants are divided into two groups: Gymnospermae (calledgymnosperms, or sometimes, conifers), and Angiospermae (flowering plants), but no nativegymnosperms are found in Niue. The angiosperms are divided into two groups: monocots and dicots. These two groups (aswell as other plants) are further divided into groups called “orders,” and orders are divided into“families,” which range in size from a single species to thousands of species. Orders are notcommonly used by botanists, but families are. All family names can be identified by the ending“-ceae.” For example, the orchid family, the largest one on Niue, is called the Orchidaceae, andthe largest native dicot family, the coffee family, is called Rubiaceae. In the past, there wereeight exceptions to the -ceae ending, but these eight are now given different names with thestandard ending: the carrot family Umbelliferae (now called Apiaceae); the sunflower familyCompositae (Asteraceae); the mustard family Cruciferae (Brassicaceae); the mangosteen familyGuttiferae (Clusiaceae); the pea family Leguminosae (Fabaceae); the mint family Labiatae(Lamiaceae); the palm family Palmae (Arecaceae); and the grass family Gramineae (Poaceae).All of these except the palm and carrot families include rare Niuean plants. Plant species can be classified by their distribution: they are either native, i.e., they occurnaturally in the area (arriving by non-human transport), or they are alien, i.e., they are introducedspecies (having arrived by direct or indirect human transport). Alien species can be furtherdivided into species introduced by the Polynesians (i.e., they were brought in prior to ca. 1774,and are called Polynesian introductions) and those introduced in modern times (i.e., after ca.1774, and are called modern introductions) by Europeans or by Polynesians traveling by meansof western transport (boats, and nowadays, planes). Alien plants can also be divided another way 2

into intentional introductions (plants brought intentionally, usually useful plants) andunintentional introductions (plants accidentally arriving on Niue, typically weeds). Native plants can be divided into two categories, endemic and indigenous. Endemic meansrestricted to one area; plants endemic to Niue are found only on Niue. Indigenous, in its currentusage, refers to native species with a wider distribution (i.e., those naturally found on Niue aswell as elsewhere). These terms are relative, because their meaning depends upon how the“area” is defined. For example, a plant occurring in Samoa and Niue can be referred to asendemic to western Polynesia, but it would be indigenous to these two areas when they aretreated individually. However, in practical usage endemism is usually applied to countries,archipelagoes, or islands. It is a moot point, however, since there are no endemic plant specieson Niue. Floristically, Niue is part of the “Fijian Region” that extends from the Santa Cruz Islandsand Vanuatu to Niue (Takhtajan 1969). Lying in the eastern portion of this region, Niue and thewestern Polynesian islands collectively have a much smaller native flora than the Melanesianislands to the west, which lie closer to the Indo-Malaysian source area. The flora of Niue is verysimilar to that of the adjacent islands and archipelagos, particularly Samoa and Tonga, but ismuch smaller. It comprises approximately 159 native flowering plant species (125 dicots and 34monocots), in addition to 25 ferns and 2 fern allies, for a total of 186 vascular plant species. Asnoted above, no species are endemic to Niue. Niue’s flora is much smaller than that of adjacentSamoa, which has about 550 native species of flowering plants and an endemism rate of 30%(Whistler 2010), and Tonga, which has about 340 native species and an endemism rate of about 3% (Whistler 2011). The reasons for the relatively small flora and low endemism rate are several:(1) Samoa and Tonga are much larger archipelagoes; (2) they have a much higher elevation; (3)they are closer to the source of the western Polynesia flora (Melanesia and Indo-Malaysia); and(4) they are older, especially since Niue was an atoll until a few thousand years ago.1.3. Botanical Collections from Niue The collection of the flora of Niue began in 1774 with the visit of Captain James Cook.However, only about eight specimens were obtained that day, and these are stored at the BritishMuseum. Another collection was made in 1876 by amateur botanist F. Jensen, but thesecollections , which are also stored at the British Museum, were only noted in recent times (St.John 1976) and it is likely that many of the specimens attributed to Niue were actually collectedelsewhere (Whistler 1984). The next significant Niue collection was made in about 1899 by H.F. Moore, but these specimens, numbering about 28 and stored at the U.S. National Herbarium(Smithsonian), have apparently not been studied (Gardner 2011). Another set of about 100specimens was collected by S. P. Smith in 1901, and is stored at the Auckland War MemorialMuseum Herbarium. It was not until 1940 that the first comprehensive collection of the flora of Niue was made.On the basis of his specimens (which are mostly stored at the Bishop Museum Herbarium inHonolulu), T. G. Yuncker published The Flora of Niue Island in 1943. Another larger collectionwas made by W. R. Sykes in 1965, and is the basis for his Contributions to the Flora of Niue(1970). Sykes did further collecting on Niue in 1975, but these specimens have not beendocumented in the literature. His specimens are stored at the Allan Herbarium in Lincoln, NewZealand, with many duplicates at the Bishop Museum. Sykes estimated the size of the native 3

vascular plant flora (flowering plants, ferns, and fern allies) at 175 species, which is close to thefigure used here. Sykes publication also included adventive (weedy) species. Both Sykes andYuncker listed ornamentals, but these are not of concern for the present study. Whistler made a collection of about 225 specimens on Niue during five trips to the islandfrom 1981 to 2013. These are part of his personal collection stored at the University of Hawai‘iJoseph Rock Herbarium, but have not been documented in the literature. Rhys Gardner collectedabout 100 specimens on Niue, and his collections are stored at the Auckland War MemorialMuseum Herbarium. Based upon his collections and those of the earlier collectors, Gardnerpublished a book on the trees and shrubs of Niue (2011). A follow-up book on the herbaceousspecies is expected to be published soon. The orchids of Niue were discussed in a publication byCribb and Whistler (2012), based upon specimens of all the above named collectors.1.4. Reasons for Rarity There are a number of reasons why plants are rare in Niue, some of them due to the activitiesof man, some to chance, and some to natural causes. These reasons can be put into severalcategories: (1) competition, especially from introduced invasive species; (2) loss of habitat; (3)herbivory; (4) abandonment of cultigens; and (5) natural rarity. Plants that have died off overtheir entire range are referred to as extinct. Species that have died off in only part of their rangeare referred to as extirpated from those places. Competition is perhaps the most important cause of rarity of Niuean plant species. Niueannative plants developed together in the island environment for thousands years, and each of themdeveloped traits that allowed them to survive with the other species in the little-changing habitat.However, the first Polynesian settlers arriving in Niue brought with them alien plant species thatchanged the vegetation dynamics. Some of these species were cultigens that do not reproducenaturally by themselves, but some were adventive species that produce seeds and naturally spreadinto the native habitats. Even more serious was the changes wrought by the more numerous andaggressive alien weedy species brought to Niue after the arrival of Europeans beginning in the1800s. Before the discovery and habitation of Niue, some native species were dependent uponnatural forest clearings and open sunny conditions for their seedlings to grow and develop. Butthe arrival of so many new weedy species (nearly 200 of them so far) has caused these clearingsto now be rapidly covered with a smothering growth of alien weeds that can block out thesunlight needed by the native species. This kind of competition may have led to the extirpationfrom Niue of the Polynesian-introduced herb Adenostemma viscosa. It is also probably the majorcause of extirpation of many Polynesian weeds that were unable to compete with the more recentarrivals in Niue (see Table 1 for rare Polynesian weeds). Loss of habitat after the arrival of the first Polynesian settlers centuries ago is probably thesecond most serious cause of native plants becoming rare in Niue. After the original settlement,the population expanded and started utilizing the environment, especially the inland forest thatcovered nearly the entire island. Forests were cut down for housing sites and plantations Speciesalready uncommon in the inland forest, and restricted to there, were soon threatened, and a fewof them may have already been extirpated, especially during the European era when timbercutting and forest clearing equipment made these previously hard activities easy. Herbivory has been a major problem for native plant species ever since the introduction ofalien mammals by the Polynesians. Prior to the arrival of the first settlers, there were no native 4

terrestrial mammals present in Polynesia other than bats. Niue has one apparently native fruit batthat is more helpful to native plants than it is harmful, since fruit bats are major seed dispersers.Polynesians brought three mammals with them—the Polynesian rat (Rattus exulans), the dog,and the pig. The Polynesian rat’s influence on the native flora of Polynesia is only now beingunderstood. They are major seed consumers, particularly of palms, and are now thought to havelead to the extinction, extirpation, and drastic population reduction of palms in such widelydispersed place as Easter Island, Hawai‘i, and Fiji. At the present time, however, there are nocertain rat seed predation effects on any native Niuean plants. Rats are especially hard on nativepalms, but other than coconuts, Niue probably had no native palms. Because of their rooting habits and taste for some native species, pigs have had seriouseffects in many places in Polynesia. However, severe pig damage by herbivory may be less of aproblem on Niue than on the higher islands of western Polynesia, where pigs are known toinhabit the highest elevations. Dogs and cats have little effect on the native flora, since they arecarnivores. Deer, goats, cattle, horses, and sheep have caused extensive damage in some parts ofPolynesia, but these either have not been introduced to Niue or are of only minor significancethere. Goats and cattle have historically been responsible for the widespread destruction nativeterrestrial plants in the Pacific islands, especially the herbaceous species. The abandonment of cultigens is probably the major reason for the extirpation or nearextirpation of some ancient Polynesian cultivated plants from Niue. The ancient Polynesianscarried throughout Polynesia the plants that were useful to them, and maintained these plants bycultivation. However, in the European era many new and better species were introduced, whichled to some of the “canoe plants” no longer being grown. A good example of this is thePolynesian tomato loku moka (Solanum ferox), which in ancient times was cultivated for itstomato-like fruits. However, with the introduction of the more prolific and tastier tomatoes,Niuean apparently lost interest in cultivating their canoe traditional tomato, which led to itsincreasing rarity on the island. It has been extirpated throughout most of its Polynesian range andis in danger of extinction. Some species are probably naturally rare on Niue, for a variety of reasons. The mostcommon one is probably the chance recent arrival of species that have not had enough time tospread. A good example of this might be Gymnosporia vitiensis (no Niuean name) that iscurrently known from a single coastal site. Plants like this may be considered to be “vagrants”that reached Niue by accident, but stayed rare because of limited suitable habitat, insufficienttime since arrival, or other reasons.2. METHODOLOGY The first task in the present rare plant study was to go through the author’s flora data andprepare a preliminary checklist of species that might be included in this report. His flora data isbased primarily upon collection information (specimens collected on Niue) and his personalexperience with the flora during his previous four visits to the island. The collection informationwas divided into old collections (those gathered before 1976) and modern collections (thosegathered after that year). The reason these two divisions are utilized is because numerous oldcollections followed by fewer recent collections may indicate that the plant is disappearing fromNiue. 5

Some degree of fixed criteria is desirable in determining if a species should be considered tobe rare on Niue. The most tangible or numerical of these criteria is the number of times a specieshas been collected on the island. The number of collections for each species can partly bedetermined by a literature search, especially Yuncker (1943), Sykes (1970), and Whistler andAtherton (1997). Another important method to find specimen records is to search herbariahousing Niuean collections, particularly for specimens that may not have been listed in theliterature. This includes the collections of the Cook South Pacific expeditions, Jensen, S.P.Smith, Yuncker, Sykes, Gardner, and Whistler, most of which are deposited mostly in NewZealand (Auckland War Memorial Museum and Allan Herbarium) and the U.S. (Bishop Museumand University of Hawai‘i). The following criteria, based on the recorded herbarium specimens and experience of theauthor, were used to compile the list of rare Niuean plants presented here. Inclusion on the listrequired the plant to be in at least one of the following four categories. 1. Infrequency of collections—This criterion includes species that have been collected only afew times. However, some in this category may actually be common species not collectedbecause of the difficulty of making them into specimens (e.g., coconut). These exceptions areusually excluded from consideration. 2. Infrequency of modern collections—This criterion includes species collected only once ortwice in the modern era (since 1976). The lack of recent specimens for species collected morefrequently by early botanists is a possible indicator that they are becoming rare and are in need ofprotection. 3. Restriction to threatened habitats—This criterion includes plants restricted mostly tohabitats that are under pressure from development and agriculture. Outside Niue the mostthreatened habitat often comprises wetlands, but wetlands are virtually non-existent on the island.On Niue the criterion most commonly applies to species restricted to inland primary forest, mostof which has been felled over the centuries of human occupation. 4. Restricted distribution on Niue—This criterion includes plants found only in one or atmost several localities on the island. Extensive disturbance in these relatively small areas canhave serious consequences on the rare plants found there. Species collected only once or just afew times in one place (criteria number 1 above) would be, by necessity, restricted indistribution. 5. Field experience of the author—The author has been working on Niue for the last 32 yearsand has collected about 75% of the native flowering plants known from the island (and has seenmany of the others). His experience helps qualify him to understand which of the species are rarerather than just under-collected, and was sometimes the final arbiter in borderline cases. Threatened or endangered plants are usually native species, most commonly endemic ones.However, two other types of species are included on this list of rare Niuean plants—rarePolynesian cultigens and rare Polynesian adventives. The Polynesian cultigens comprisetraditionally cultivated plant species that were brought by the ancient voyagers. These plantsoften are unable to produce and spread by themselves, and need care by humans (e.g., weeding,planting, etc.) in order to survive in places where they have been introduced. During the modernperiod, many new cultigens have been introduced, and many of these are so superior to the oldercultigens that cultivation of the latter group has diminished or ceased. Because of the absence of 6

the care needed by these species to survive, they have gradually disappeared. A good example ofthis is the Polynesian melon Cucumis melo (‘atiu). It was one of the few edible fruits cultivatedby Polynesians, but is inferior when compared to similar, more recently introduced fruits that aremore prolific and/or tastier, e.g., watermelon. Consequently, its cultivation apparently becameunimportant and the plant disappeared from Niue. This change of cultigens also occurs at thevarietal level when new, more prolific or better tasting varieties of traditional Polynesiancultigens have been introduced, and the less prolific or less tasty ones have been abandoned.These disappearing varieties are not addressed in the present paper, however, since they are onlyvarieties, not species. Rare Polynesian adventives (weeds) comprise plants unintentionally introduced to Niuebefore the European era, but which have become rare or have disappeared because ofcompetition from more recently introduced weeds. An example of this is Adenostemmaviscosum (no Niuean name known), a weed of ancient introduction to Niue. Prior to theEuropean era, it was probably a common weed of disturbed places, and was possibly usedmedicinally. It has apparently now entirely disappeared from Niue (last collected there in 1924),probably because of its inability to compete with the legions of weeds introduced in moderntimes (since the early 1800s). These ancient weeds are often not treated in the literature in thesame way as native species. They are ignored because they are widespread, but they may bedisappearing over their whole range, and thus slip under the radar. Plants belonging to these twocategories of non-native plants are included here because they have been a part of Niuean culturesince before the European era, and although perhaps not disappearing everywhere, they (thecultigens at least) are becoming lost to Niuean cultural practices. The conservation status of the 57 plant rare species included in this report is noted for eachspecies shown in Appendix 2, which comprises the species profiles. The categories conservationstatus categories are (1) Polynesian adventive, (2) Polynesian cultigen, and (3) indigenousspecies species. The most important of these is the latter category (since there are no endemicspecies on Niue), which comprises native species that are rare on Niue but occur elsewhere aswell. It comprises the bulk of the rare plants listed here. The other categories, Polynesiancultigen and Polynesian adventive, are of lesser importance since they comprise alien (non-native) species. Once the species were selected for the rare plant list, a species profile was prepared for each(see Appendix 2). This included the following information: (1) species name; (2) botanicalfamily to which the species belongs; (3) author(s) of the species name; (4) synonyms of thespecies name, and their authors; (5) Niuean name (if any); (6) English name (if any); (7) status(e.g., indigenous); (8) reason for listing as a rare plant; and (9) suggested action for protecting thespecies. This is followed by information about the range, habitat, geographic distribution,frequency, and any ethnobotanical uses. A botanical description written using the previousliterature, field descriptions from live collections made by the author, and descriptions based onbotanical collections stored in the Bishop Museum Herbarium and the University of Hawai‘iJoseph Rock Herbarium, is also included for each. Finally, the sites of collection of all knownspecimens of the rare plants are listed at the end of the profile. The sites of collection for the 57 rare plants are recorded on dozens of herbarium specimensand some visual records (the latter lack voucher specimens). The location data for many of theherbarium specimens is found in the publications of Yuncker (1943) and Sykes (1970).Specimens not cited in those publications can be found in various herbaria, particularly the 7

Bishop Museum Herbarium and the personal collections of the author at the University ofHawai‘i Joseph Rock Herbarium. The author has seen nearly all of the specimens of rare plantsat their respective herbaria in Auckland, Christchurch, and Honolulu. Following the preliminary herbarium and literature work, the author visited Niue from 11 to25 January 2013 and presented a five-day workshop arranged by the Department of Environment.In the mornings, PowerPoint presentations on the flora of Niue, the rare species, the vegetation,collecting methods, and other topics were presented. This was followed in the afternoons byfieldwork with about fifteen trainees recruited by the Department of Environment. Some of thesetrainees were in government, some were private individuals. During the field trips, a few of therare plants were encountered, such as Gymnosporia vitiensis and Nicotiana fragrans. The finalday of the workshop comprised a public lecture on rare plants of Niue that was attended by about30 people. The workshop itself took only one week, and the rest of the days were spent doing ageneral reconnaissance of the island, during which time a checklist of all native and adventivespecies found was compiled. Several specific sites where rare plants were previously collectedwere visited, but because of insufficient time, the list cannot by any means be considered acomplete survey of the rare plants of Niue. The final report is posted on the Internet site dedicated to the flora of Niue—www.floraofniue.org—to make it accessible to anyone. The site includes all the materialpresented in this report, including the photographs. It is interactive so that visitors can look upany species of interest to them. The final step, which is not a part of this project, can be done byGIS programmers, who can take the collection data and put it onto a map of Niue. The presentreport, in digital form, has been submitted to Conservation International, along with thePowerPoint presentations given during the workshop.3. RESULTS The plants that have been determined to be rare are arranged below into two groups:Polynesian Introductions; and Indigenous Species. The Polynesian Introductions category isfurther divided into Unintentional Polynesian Introductions (mostly weeds) and IntentionalIntroductions (Polynesian cultivated plants that have become rare in the European or post-contactera that began in 1773). The Indigenous Species category is further divided into four groups:littoral species, inland species, orchids, and ferns. 3.1. Polynesian Introductions Whether a species is native or alien is sometimes difficult to determine, and several factorshave to be considered: (1) method of dispersal (especially whether or not it produces seeds thatare able to disperse across the ocean); (2) known range outside of Niue; (3) whether or not thereis a natural habitat for it on Niue; and (4) and if the plant has disappeared in recent times. Aplant with no natural means of dispersing across the ocean to Niue is almost certainly an alienspecies. A good example of the use of the method of dispersal factor is the Tahitian chestnut (ifi,Inocarpus fagifer), which has large fruits that cannot be carried by wind or animals, and do notsurvive immersion in seawater for long. In the known range outside of Niue factor, a plant notfound on adjacent islands (e.g., Tonga and Samoa), but much farther away (e.g., Australia), ismost likely an alien species and then, usually of modern introduction. 8

The lack of a natural habitat factor is a particularly important one. Prior to the arrival ofPolynesians, most of Niue was covered with a dense tropical rainforest. Disturbed habitats inpre-Polynesian Niue were minimal and occurred mostly after drastic climatic events (e.g.,cyclones). Hence light-loving inland species had relatively little area to colonize, and most ofthose found in the disturbed habitats plentiful on Niue today are alien species that arrived aftertheir preferred habitat was created. Most of these species were accidentally introduced. Thedisappearance in recent times factor involves plants that are not able to compete with morerecently introduced weeds, and are eventually replaced by the newcomers. As noted above, the Polynesian introductions considered to be rare on Niue are divided intotwo groups for further discussion—weedy species that are mostly of unintentional introduction,and useful species that are mostly of intentional introduction. Because they are alien species,they would not normally be considered for “red-listing,” i.e., alien species are rarely consideredto be threatened or endangered. However, a case can be made for some of them being consideredfor Niue’s Red List because they may be threatened throughout their range. In the discussionthey are considered “plants of concern” so that botanists studying them in other islands can bemade aware that the adventives and cultigens may be disappearing in Niue if not everywhere. 3.1.1. Polynesian Weeds Rare Polynesian unintentional introductions comprise alien species that were accidentally orunintentionally introduced to Niue prior to the European era. Such plants are sometimes referredto as Polynesian weeds. Not all weeds are alien species because some are fairly certain to benative (e.g., the liana Merremia peltata is a weed of some Polynesian islands, but is almostcertainly native). Whether a plant is of ancient or modern introduction is not always clear, andlike distinguishing alien from native species, several factors have to be considered in determiningtime of introduction: (1) first date of collection; (2) known range outside Niue; and (3) whetheror not the plant has a local name. Weedy species, especially common ones, not collected by earlybotanists are most likely to be modern rather than Polynesian introductions. Virtually all weedyspecies originally native to tropical America are modern introductions. Weeds that werecommon in ancient Niue most likely had names because very few weedy species were presentthen, and they would have been much more noticeable and a topic of discussion (hence, theywould need a name). Twelve now-rare species thought to have been Polynesian introductions areshown in Table 1 below. They are arranged in alphabetical order by scientific name, and thenumber of times they have been collected by each of the collectors is shown. Their last date ofcollection is also shown (which is an indication of whether they are likely to have been extirpatedor not from Niue). One of the species included on the list is almost certainly extirpated from Niue, Adenostemaviscosa. It was collected on the island by Smith in 1901, and again by Cockerill in 1924, butnever again. It is also reported to be rare in American Samoa and Tonga, but not in independentSamoa, where it is common (but only in montane forest). The species still persists in easternPolynesia Society and Cook Islands, where it is probably uncommon and is used as a medicinalplant. Two of the other species listed below, Sida samoensis and Boerhavia acutifolia, aresomewhat problematical because they appear to be littoral species that occur only in disturbedcoastal habitats. See the individual species profiles in Appendix 2 for more detailed informationabout each species. 9

Table 1. Rare Polynesian Adventives Number of Collections.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Species Collectors1 J Sm Y Sy W Last Found---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Acalypha lanceolata 00110 1965Adenostemma viscosa2 01000 1924?Boerhavia acutifolia 00431 2013Brachiaria paspaloides 00021 1997Desmodium heterocarpon 00010 1965Fimbristylis ovata 00110 1965Laportea interrupta 10110 1975Leucas decemdentata 00140 1965Rorippa sarmentosa 00121 2013Sida samoensis 00130 1975Uraria lagopodioides 00220 1965Urena lobata 00120 1965---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1 J=Jensen; Sm=Smith; Y=Yuncker; Sy=Sykes; and W=Whistler.2 This was also apparently collected by Cockerill in 1924, but the specimen was notseen by the author. 3.1.2. Polynesian Cultigens Rare intentional introductions (Polynesian cultigens) category includes “canoe plants” thatwere intentionally brought to Niue by ancient voyagers for the purpose of cultivation, but inmodern times have fallen into disuse and have or have nearly disappeared. Very few nativePolynesian species of plants are useful for anything other than timber, so to permanently colonizean island the ancient voyagers had to bring a suite of plants to cultivate and sustain them in theirnew permanent home. These plants were carried by the ancient voyagers when they started theireastward migrations into Polynesia, or they were picked up along the way. (At least two speciesappear to have come from the opposite direction—South America.) The arrival of Europeansinto Niue (starting in 1800s) opened a whole new avenue for cultivated plants from all over theworld. Many of these alien species, such as mango, proved to be very popular and are nowcommonly cultivated. Concurrently, many of the ancient useful species quickly lost popularityand their cultivation diminished and eventually ended. If these species were almost entirelydependent upon people to propagate them, they were very adversely affected. Good examples ofthis are the Polynesian melon (atiu, Cucumis melo) mentioned above and the Polynesian tomato(loku moka, Solanum ferox). Seven species considered to be rare Polynesian cultigens are shown in Table 2. They arearranged in alphabetical order by scientific name, and the number of times they have beencollected by each of the collectors is shown. Their last date of collection is also shown (which isan indication of whether they are likely to have been extirpated or not from Niue). 10

Table 2. Rare Polynesian Cultigens Number of Collections.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Species Collectors1 J Sm Y Sy W Last Found---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Bischofia javanica 00010 1965Cucumis melo 00210 1965Hibiscus abelmoschus 10240 1965Solanum ferox 1 0 1 2? 1 1997Solanum viride 10020 1965Syzygium neurocalyx 00000 NeverTephrosia purpurea2 00260 1965---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1Collectors: J=Jensen; Sm=Smith; Y=Yuncker; Sy=Sykes; and W=Whistler.2Also collected by Krauss in 1978. The large tree Bischofia javanica (koka?) was probably used as a dye for tapa cloth, butsince tapa making disappeared in Niue long ago, the knowledge of this plant being used as a dyein the process was forgotten along with the plant. It was collected only once on Niue (by Sykesin 1965), but never again. However, an informant at one of the 2013 workshops noted that thetree was growing on his property, and that it was used for making a tapa dye in the old days.Tephrosia purpurea was originally used as a fish poison, but because it is no longer used for this,it persists only as a weed, and is apparently unable to compete with the plethora of more recentlyintroduced weeds. Syzygium neurocalyx is an interesting species. It has never been collected onNiue, but its name (koli) is found in an early dictionary (Tregear and Smith 1907). It has thesame name in Tonga, where it is cultivated for its fragrant fruit, but apparently Niueans stoppedcultivating it before it was ever collected by a botanist. See the individual species profiles inAppendix 2 for more detailed information about each species. 3.2. Indigenous Species An indigenous plant can be rare for a number of reasons. The species may be at itsgeographical limit, and is rare because it is a recent natural arrival without sufficient time tospread, or because it is at its climatic limit (e.g., it may require a wetter or drier, or a colder orwarmer climate than that found in Niue in order to flourish). Alternately, it may be rare becauseof edaphic factors, e.g., it may thrive only on lava flows, which are absent from Niue. The nativespecies included here can be divided into four groups: littoral species, inland species (excludingorchids and ferns), orchids, and ferns and fern allies. 3.2.1. Littoral Species The term “littoral” refers to plants occurring on the seashore (Latin: litoris = of the shore),and whose presence and distribution are affected either directly or indirectly by the sea. Theirarea of occurrence, often called “littoral strand,” occupies a very narrow area on the immediatecoast, and typically exhibits zonation into several bands that run roughly parallel to the coastline. 11

Table 3. Rare Native Littoral Species Number of Collections.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Species Collectors1 J Sm Y Sy W Last Found---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Caesalpinia major 00320 1975Canavalia rosea2 01041 1997Cenchrus caliculatus 00211 1981Nicotiana fragrans 00022 2013Operculina ventricosa 00010 1965Portulaca samoensis 00020 1965Solanum amicorum 00201 1997Ximenia americana 00001 1997---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1Collectors: J=Jensen; Sm=Smith; Y=Yuncker; Sy=Sykes; and W=Whistler.2 All specimens collected were actually from inland sites.Littoral vegetation occurs on nearly all undisturbed shores of Niue, typically from just above thehigh-tide mark up to 5 or 10 m elevation, but sometimes higher on steep, exposed slopes. Littoral species are usually dispersed by seeds or fruits that float long distances in seawater,or they have barbed fruits that can stick to the feathers of seabirds. These dispersalcharacteristics account for the wide distributions of most littoral species: few Pacific littoralspecies are endemic to any one island group, and none in Niue are. Most of the rare Niueanlittoral plant species are common elsewhere in the Pacific, and their rarity on Niue can often beattributed to absence of their preferred substrate there, or to the simple fact that they may berecent arrivals that have not had time to spread. Eight littoral species considered to be rare onNiue are shown in Table 3. They are arranged in alphabetical order by scientific name, and thenumber of times they have been collected by each of the collectors is shown. Their last date ofcollection is also shown (which is an indication of whether they are likely to have been extirpatedor not from Niue). Four of the species on this list, Caesalpinia major, Canavalia rosea, Portulaca samoensis,and Ximenia americana, are widespread littoral species that for some reason are rare on Niue.Their habitat (littoral strand) is not threatened, so it is unclear why they are rare. Some may berecent arrivals that just have not had time to spread yet, while others may have arrived by chanceand may soon disappear, or have already disappeared, before they become widely established.Canavalia rosea is interesting, because it is a littoral species that so far on Niue has only beenfound in inland disturbed sites, possibly because it may have somehow been introduced to theisland. Three of the listed species are recommended here for inclusion on the Red List for Niue.The bur grass Cenchrus caliculatus is restricted mostly to scattered Polynesian islands, but hasapparently disappeared over much of its range, presumably due to competition with new weedsor because the seabirds that it requires for dispersal have themselves disappeared due to humanpredation. It is rare on Tonga (perhaps found only on the cliffs of ‘Eua) and appears to have beenextirpated from Samoa, where it was last collected in 1905. The tobacco relative Nicotianafragrans has been collected only four times on Niue, all of them from the north end of the island. 12

Elsewhere it is found only in Fiji (Ono-i-Lau, a new record), Tongatapu Island in Tonga, and theIsle of Pines in New Caledonia. With so few and far-flung localities, and its known rarity in thefirst three listed places (at least) in its range, it should be considered a rare and endangeredspecies. Solanum amicorum has a somewhat similar distribution, being reported only fromTonga and Niue. It appears to be a littoral species, but sometimes appears in disturbed coastalsites. It should also be considered endangered. The most problematical plant on the list is Operculina ventricosa. It is apparently native tothe Caribbean, but was somehow introduced into Guam, where it became naturalized. Itsubsequently appears to have spread naturally throughout the South Pacific, so while it isintroduced to the Pacific, it is a natural arrival to Niue, and hence “native.” Complicating thesituation is the fact that in Polynesia it hybridizes with a native species, Operculina turpethum(which, however, is not found on Niue). For more detailed information about each of the eightspecies, see the individual species profiles in Appendix 2. 3.2.2. Inland Species With the exception of coastal areas, Niue was originally almost entirely covered with nativerainforest. Fernlands that are now common on the island probably did not exist prior to thearrival of the first Niueans. The floor of the original forests was shady and the majority ofterrestrial shrubs, herbs, and vines found there were shade-tolerant. However, because ofoccasional tree falls, especially during the periodic cyclones that hit the island, a few speciesrequiring bright sunlight for germination and growth became established in the flora. Thethirteen inland species considered rare on Niue are shown in Table 4. They are divided into twogroups—trees and shrubs, and vines and herbs. Within the two groups they are arranged inalphabetical order by scientific name, and the number of times they have been collected by eachof the collectors is shown. Their last date of collection is also shown (which is an indication ofwhether or not they are likely to have been extirpated from Niue). The vast majority of nativeepiphytic or terrestrial herbs in the rainforest are orchids and ferns, and these are treatedseparately in the following two sections Most of the forest tree species present can be classified as primary forest species; thoseneeding sunlight for germination are classified as secondary forest trees. Two of the species inTable 4 are primary forest species—Drypetes vitiensis and Calophyllum neoebudicum (tamanu).The Drypetes may be more common than is apparent, since it can easily be mistaken for one ofthe two Diospyros species present on the island. The Calophyllum is very common in Samoaand Tonga, and there is a possibility that it may have been introduced into Niue in recent timesby foresters. Dendrocnide harveyi (magiho) and Elattostachys apetala (lautaha) are largesecondary forest species that are common elsewhere in Polynesia, while Trema cannabina(magele), which has not been collected on Niue since 1940, is a small tree characteristic offernlands and abandoned taro fields. Allophylus timoriensis is a small coastal or forest edgespecies. Gymnosporia vitiensis, which has been collected only once on Niue, is a shrub or smalltree characteristic of coastal sunny places. Wikstroemia foetida, which is also a small shrub, haslikewise been collected in only one place—the same place as Gymnosporia vitiensis (MatapaChasm). It is a new record for Niue. 13

Table 4. Rare Inland Native Species1 and Number of Collections.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Species Collectors2 J Sm Y Sy W Last Found--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trees and ShrubsAllophylus timoriensis 00130 2013Calophyllum neoebudicum 00031 1997Dendrocnide harveyi 00131 1997Drypetes vitiensis 00010 1965Elattostachys apetala 00221 1997Gymnnosporia vitiensis 00011 2013Trema cannabina 00300 1940Wikstroemia foetida 00001 2013 Vines and HerbsCyrtococcum oxyphyullum 00010 1965Mariscus seemannianus 00040 1965Miscanthus floridulus 00200 1965Pachygone vitiensis 00011 1997Passiflora aurantia 00121 1997---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1Orchids and ferns and fern-allies are show in the following two tables.2Collectors: J=Jensen; Sm=Smith; Y=Yuncker; Sy=Sykes; and W=Whistler. The second part of Table 4 includes vines and herbs. Cyrtococcum oxyphyllum (a grass) andMariscus seemannianus (a sedge) are forest clearing and trailside species, and both may haveprobably become rare due to competition with more recently introduced weeds. Pachygonevitiensis and Passiflora aurantia are forest vines probably once common on the edges of forestclearings, and have probably likewise become rare because of competition with recentlyintroduced weeds. Miscanthus floridulus (kaho) is a native reed characteristic of fernlands, andalthough common elsewhere in Polynesia, it is now rare on Niue (and was not seen there by theauthor during any of his five visits). For more detailed information about the thirteen species,see the individual species profiles in Appendix 2. 3.2.3. Orchid Species Orchids are best treated separately from other rare inland forest species on Niue because theycomprise such a large and unique group of plants. At least fifteen are native to Niue, making itthe largest native family in Niue’s flora. Two other species at first glance appear to be native, butprobably recently arrived on the island by undetermined means. Seven species are included hereon the list of rare indigenous orchids. Ecologically, orchids can be divided into two main groups, epiphytes and terrestrials, andthese should also be treated differently from each other. Epiphytes are particularly difficult tomonitor, because they can be virtually invisible high in the trees in closed canopy forest. 14

Table 5. Rare Orchid Species and Number of Collections.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Species Collectors1 J Sm Y Sy W Last Found---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Bulbophyllum distichobulbum 0 0 2 3 2 1997Bulbophyllum longiscapum 0 0 1 2 1 1997Didymoplexis micradenia 0 0 0 2 2 1997Eulophia pulchra 0 0 0 2 0 1965Geodorum densiflorum 0 0 1 1 0 1965Nervilia concolor 0 0 1 3 1 2013Tuberolabium papuanum 0 0 1 3 0 1965---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1Collectors: J=Jensen; Sm=Smith; Y=Yuncker; Sy=Sykes; and W=Whistler.Because of this, the apparently rare species listed here may not actually be rare, just rarelycollected (i.e., hard to find, but not rare). Terrestrial species, however, are much easier to findwhen present, but when forests are disturbed, the terrestrials are more adversely affected than theepiphytes because the ground is the part of the forest that suffers the most. As a group, orchidsare also globally threatened, because many of them are prized by commercial and local amateurcollectors, which means they need protection from over-collecting. However, instances of nativeorchids being collected in excess on Niue are not known. The seven orchid species considered tobe rare on Niue are shown in Table 5. They are arranged in alphabetical order by scientific name,and the number of times they have been collected by each of the collectors is shown. Their lastdate of collection is also shown (which is an indication of whether they are likely to have beenextirpated or not from Niue). Three of the orchids—Bulbophyllum distichobulbum, Bulbophyllum longiscapum, andTuberolabium papuanum—are epiphytic, the other four are terrestrial. Most of them are found inprimary forest in the north-central part of the island (around Fetuna) or in the HuvaluConservation Area. All except one are wide-ranging species. The exception is Bulbophyllumdistichobulbum, which is found only on Tutuila (where it is rare) and Niue. Because of this veryrestricted distribution, it should be red-listed. All Niuean orchids are on the CITES (Conventionon the International Trade in Endangered Species) list, so nothing else much needs to be done toprotect them at the moment, other than simply enforcing existing legislation and protecting thenative forests in which they occur. For more detailed information about the seven orchid species,see the individual species profiles in Appendix 2. 3.2.4. Fern and Fern-ally Species Ferns and fern allies (an eclectic group of plants evolutionarily situated between fern andflowering plants) are, like orchids, best treated separately from other rare inland forest species onNiue. Like orchids, they are herbaceous, mostly shade-loving, and can be divided into twogroups based upon habitat preferences. Most of Niue’s ferns are terrestrial, growing in the shadeof the forest floor. However, one species, Nephrolepis hirsutula (mohuku) is the dominant 15

Table 6. Rare Fern and Fern Ally Species and Number of Collections.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Species Collectors1 J Sm Y Sy W Last Found---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Angiopteris evecta 0 0 1 3 02 2013Amphineuron cf. opulentum 00002 2013Diplazium proliferum 0 0 02 1 0 1965Lycopodium phlegmaria 10000 1901Monogramma paradoxa 00010 1965Ophioglossum petiolatum 1? 0 0 1 1 1997Phymatosorus nigrescens 00010 1965Trichomanes taitensis 00001 1997Schizaea dichotoma 00011 1997Vittaria elongata 00001 1997---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1Collectors: J=Jensen; Sm=Smith; Y=Yuncker; Sy=Sykes; and W=Whistler.2 Seen but not collected.species in the sun-drenched fernlands. A minority of Niue’s ferns grow as epiphytes on treetrunks or in the forest canopy where they can get the sunlight they need. Epiphytes areparticularly difficult to monitor, because they can be virtually invisible high in the trees in closedcanopy forest. Because of this, the apparently rare species listed here may not actually be rare,just rarely collected (i.e., they are hard to find, but not rare). Because of the small size of theisland and relatively low rainfall (many fern species need constantly wet conditions), only 25ferns and two fern allies are native to Niue. Most of these species are few and far between in theinland forest. Ten fern and fern ally species considered to be rare on Niue are shown in Table 6.They are arranged in alphabetical order by scientific name, and the number of times they havebeen collected by each of the collectors is shown. Their last date of collection is also shown(which is an indication of whether they are likely to have been extirpated or not from Niue). Six of the ten listed ferns have been collected only once, and one of them, the fern-allyLycopodium phlegmaria, has not been seen on Niue since 1901. Half of the species areepiphytic, half are terrestrial. One of the terrestrial species, Angiopteris evecta (palatao;kingfern), is particularly visible when present, since it looks like a trunk-less tree fern with frondsup to 3 m or more in length radiating out from a large base. Most of rare ferns are likely to befound in the areas of remaining forest in the north-central part of the island near Fetuna and inthe Huvalu Conservation Area. Surveys in these areas, particularly with the use of binoculars tospot epiphytes, may show that some of them are more common than is apparent. These ferns areprobably not threatened as long as their preferred habitat, primary forest, is protected. For moredetailed information about the ten fern species, see the individual species profiles in Appendix 2.4. DISCUSSION The definitions of the terms “rare,” “threatened,” and “endangered” are viewed in differentways in different places. The United States Interior Department’s Fish and Wildlife Service 16

(FWS) has primary responsibility for terrestrial and freshwater plants, as provided for in theEndangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973. Under the ESA, plant species may be listed as either“endangered” or “threatened.” Endangered means a species is in danger of extinction throughoutall or a significant portion of its range. Threatened means a species is likely to becomeendangered within the foreseeable future. As of March 2008, the FWS had listed 1,925 speciesworldwide as endangered or threatened, 1,351 of which occur in the U.S. The term “rare” has nolegal meaning, but is used in this report to mean “difficult to find,” a more general term. The main international agency in charge of rare plants is the International Union for theConservation of Nature (IUCN), which produces a list of these species on its “Red List”. Basedupon frequency and distribution, the IUCN system divides plants into nine categories: Extinct(EX); Extinct in the Wild (EW); Critically Endangered (CR); Endangered (EN); Vulnerable(VU); Near Threatened (NT); Least Concern (LC); Data Deficient (DD); and Not Evaluated(NE). Assigning plants to these somewhat complicated categories is based upon a lot of data,data that is almost entirely lacking on Niue. The definitions of these IUCN categories can beseen in Appendix 2 in two earlier publications (Whistler 2010, 2011). New Zealand, which has a very active program for protecting its rare plants, uses its ownsystem of classification. Townsend et al. (2008) has developed the New Zealand ThreatClassification System so that every native organism existing in the wild in New Zealand can beassigned a threat status. The species on the list are divided into two main groups: those that areable to be evaluated and those that cannot. Those that cannot be evaluated, for whatever reason,are assigned the category “Data Deficient” (as on the IUCN Red List). The categories withsufficient data for evaluation are as follows. 1. Extinct—Plants that are, without a doubt, no longer found in New Zealand. This actuallyincludes plants that are extinct (no longer exist on the planet) and extirpated (no longer exist inNew Zealand). As de Lange et al. (2010) note, it is nearly impossible to prove that a plant isextinct, and there are plant species that have been listed thus and subsequently rediscovered.Species extinct in the wild but remaining in cultivation are not included in this category, nor arespecies that arrived by chance but did not become established (“vagrants”). 2. Threatened—Plants that are on the road to extinction. This category is subdivided intoseveral smaller categories based upon the population size and the current and predicted declinerate for the taxon: (1) Nationally Critical; (2) Nationally Endangered; and (3) NationallyVulnerable. Sixteen additional qualifiers are used in this system, such as “extinct in the wild,”“range restricted,” and “island endemic.” 3. At Risk—Plants that are at some risk of extinction but are not as yet directly threatened. 4. Not Threatened—Species that have been evaluated but have been determined not to beendangered or threatened in the country. Virtually no work has been done on the rare plants of Niue, and no species are listed on theIUCN Red List. A survey of rare plants was recently prepared for American Samoa (Whistler2004B). For that study a rare plant was defined as a species currently difficult to find, andincluded 109 species. Non-native plants (weeds and cultigens) were also included they wereonce a part of Samoan culture. Twenty of the 109 species were recommended for furtherconsideration as “threatened” or “endangered” in American Samoa. The project alsoincorporated GIS data to represent the location of collection sites. A database was developed andintegrated with a web portal (www.cieer.org/efloras/samoa/) to present the data to the generalpublic. Unfortunately, there has been no response or effort to protect the identified species since 17

the completion of the report, and at the moment (March 2013) the site lacks the ability to showthe collection sites on maps. A similar study was carried out for independent Samoa (Whistler 2010). That reportidentified 108 rare flowering plant species as being rare or hard to find, and 37 of them wererecommended to be considered for inclusion in the Red List of threatened or endangered plantsfor Samoa. Seven of the 108 plants were Polynesian weeds and cultigens included because theyare disappearing in or have disappeared from Samoa. Four of the seven on the list are the sameas ones on Niue’s list of disappearing Polynesian weeds and cultural plants. Apparently nothinghas been done to implement the recommendations on red-listing since that publication came out. A third study was carried out by the author for Tonga (Whistler 2011). That report identified97 rare flowering plant species as being rare or hard to find, and 30 of them were recommendedto be considered for inclusion in the Red List of threatened or endangered plants for Tonga.Eight Polynesian weeds and cultigens were included in the discussion because they aredisappearing in or have disappeared from Tonga. Three of the eight on the list are the same asthe ones on Niue’s list of disappearing Polynesian weeds and cultural plants. As is the case withthe Samoa report, apparently nothing has been done to implement the recommendations on red-listing since that publication came out. The purpose of the present report is the same as for theprevious three studies—to determine which plants are rare or currently hard to find on Niue.From the 57 plants selected during the present study, and the resulting recommendations at theend of the present report, botanists and conservationists can make educated decisions as to whichspecies should be included on IUCN’s Red List of threatened or endangered Niuean plants. 4.1. Niue Plants Needing Protection Based upon the research and field works for this report, 57 rare flowering plant, fern, andfern-ally species are recognized here as rare on Niue. Four of the native species arerecommended for consideration for inclusion on the Red List of Niue plants produced by theIUCN. Because only native species can be put on the Red List, other traditional species, i.e.,Polynesia weeds and traditionally cultivated species, are not eligible for red-listing. However,several of these species are disappearing or have disappeared from Niue, and should beconsidered for further study to see if they are disappearing throughout their range. For details onthe most critical species (the four native and six cultural species) discussed below, see theircomplete profiles in Appendix 2. 4.1.1. Native Species Recommended for Red-Listing Four native herbaceous species are recommended here for inclusion on the Niue’s Red Listof threatened and endangered plants. All four are restricted in range (only one extends outside ofPolynesia) and/or are disappearing throughout they range. The four native species recommendedhere are as follows. (1) Bulbophyllum distichobulbum (no Niuean name)—This small epiphytic orchid isrestricted to only two islands—Niue and to the island of Tutuila in American Samoa, and thushas a very restricted range. It was collected twice on Niue by Yuncker, who noted for bothspecimens that it occurred on trees in deep forest. Sykes, who collected it three times, noted it 18

being “seemingly very common high up on trees in Niuean forests.” It was found duringWhistler’s 1997 visit, but not the ones in 2003 and 2013. It is also rare on Tutuila, where it hasbeen collected only four times (all by the present author). Because of its very restricteddistribution and relative infrequency, it should be included on Niue’s Red List. See the details inits species profile in Appendix 2. (2) Cenchrus caliculatus (no Niuean name)—This large littoral grass was probably oncecommon in Polynesia (it ranges from New Caledonia to the Society Islands), especially nearseabird colonies, since its seeds are apparently dispersed by adhering to seabird feathers.However, it seems to be unable to compete with newly introduced weeds. It may also be harmedby the disappearance of seabird colonies due to the advent of Polynesians and then Europeans,who have killed the birds for food and moved into their former nesting areas. The grass hasapparently been extirpated from both sides of the Samoan Archipelago (Whistler 2004B, 2010)and is becoming rare over most of the rest of its Polynesian range, including Tonga where it iscurrently known only from the cliffs of ‘Eua. It is recommended here for inclusion on theNiuean Red List because of its widespread disappearance in Polynesia, its being restricted to alimited habitat, and because it has not been collected on Niue since 1981. See the details in itsspecies profile in Appendix 2. (3) Nicotiana fragrans—This small littoral herb is found only in Tonga, Niue, Ono-i-Lau(Fiji), and the Isle of Pines (New Caledonia). It is known from only a few locations in Tonga onthe southwest coast of Tongatapu, and on Niue appears to be restricted to several coastallocations on the north end of the island. It was seen in only one place on Ono-i-Lau, where itwas recorded by the author as a new species record for Fiji. Its frequency on the Isle of Pines isunclear. It is recommended here for inclusion on the Niue Red List because of its limited globalrange, its limited distribution on Niue, and the limited suitable habitat available (littorallimestone cliff coast). It was also on the list of Tongan plants recommended for red-listing(Whistler 2011). See the details in the species profiles in Appendix 2. (4) Solanum amicorum—This subshrub is found only in Tonga and Niue, so it is nearly anendemic species. There is also one record of it being collected in Samoa in the 1880s, but thisrecord is doubtful. It is not clear what its preferred habitat is since it has usually been collectedin disturbed coastal areas. This might indicate that it is a coastal weed, but because it is restrictedto only Tonga and Niue, it has to have a natural habitat—probably open coastal areas—in one orboth of these two island countries. It is rare on Niue in coastal areas and thickets on the west sideof the island. It was not listed in Yuncker, but two of his specimens, one identified as Solanumuporo and the other not included in his publication, belong here. Sykes did not find this species,and Whistler found it only in 1997. It is recommended here for inclusion on the Niue Red List ofthreatened and endangered plants because of its limited global range and its rarity on Niue. Seethe details in the species profiles in Appendix 2. 4.1.2. Polynesian Weeds and Cultigens of Concern As noted earlier, in addition to the native species that can put on the currently empty RedList of Niuean plants, there are a number of traditional plants that have either been inadvertentlyor intentionally introduced by the early Niueans. The first are known as Polynesian weeds, thelatter as Polynesian cultigens. Six species have been selected here as deserving recognition asbeing threatened in Niue, as well as on other Polynesian islands. Normally, alien plants like this 19

would not be further considered, but these species may be threatened elsewhere in their range,and their rarity on Niue should be noted, even though they may not qualify for red-listing. Thesix species are as follows. See the details of these species in their profiles in Appendix 2. (1) Cucumis melo (‘atiu)—This vine, which is native to somewhere between tropical EastAfrica and India, was an ancient intentional introduction eastward across Polynesia to theMarquesas. It was probably cultivated and naturalized in this large area, and was used as a minorfood source and for making fragrant leis. However, after the advent of Europeans into Niue, itwas probably not able to compete with the aggressive weeds that came along with them. Also,many new food crops were introduced, making this small fruit superfluous and no longer worthyof cultivation. The plant has been collected only three times on Niue, the last time in 1965. Ithas probably been extirpated from Tonga, as well as in independent Samoa. It is included on therare plants of American Samoa, Samoa, and Tonga (Whistler 2004B, 2010, 2011). (2) Leucas decemdentata (no Niuean name)—This small herb is probably a Polyneisanintroduction to Niue, either brought in intentionally as a medicinal plant or accidentally as aweed, and ranges from tropical Asia to the Society Islands. It was probably common in pre-European times but is now rare apparently because of its inability to compete with more-recentlyintroduced weeds. It has not been collected in Samoa for over 80 years (Whistler 2010), and inAmerican Samoa is restricted to a few localities in the Manu‘a Islands (Whistler 2004B). Themost recent collection or record of it on Niue was 1965 (Sykes collected it four times). Althoughit may be more common in eastern part of it range, i.e., Asia, it appears to be disappearing fromPolynesia. (3) Sida samoensis (mōtofu totolo?)—This small prostrate woody herb, which is native toFiji and/or western Polynesia or eastern Melanesia, is somewhat enigmatic, since nearly all of itscollections are from disturbed places, making its native habitat difficult to determine. It wascollected once by Yuncker and three times by Sykes, but has not been reported on Niue since1965. It is also reported to be rare or disappearing in American Samoa (Whistler 2004B), Samoa(Whistler 2010), and Tonga (Whistler 2011), thus becoming rare throughout its westernPolynesian range. It was probably much more common prior the European era, but has declinedin frequency most likely because of the competition with more aggressive weeds introducedduring the last two centuries. (4) Solanum ferox (loku moka)—This subshrub, which is native to somewhere in Melanesia,was an ancient Polynesian introduction to Fiji and eastward to the Marquesas, apparently beingderived from a wild Melanesian species by selection of spineless individuals. It was formerlycultivated for is tomato-like fruits, but probably was ignored when more prolific fruits liketomatoes were introduced in the European era. The plant has apparently been collected once inTonga, in 1926 on ‘Eua. It was also collected once in American Samoa (Whistler 2004B) andfour times in Samoa (Whistler 2010), but has probably been extirpated there now since it has notbeen collected in the archipelago since 1905. It has been disappearing, or has disappeared fromthroughout its Polynesian range, but still may be found in Fiji (in inland villages) and the CookIslands (where the present author collected it once). The species has probably been extirpatedfrom Samoa and perhaps parts of eastern Polynesia, but is still found in Fiji, Niue, and perhapsthe Cook Islands. Six collections have been made on Niue, most recently in 1997. It wasprobably much more common prior the European era, but has most likely declined in frequencybecause of the competition with more aggressive weeds introduced during the last two centuries. 20

(5) Solanum viride—This subshrub is probably an ancient introduction to Niue, but wasoriginally native to somewhere in eastern Melanesia. It spread naturally or was introduced byancient Polynesians eastward across the Pacific to Hawai‘i. The exact native range is difficult todetermine: it still occurs in native habitats and has a fruit that appears to be attractive to birds, butit was apparently cultivated on many islands, where it has since disappeared after cultivation wasterminated. It is currently rare on Niue in old plantations and cleared areas, and has beencollected four times, most recently in 1965. The fruits were probably once used as a minor foodsource and possibly for decoration, and the plant probably had medicinal uses. It is also rare inmost of the rest of its range. It was collected six times in American Samoa (Whistler 2004B) andat least 20 times in Samoa (Whistler 2010), but only seven of those 26 specimens are recent(since 1935). It is also rare in Tokelau. It was probably much more common prior the Europeanera, but has declined in frequency probably because of competition with more aggressive weedsintroduced during the last two centuries. (6) Uraria lagopodoides—This woody herb is a Polynesian introduction to Niue and the restof western Polynesia, and is native to southern Asia. It is uncommon in disturbed places onNiue, where it was probably accidentally introduced in ancient times. It was probably once acommon weed, but has now nearly disappeared since it cannot compete with the aggressive,more recently introduced weeds. Yuncker and Sykes both collected it twice, but it has not beenrecorded on Niue since 1965. It has been collected about a dozen times in Tonga, but only twoof these collections were made since 1975 (Whistler 2011); a half dozen were made in AmericanSamoa, but only two of them since the 1920s (Whistler 2004B), both from the small island ofAunu‘u. It is probably also disappearing in Samoa.5. RECOMMENDATIONS The author would like to make several recommendations for future research and otheractivities involving the rare plants of Niue.1. A more comprehensive survey of the rare plants of Niue. For the present report, the author spent only two weeks on the island, and most of that timewas taken up preparing the workshop. Relatively little time was spent on field work other than tovisit a few locations along with the trainees taking the workshop. The area around Fetuna shouldbe particularly surveyed for ferns and orchids, since these two groups seem to be concentrated inprimary forests like this. The use of binoculars in the search for epiphytes would be an integralpart of the survey. The results should then be put into an updated and expanded report on therare plants of the island.2. Completion of a flora of Niue. A complete and useable flora of Niue should be prepared. There have been several partial ornow out-of-date floras, including Yuncker (1943), Sykes (1970), and Gardner (2011). Gardner’spublication deals with the trees and shrubs, but he is currently preparing one on the herbaceousspecies for publication. All this information, along with the present report, should be puttogether into a single flora. 21

3. Red-Listing of Niuean Plant Species. The present report provides the frequency data of 57 species that are “rare” on Niue, andfour of those are being recommended herein for inclusion in the IUCN Red List of threatened andendangered Niuean plants. To put the species on the Red List, a panel of experts shouldcollaborate and determine which if not all of the four species should be listed. The preparation ofrecommendations for Red List plants is only the first step, since some countries have a plethoraof data to go along with each species. The only information specific to the rare plants of Niue isfound in the present report, and this is only preliminary research. With more research, additionalspecies may be determined to be rare, and the Red List may be augmented with these.4. Geo-reference rare plant specimens. Geo-referencing of collection records was incorporated into the study of the rare plants ofAmerican Samoa (Whistler 2005; www.cieer.org/efloras/samoa/). The species records that aretreated this way show up on maps of the individual islands and for the whole archipelago.(However, due to technical difficulties, the geo-referencing of the American Samoa was notworking correctly at the time of the present report, March 2013.) This is very helpful in showingwhere all the records of a rare species occur, and which areas have the highest concentrations.5. Establishment of a secure national herbarium for Niue. The only herbarium on the Island is found at the Department of Agriculture. It includesseveral hundred specimens, including a partial set made by Sykes during his visits, stored in adilapidated cabinet. It is in a woeful state of neglect, with many of the herbarium paperscrumbling. The specimens are in relatively good shape, however, since they were soaked inpoison prior to mounting, which retards insect damage. Only a single airtight case would beneeded, along with a supply or giant Ziploc bags to be used if the herbarium case cannot bestored in an air-conditioned room. This herbarium would be useful to visiting scientists as wellas interested local people.6. Establishment of a botanical garden to conserve rare plants. A botanical garden should be set up in Niue to grow rare native plants and cultigens. Thiswould probably be best situated on the government’s Vaipapahi Farm. It would be used topreserve the rare plants of Niue, and could also be used by native healers who are having troublelocating the plants they use in their medicines. It is also advisable to set up an exchange of plantswith regional or global botanical gardens under the Botanical Gardens Conservation International(BGCI) program to make sure that the native species and cultigens do not disappear. Botanicalgardens like the National Tropical Botanical Garden and the Lyon Arboretum in Hawai‘i haveestablished programs. 22

6. SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHYCribb, P.J. and W.A. Whistler. 2011. The orchids of Tonga, Niue, and the Cook Islands. Lankesteriana 11 (2): 96–177.De Lang, P.J., P. Heenan, D.A. Norton, J. Rolfe, and J. Sawyer. 2010. Threatened plants of New Zealand. Canterbury University Press, Christchurch. 471 pp.Forestry Section. 1990. The natural forest of Niue Island: merchantable forest survey Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries. 43 pp.Gardner, R.O. 2011. Trees and shrubs of Niue. Katsura, Auckland. 250 pp.Smith, A.C. 1971–1995. Flora vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. Vol. 1: 1–495 (1979); II: 1– 810 (1981): III: 1–758 (1985); IV: 1–377 (1988); V: 1–626 (1991). VI: 1–125 (1996). Nat. Trop. Bot. Gard., Lawai, Kauai.St. John, H. 1976. A plant collection from Niue Island by Jensen in 1876. Botanical Magazine of Tokyo 89: 235–240.Sykes, W.R. 1970. Contributions to the flora of Niue. N.Z. Department of Science & Industrial Research Bull. 200: 1–321 pp.Takhtajan, A. 1969. Flowering Plants: Origin and Dispersal. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C. 310 pp.Townsend, A.J. et al. 2008. New Zealand Threat Classification System manual. Department of Conservation, Wellington, New Zealand. 35 pp.Tregear, E. and S.P. Smith. 1907. Vocabulary and grammar of the Niue dialect of the Polynesian language. J. Mackay, Govt. Printer, Wellington. 179 pp.Whistler, W.A. 1984. Notes on the flora of Niue. N.Z. Journal of Botany 22: 565–567.Whistler, W.A. 2004A. Rainforest trees of Samoa. Isle Botanica, Honolulu. 210 pp.Whistler, W.A. 2004B. Plants of concern in American Samoa. Report prepared for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Honolulu. 56 pp. (Mimeograph)Whistler, W.A. 2009. Plants of the canoe People. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai. 241 pp.Whistler, W.A. 2010. Rare plants of Samoa. Report Prepared for the Samoan Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE). 163 pp. (Mimeograph)Whistler, W.A. 2011. Rare plants of Tonga. Conservation International, Pacific Islands. 173 pp. Mimeograph.Whistler, W.A. and J. Atherton. 1997. Botanical survey of the Huvalu Forest Conservation Area. SPREP, Apia. 76 pp.Wright, A.C.S. and F. J. Westerndorp. 1965. Soils and agriculture of Niue Island. N.Z. Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Soil Bureau Bull. 17: 1–80 pp.Yuncker, G.G. 1943. The flora of Niue Island. B. P. Bishop Museum Bull. 178. 126 pp. 23

APPENDIX 1. CHECKLIST OF THE RARE PLANTS OF NIUE FAMILY SPECIES AUTHORS NIUE NAME DICOTSASTERACEAE Forst.BRASSICACEAE Adenostemma viscosumCELASTRACEAE Rorippa sarmentosa (DC.) MacbrideCLUSIACEAE Gymnosporia vitiensisCONVOLVULACEAE Calophyllum neo-ebudicum (A. Gray) Seem.CUCURBITACEAE Operculina ventricosaEUPHORBIACEAE Cucumis melo Guillaumin tamanuEUPHORBIACEAE Acalypha lanceolataEUPHORBIACEAE Bischofia javanica (Bertero) PeterFABACEAE Drypetes vitiensisFABACEAE Caesalpinia major L. atiuFABACEAE Canavalia roseaFABACEAE Desmodium heterocarpon Willd.FABACEAE Tephrosia purpureaLAMIACEAE Uraria lagopodioides Bl. koka?MALVACEAE Leucas decemdentataMALVACEAE Hibiscus abelmoschus CroizatMALVACEAE Sida samoensisMENISPERMACEAE Urena lobata (Medik.) Dandy & Exell talamoaMYRTACEAE Pachygone cf. vitienseNYCTAGINACEAE Syzygium neurocalyx (Sw.) DC. fetekaOLACACEAE Boerhavia acutifoliaPASSIFLORACEAE Ximenia americana (L.) DC.PORTULACACEAE Passiflora aurantiaSAPINDACEAE Portulaca samoensis (L.) Pers. kohuhuSAPINDACEAE Allophylus timoriensisSOLANACEAE Elattostachys apetala (L.) Desv. uluhega?SOLANACEAE Nicotiana fragransSOLANACEAE Solanum amicorum (Forst. f.) Sm.SOLANACEAE Solanum feroxTHYMELAEACEAE Solanum viride L. fou igoULMACEAE Wikstroemia foetidaURTICACEAE Trema cannabina Rechinger motofu totolo?URTICACEAE Dendrocnide harveyi Laportea interrupta L. mōtipo Diels (A. Gray) Christoph. koli (Choisy) J.W. Moore katule L. Forst. f. Poell. (DC.) Bl. (Labill.) Radlk. lautaha Hooker Benth. L. loku moka Sol. ex Forst. f. polo iti (L.f.) A. Gray Lour. magele (Seem.) Chew magiho (L.) Chew ogoogo 24

FAMILY SPECIES AUTHORS NIUE NAMECYPERACEAE MONOCOTS (Burm. f.) KernCYPERACEAEORCHIDACEAE Fimbristylis ovata (Boeck.) PallaORCHIDACEAE Mariscus seemannianusORCHIDACEAE Bulbophyllum distichobulbum CribbORCHIDACEAE Bulbophyllum longiscapumORCHIDACEAE Didymoplexis micradenia RolfeORCHIDACEAE Eulophia pulchraORCHIDACEAE Geodorum densiflorum (Rchb. f.) Hemsl.POACEAE Nervilia concolorPOACEAE Tuberolabium papuanum (Thou.) Lindl.POACEAE Brachiaria paspaloidesPOACEAE Cenchrus caliculatus (Lam.) Schltr. Cyrtococcum oxyphyllum Miscanthus floridulus (Bl.) Schltr. (Schltr.) J.J. Wood (Presl) C.E. Hubb. Cav. (Hoch. ex Steud.) Stapf (Labill.) Warb. kaho ex K. Sch. & Lauterb. FERNSATHYRIACEAE Diplazium proliferum (Lam.) Thouars. NadeauHYMENOPHYLLACEAE Trichomanes tahitense (Forst. f.) Hoffmann HookerMARATTIACEAE Angiopteris evecta (Bl.) Pichi Serm. palatao (L.) J.E. Sm.OPHIOGLOSSACEAE Ophioglossum petiolatum (Kaulf.) Holttum (Fée) Bedd.POLYPODIACEAE Phymatosorus nigrescens Sw.SCHIZAEACEAE Schizaea dichotomaTHELYPTERIDACEAE Amphineuron cf. opulentumVITTARIACEAE Monogramma paradoxaVITTARIACEAE Vittaria elongataLYCOPODIACEAE FERN ALLIES L. Lycopodium phlegmaria 25

7. APPENDIX 4. RARE NIUEAN PLANT PROFILES Fifty-seven species have been identified as being rare or difficult to find on Niue, and profilesfor each of these species are presented here. The profiles include the following information: (1)species name; (2) botanical family to which the species belongs; (3) author(s) of the speciesname; (4) synonyms of the species name, and their authors; (5) Niuean name (if any); (6) Englishname (if any); (7) status (e.g., rare endemic); (8) reason for listing as a rare plant; and (9)suggested action for protecting the species. This is followed by a paragraph describing the range,habitat, geographic distribution, frequency, and any ethnobotanical uses, and then by a botanicaldescription that was written based upon previous literature, field descriptions from livecollections made by the author, and descriptions based on dried botanical collections. Finally, alisting of the sites of collection of all known specimens is presented. Each profile isaccompanied by a color photo of the plant. DICOTS ASTERACEAEAdenostemma viscosum Forst.Adenostemma lavenia (L.) KuntzeNiuean Name: noneEnglish Name: noneReason for Listing: absence of modern collectionStatus: Polynesian adventiveSuggestion Action: nothing can be done if it is now extinct on Niue, which it probably is.Indigenous or perhaps an ancient introduction toNiue, ranging from Sri Lanka (east Africa?) toHawai‘i (if this species name is used). It is mostlikely an ancient introduction to Hawai‘i, at least, butcould be native to western Polynesia. It may havebeen a common weed in Niue prior to the arrival ofEuropeans, but could not compete with the morerecently introduced weeds, leading to itsdisappearance. Sykes noted it was collected only byP.S. Smith in 1901 and Mr. Cockerill in ca. 1924,but never again. No habitat information wasrecorded on the specimens. A.C. Smith (1991: 294)noted that Adenostemma lavenia is a species Adenostemma viscosum (Hawaii)apparently nearly restricted to Ceylon, and listedAdenostemma viscosum and Adenostemma lanceolatum as occurring in Polynesia—the former“into the Pacific to the Tuamotu Islands and Hawai‘i,” the latter in “the Society Islands andSamoa.” Wagner et al. (1990), however, used Adenostemma viscosum to include all of these 26

Polynesian populations, noting that recognizing the three species “does not appear to result inmeaningful taxa” in Hawai‘i. More work needs to be done on this complex. It is likely that onlyone species occurs in Polynesia, and that this should be called Adenostemma viscosum. The plantis used medicinally in the Society Islands. Herb, erect to ascending, up to 60 cm or more in height, with subglabrous to glandular-pubescence stems. Leaves simple, opposite; blade ovate to narrowly ovate, 4–14 cm long, long-attenuate at the base, blunt to occasionally acute at the tip; surfaces glabrous, 3-nerved from thebase; margins coarsely dentate to subentire; petiole 0.5–3.5 cm long. Inflorescence of discoidheads 5–6 mm long, surrounded by several series of subequal, sparsely glandular-piloseinvolucral bracts, on peduncles 0.5–2 cm long and arranged in spreading panicles up to 10 cmlong. Ray florets none. Disc florets white, 1–2 mm long, campanulate to funnelform with ashort tube, 5-lobed at the tip. Ovary superior, with a filamentous, 2-lobed style. Stamens 5,epipetalous in the corolla throat. Fruit a turbinate achene 2.5–3 mm long, with 3 short thickprocesses at the tip. Flowering and fruiting occur continuously. Distinguishable by its herbaceous habit; opposite leaves with toothed margins; foliageusually pubescent; and loose panicles of small discoid heads with white disc florets and no rayflorets. Specimens:Smith 97—Without further location.Cockerill s.n.—Specimen at the Dominion Museum in Wellington, collected in 1924, not seen. BRASSICACEAERorippa sarmentosa (DC.) MacbrideNasturtium sarmentosum (Sol. ex Forst. f.) SchulzNasturtium sp. of SykesNiuean Name: holofaEnglish Name: Polynesian cressReason for Listing: infrequency of modern collectionStatus: Polynesian adventiveSuggestion Action: The plant is medicinal, and should be located and propagated in gardens to make sure that it does not disappear from Niue. A Polynesian introduction (or possibly indigenous) to Rorippa sarmentosa (Samoa?)Niue, ranging from New Caledonia to Hawai‘i, butprobably an ancient introduction over most of the easternpart of his range. It is a weed of cultivated places,particularly around houses in villages, but also grows onlimestone rocks near the sea. The plant is usedmedicinally in Niue, as it is over most of its Polynesianrange. Yuncker noted it as a “roadside and plantationweed.” Sykes noted it to be “found only on rocky cliffs onthe slopes of the lower terrace” and its being “rather27

uncommon…” It was not found during the Whistler 1997 or 2003 visits, but was encounteredonce during the 2013 survey in potholes in Avaiki cave. Herb up to 60 cm in height and with glabrous stems arising from a long, thick tap root.Leaves pinnately compound, alternate in a basal rosette, rachis mostly 2–9 (–18) cm long;leaflets 3–7, broadly and irregularly ovate to reniform, with the terminal one 0.6–4 cm long beingthe largest; surfaces glabrous; margins unevenly crenate; petiolule 1–12 mm long. Inflorescenceof erect, several-flowered racemes up to 23 cm long arising from the rosette. Calyx of 5 ovatelobes ca. 1.5 mm long, on a pedicel up to 8 mm long in fruit. Corolla of 4 free round petals 1–2mm long, white or tinged purple. Ovary superior, with a short capitate style. Stamens 6, free,included. Fruit a cylindrical pod 1.4–3 cm long, with many tiny reddish brown seeds in 2 rowsseparated by a partition. Flowering and fruiting occurring throughout the year. Distinguishable by its herbaceous habit; pinnately compound, alternate leaves in basalrosettes; racemes of flowers having 4 tiny white petals and 6 stamens; and cylindrical pods. Specimens:Yuncker 9768—Roadside weed 6 miles east of Alofi.Sykes 787 (170267)—In a gully running down to the sea near Makefu.Sykes 867 (170266)—Among coral pebbles on the path along the Tuhia ‘Atua to Hakupu track.Whistler 12993—Shallow pockets of soil at near the sea inside Avaiki cave. CELASTRACEAEGymnosporia vitiensis (A. Gray) Seem.Maytenus vitiensis (A. Gray) Ding HouNiuean Name: noneEnglish Name: noneReason for Listing: infrequency of collectionStatus: indigenousSuggestion Action: other coastal areas on the island should be searched to see the extent of the population on Niue, and GPS coordinates recorded for any individuals found.Indigenous to Niue, ranging from Fiji to theGambier Islands. It is rare on coastal limestonerocks, so far reported only from Matapa Chasm,where a single individual was found by Sykes on acliff face. No uses or common names have beenrecorded, and is doubtful if anyone on the islandwould recognize the plant. Scandent shrub or small tree up to 2 m (–10 m) Gymnosporia vitiensis (Samoa)in height, with glabrous stems. Leaves simple,alternate; blade elliptic to ovate or subround, 2.5–11 cm long, acute to cuneate or rarely roundedat the base, acute to rounded at the tip; surfaces glabrous, veins pale in color; margins crenulate;petiole 5–13 mm long, red. Inflorescence a several-flowered axillary cyme 1–7 mm long. 28

Calyx deeply lobed into ovate sepals ca. 1 mm long. Corolla of 5 free oblanceolate, broad-basedwhite petals 3–5 mm long, reflexed at anthesis. Ovary partly immersed in a disk, 3-celled, withtwo ovules per locule; stigma short. Stamens 5, free, inserted on the outer margin of the disc.Fruit a red, subglobose capsule 6–9 mm long, splitting open along the 3 seams at anthesis.Flowering and fruiting occur throughout the year. Distinguishable by its usually scandent shrub habit; alternate leaves with finely scallopedmargins and a red petiole; axillary clusters of white flowers with the petals reflexed; and a small,red, 3-celled capsule. Specimens:Sykes 401—Cliff face at Matapa chasm. CLUSIACEAECalophyllum neo-ebudicum GuillauminCalophyllum vitiense sensu Sykes non TurrillNiuean Name: tamanuEnglish Name: noneReason for Listing: infrequency of collectionStatus: indigenousSuggestion Action: a search should be made of the Huvalu Forest Conservation area, and any trees found should be recorded along with their GPS coordinates.Indigenous to Niue, ranging from Melanesia towestern Polynesia. It is rare in primary forest on Niue,so far reported only from the Huvalu ForestConservation Area. Sykes noted it to be “ratheruncommon.” It was found during Whistler’s 1997survey, but not during the ones in 2003 and 2013. It ispossible this is an introduced forestry tree, since it wasnot collected on Niue until 1965. The name tamanu issometimes confused with fetau, which more correctlyrefers to the related Calophyllum inophyllum.Elsewhere in Polynesia, where it is much morecommon, the hard, durable, beautiful, straight-grainedwood is milled for commercial timber and is usedlocally for house posts, canoes, and making furnitureand bowls. The fruits are commonly eaten by pigeons.Large tree up to 25 m in height, with glabrousstems 4-angled when young, and a pale yellow latex; Calophyllum neoebudicum (Samoa)bark light brown, with rows of lenticels formingconspicuous longitudinal grooves, the epidermis just below the bark bright red. Leaves simple,alternate; blade coriaceous, mostly elliptic or oblong, 4–17 cm long, attenuate to acute at the 29

base, acute to acuminate at the tip; surfaces glabrous, finely parallel-veined from the midrib;margins subentire; petiole 6–25 mm long. Inflorescence of terminal and upper-axillary, several-flowered racemes 3–11 cm long. Calyx of 4 white, elliptic to orbicular, concave sepals 5–11mm long, in 2 whorls, on a pedicel 8–25 mm long. Corolla of 4 white, obovate to elliptic petals5–11 mm long. Ovary superior, 1-celled, with a linear style and peltate stigma. Stamens many(ca. 150), free, yellow. Fruit a purple to black, ovoid to subglobose drupe 2–3 cm long,containing a single seed enclosed within a bony endocarp. Flowering reported from Septemberto February, fruiting (or fruits persisting) throughout the year, but peaking from January to July. Distinguishable by its large tree habit; fissured bark with a smooth red-orange inner layer;4-angled young stems; yellow sap; opposite, leathery, finely veined leaves; showy white, 4-partedflowers with numerous yellow stamens; and a purplish, subglobose drupe. Specimens:Sykes 399—Primary forest in the Huvalu Conservation Area.Sykes 821a—More or less primary forest in the Huvalu Conservation Area.Sykes 823—More or less primary forest near the Hakupu to Liku road at Ana.Whistler 10874—One tree seen in primary forest north of Huvalu. CONVOLVULACEAEOperculina ventricosa (Bertero) PeterOperculina turpethum sensu Sykes non (L.) S. MansoNiuean Name: noneEnglish Name: noneReason for Listing: infrequency of collectionStatus: indigenousSuggestion Action: a search should be made of coastal areas to see if it has a wider distribution on the island, and any individuals found should be recorded along with their GPS coordinates. Probably a natural arrival to Niue, native to Operculina ventricosa (Samoa)tropical America. It was reported in Guam as early as1887, but is uncommon there now. It probably arrivedby seawater drift of its seeds after a modernintroduction to Micronesia, and now appears to havebecome established in Tonga, Niue, and the CookIslands, at least. It is apparently rare in littoral strandon Niue, where it is known only from a singlespecimen collected by Sykes, who did not see it otherthan where he collected it. No local names or uses arereported. Prostrate or low climbing vine with terete orsometimes ridged, densely tomentose to glabrate stemstwining at the tips; axillary buds densely tomentose;30

sap clear. Leaves simple, alternate; blade cordate, 9–27 cm long, cordate at the base with orwithout an obvious sinus, acuminate or rarely acute at the tip; surfaces glabrate to denselytomentose; margins entire; petiole 4–20 cm long, tomentose to glabrate. Inflorescence acompact, few-flowered axillary cyme on a peduncle 5–20 cm long, bearing several elliptic tonarrowly oval bracts 2–4 cm long with obtuse to acute, usually mucronate tips. Calyx of 5 freeoval to ovate sepals 2.5–4 cm long, glabrate to pubescent, rounded with or without a mucro atthe tip, sometimes acute to subacuminate (especially in Samoa), on a pedicel 2.5–4.5 cm long.Corolla sympetalous, campanulate, 5–9 cm long, yellow turning white at anthesis. Ovarysuperior, 2-celled, with a filiform style bearing a 2-lobed stigma. Stamens 5, epipetalous,included, anthers coiled. Fruit a membranous, translucent, subglobose capsule 2–2.5 cm indiameter, enclosed within the persistent sepals, containing mostly 4, black, glabrous, subglobose,somewhat irregularly angled seeds (–7) 9–12 mm in diameter. Flowering and fruiting probablyoccur throughout the year. Distinguishable by its low-climbing viney habit; rounded or ridged stems; clear sap; few-flowered axillary cymes; white (rarely yellow) bell-shaped corolla 5–9 cm long; coiled anthers;and translucent, 4-seeded capsule. Specimens:Sykes 843—Exposed slope facing the sea at Tautu near Liku. CUCURBITACEAECucumis melo L.Cucumis anguria sensu Yuncker, Sykes; non L.Niuean Name: atiuEnglish Name: island melonReason for Listing: infrequency of modern collectionStatus: Polynesian cultigenSuggestion Action: a search should be made of disturbed areas to see if it persists. Seeds should be collected and stored until a place if found for them to be planted, and GPS coordinates recorded for any individuals found.. An ancient introduction to Niue, native from Cucumis melo (Samoa)tropical eastern Africa to India, but an ancientintroduction eastward across the Pacific all the way tothe Marquesas. The island melon is actually the samespecies as cantaloupe and honeydew melon, but isprobably the original variety (“wild type”) from whichthe larger, edible varieties were developed. Althoughonce commonly cultivated in Polynesia, it came intodisuse with the introduction of better fruits, and is nowvirtually unknown throughout its Polynesian range,and has disappeared from many islands. It is rare in 31

disturbed places on Niue, and is probably disappearing in competition with more aggressive,more recently introduced weeds. Both Yuncker and Sykes misidentified this as a cucumber, butnoted it as being adventive. Yuncker recorded two forms, one yellow, the other yellow withgreen stripes. It was not found during Whistler’s 1997, 2003, or 2013. The plant was used inancient times primarily for food and perhaps for decoration, as it was in ancient Samoa. Herbaceous vine, prostrate and weakly climbing by means of simple axillary tendrils; stemshispid. Leaves simple, alternate; blade ovate to subround, 4–11 cm long, cordate at the base,blunt and apiculate at the tip; surfaces hispid; margins palmately 3–7-lobed or angular, finelytoothed between the lobes; petiole mostly 2–7 cm long, densely hispid. Inflorescence solitary,axillary, with unisexual flowers; plants monoecious. Calyx sympetalous, campanulate, 4–6 mmlong, with 5 shorter filiform lobes, densely pubescent, on a pedicel 5–20 mm long at anthesis.Corolla sympetalous, rotate, yellow, 8–12 mm long, divided about halfway into 5 rounded lobes.Ovary of female flowers inferior, with 3–5 stigmas on a short style; ovary rudimentary in maleflowers. Stamens of male flowers 3, free, reduced to 3 staminodes in female flowers. Fruit afragrant, pale yellow to brown, subglobose, many-seeded berry 3–5 cm long. Flowering andfruiting occur continuously. Distinguishable by its herbaceous vine habit; bristly stems and foliage; alternate leaves withlobed and finely toothed margins; simple axillary tendrils; yellow, separate male and femaleflowers on the same plant; and a small, fragrant, cantaloupe-like fruit. Specimens:Yuncker 9794—Roadside near Alofi.Yuncker 10010—Cultivated in Alofi.Sykes (169895?)—Vaipapahi Experimental Farm. EUPHORBIACEAEAcalypha lanceolata Willd.Acalypha boehmerioides Miq.Niuean Name: noneEnglish Name: noneReason for Listing: infrequency of collectionStatus: Polynesian adventiveSuggestion Action: a search should be made of disturbed areas to see if it persists. If the plant is found, seeds should be collected and stored until a place if found for them to be planted. GPS coordinates should be recorded for any individuals found. An unintentional Polynesian introduction to Niue, indigenous to the Old World tropics. It israre as a weed of disturbed places on Niue. Yuncker reported is as “an occasional weed alongroadsides and in plantations,” but did not list his collection number in his publication. Sykesnoted it as “rare,” incorrectly implying that Yuncker noted the same. Two of the three specimensSykes listed in his publication were misidentified, and are actually Laportea interrupta. It wasnot found during the Whistler visits of 1997, 2003, or 2013. No local names or uses are reported,but it is probably mistakenly sometimes called ogoogo, which more correctly refers to Laporteainterrupta. It may be used in native medicines. 32

Erect annual herb 10–100 cm in height, with Acalypha lanceolata (Samoa)longitudinally grooved, appressed-pubescent stems.Leaves simple, alternate; blade ovate, 1–8 cm long,rounded at the base, acute to acuminate at the tip;surfaces densely pubescent, gland-dotted; marginscoarsely serrate; petiole 0.5–5 cm long.Inflorescence of 1–4 axillary, many-flowered spikes5–30 mm long; flowers unisexual, apetalous, thelower ones female, upper ones male. Femaleflowers subtended by a pubescent, sheathing, cup-shaped bract 1.5–3 mm long with a serrate margin,sessile; styles 3, divided into filiform stigmas. Maleflowers minute, less than 0.5 mm in diameter,clustered; stamens 8. Fruit a pubescent, 3-lobedschizocarp 1–2 mm long, splitting into 3 one-seededsegments. Flowering and fruiting occurringcontinuously. Distinguishable by its herbaceous habit;pubescent, alternate, simple leaves on a petiole 0.5to 5 cm long; inconspicuous, green, unisexual,axillary inflorescences lacking a stalked, terminalflower; and tiny, 3-lobed schizocarp. Specimens:Yuncker 10108—Roadside weed near Makefu.Sykes 101—Plantation near Mutalau.Bischofia javanica Bl.Niuean Name: koka?English Name: noneReason for Listing: infrequency of collectionStatus: Polynesian cultigen (or possibly of modern introduction)Suggestion Action: a search should be made around where it was collected to see if it persists. If the plant is found, seeds should be collected and propagated, and GPS coordinates recorded for any individuals found. Possibly an ancient introduction to Niue, and distributed from India to western Polynesia. Itwas apparently an ancient introduction over some of this range, and probably a modernintroduction to the Society and Cook Islands. It is rare in forest or plantations on Niue, havingbeen collected only once there (by Sykes). Sykes’ informant did not know any name for thisplant, and no other collectors have reported its presence. Elsewhere in Polynesia and Melanesia,a red-brown dye used to color tapa cloth is obtained from its bark. During the 2013 survey, oneinformant noted that he had the tree growing on his plantation, and that in the past its bark wasused a tapa dye. It is strange that this Polynesian cultigen has not been collected more often (if it 33

has been on the island for a long time), and since itis there, it is strange that there is only one report of alocal name. It is called koka and ‘o‘a on nearbyislands.Large tree up to 20 m or more in height, with aspreading crown and glabrous stems; bark flaky,dark brown. Leaves trifoliate, alternate, rachis 7–18cm long; leaflet blades ovate to elliptic, mostly 4–14cm long, acute to rounded at the base, acuminate atthe tip; surfaces glabrous, upper side dark glossygreen, lower side lighter with prominent, aqueoussecondary veins and pit-like domatia in the axils ofthe secondary veins; margins crenate or serrate;petiolules of lateral leaflets 3–10 mm long.Inflorescence an axillary or subterminal, many-flowered panicle 6–20 (–32) cm long; flowersunisexual, trees dioecious. Calyx of 5 suborbicular,pale green to pale yellow sepals 2.5–3.5 mm long,reflexed at anthesis, subtended by a lanceolate bract,on a pedicel up to 1.4 cm long in the fruit. Corollaabsent. Ovary of female flower superior, 3-celled,with 3 elongate, subsessile stigmas; ovary vestigial Bischofia javanica (Samoa)in male flowers. Stamens of male flowers 5, free,absent or reduced to staminodes in female flowers. Fruit a small, red to yellowish brown,subglobose berry 4–10 (–12) mm in diameter, with the stigmas persistent. Flowering in theSouth Pacific has been recorded from September to April, and fruiting in all months exceptFebruary and March, so both possibly occurring throughout the year.Distinguishable by its large tree habit; flaky brown bark; alternate, trifoliate leaves; tinygreen, unisexual flowers in loose panicles on separate male and female trees; and small, reddishbrown spherical fruits.Specimens:Sykes 524—Edge of the upper terrace forest along the Alofi to Paliasi road.Drypetes vitiensis CroizatLitsea magnifolia? sensu Sykes non GillespieNiuean Name: noneEnglish Name: noneReason for Listing: infrequency of collectionStatus: indigenousSuggestion Action: a search should be made of near where it was collected and other areas of native forest to see if it persists in some places. If the plant is found, seeds should be collected and propagated and GPS coordinates recorded. 34

Indigenous to Niue, also found in Fiji, Samoa,and Tonga. It was discovered in Polynesia only inthe last few decades, and is rare in the lower terraceprimary forest of Niue. Sykes, who misidentifiedthis tree as “Litsea magnifolia?,” noted it to be veryrare, and it has not been found by any othercollectors. The tree is so uncommon and so similarto species of Diospyros in leaf characteristics that itis probably unrecognized, unnamed, and little usedthroughout its Polynesian range. No local names oruses have been reported.Medium-sized tree up to 20 m in height, withglabrous, gray-brown stems. Leaves simple,alternate, distichous; blade coriaceous, ovate toelliptic, 3–18 cm long, rounded to oblique at thebase, broadly acute to rounded and retuse at the tip;surfaces glabrous, upper side dark green, lower sidewith a finely reticulate venation superficially similarto that of Diospyros, midrib yellow-green; marginsentire; petiole 1–3 cm long. Inflorescence ofseveral-flowered (female) and several- to many-flowered (male) axillary fascicles; flowers unisexual, Drypetes vitiensis (Samoa)trees dioecious. Calyx of 4 green, suborbicular,concave sepals 3–5 mm long, on a pedicel 6–20 mm long at anthesis. Corolla absent. Ovary offemale flowers superior, tomentose, borne on a yellow disc, with a large, sessile, peltate stigma;ovary absent in male flowers. Stamens of male flowers many (ca. 10–16), exserted, absent infemale flowers. Fruit an orange to red, 1-seeded, ovoid to ellipsoid drupe 1.8–2.7 cm long,containing a single large seed. Flowering in the South Pacific reported from November,February, and March, fruiting from May to November, but both probably occurring throughoutthe year.Distinguishable by its medium-sized tree habit; alternate leaves finely net-veined on thelower surface; axillary clusters of tiny green, apetalous, unisexual flowers borne on separate maleand female trees; and red to orange, ovoid drupe.Specimens:Sykes 847—Lower terrace forest along the Mutalau to Uluvehi track. FABACEAECaesalpinia major (Medik.) Dandy & ExellCaesalpinia bonduc sensu Yuncker non (L.) Roxb.Niuean Name: talamoa (talamoa fotofoto?, talatalamoa?)English Name: noneReason for Listing: infrequency of collection 35

Status: indigenousSuggestion Action: a search should be made of where it has already been found, and of coastal areas to see if other patches of it exist. GPS coordinates should be recorded for any individuals found.Indigenous to Niue, pantropic in distribution. Itis rare in coastal areas of Niue, where it sometimesforms thorny thickets. Yuncker noted it to be“frequent in thickets,” but Sykes noted it being “veryrare and apparently confined to a few patches offernland scrub in the southern part of the island.” Itwas not found during Whistler’s 1997, 2003, or 2013visits. It can most easily be distinguished from thesimilar Caesalpinia bonduc by its subulate stipulesrather than pinnate, leaf-like ones.Scandent shrub or liana, with prickly stemsand leaves and finely tomentose young stems;stipules subulate, often split into 2 or 3 parts,caducous. Leaves bipinnately compound, alternate;rachis up 50–75 cm long, thorny, somewhat swollenat the base, pinnae mostly in 6 or 7 pairs, mostly 10–22 cm long, thorny; leaflets in (3–) 6 or 7 pairs;leaflet blades elliptic, mostly 3–7 cm long, roundedto narrowly subcordate at the base, acute to roundedand mucronulate at the tip; upper surface glabrous,lower side finely pubescent to glabrous; margins Caesalpinia major (Samoa)entire; stalks of leaflets swollen, 2–3 mm long.Inflorescence of many-flowered axillary racemes or further branched into panicles, up to 30 cmor more in length, sometimes branching at the base, with a finely pubescent rachis; flowersfunctionally unisexual, plants monoecious. Calyx of 5 free, narrowly oblong sepals 1–1.4 mmlong, brown-pubescent on the outside, reflexed at anthesis, on a pedicel 1.5–1.8 cm long,subtended by a acuminate-tipped bract up to 5 mm long. Corolla of 5 free, oblong, yellow,petals, 6–10 mm long, one shorter than the others and marked with brown. Ovary of femaleflowers superior, 1-celled, with a simple style; vestigial in male flowers. Stamens of maleflowers 10, free; sterile in female flowers. Fruit a prickly oblong pod 5–13 cm long, containing2–4 glossy light or dark gray (yellow to brownish in Fiji), ovoid to irregularly subglobose seeds1.3–2 cm in diameter. Flowering and fruiting occur throughout the year.Distinguishable by its scrambling habit; linear stipules; thorny stems; thorny, bipinnatelycompound leaves; small yellow flowers in axillary racemes or panicles; one petal shorter thanthe others and marked with brown; and gray marble-like seeds in a spiny pod.Specimens:Yuncker 9888—Thicket three miles south of Alofi.Yuncker 10224—Thicket near Avatele.Yuncker 10233—Thicket near Hakupu. 36

Sykes 578—In roadside thicket between Vaiea and Avatele.Sykes 1440—Roadside scrub halfway between Liku and Hakupu.Canavalia rosea (Sw.)DC.Canavalia maritima (Aubl.) Urb.Canavalia turgida sensu Yuncker; non Grah. ex A. GrayNiuean Name: fetekaEnglish Name: noneReason for Listing: infrequency of collectionStatus: indigenousSuggestion Action: A search should be made of where it has already been found and other places of suitable habitat. GPS coordinates recorded for any individuals found, and seeds collected.Probably indigenous to Niue, or perhaps amodern arrival, pantropic in distribution. It isuncommon in inland clearings on Niue, butelsewhere its natural habitat is sandy beaches, whereis sprawls along the ground. Sykes believed it wasintroduced to Niue, but its collection there (1907)make its provenance on Niue problematical, so fornow it is probably best considered to be native. Itwas found during Whistler’s 1997 visit, but notduring the ones in 2003 and 2013. It is most easilydistinguished from Canavalia rosea in being aprostrate vine with notched leaf tips rather than aclimber with the leaf tips acute. No local uses arereported, and it is name, feseka, usually refers toCanavalia sericea, the common littoral species onNiue.Prostrate vine, sometimes weakly climbing,with glabrous stems. Leaves trifoliate, alternate;leaflet blades elliptic to suborbicular, 5–16 cm long,broadly acute to subround at the base, retuse torounded at the tip; surfaces glabrous; margins entire; Canavalia rosea (Samoa)rachis 9–16 cm long. Inflorescence of several-flowered axillary racemes 5–18 cm or more in length. Calyx synsepalous, campanulate, 8–12mm long; shallowly and unequally lobed; pedicel 1–3 long. Corolla papilionaceous, pink tomagenta, 2–2.8 cm long, banner obcordate, wings oblong. Ovary superior, 1-celled, with asimple style. Stamens 10, diadelphous, enclosed within the keel. Fruit a flattened woody pod9–14 cm long and 2–2.8 cm wide, each valve with a ridge running along the edge 1.5–3 mm fromthe seam edge; seeds bean-like, dark, 1.2–1.6 cm long. Flowering and fruiting occurcontinuously. 37

Distinguishable by its prostrate vine habit; glabrous trifoliate leaves with the tips usuallynotched; axillary racemes of pink to magenta, butterfly-like flowers; and flattened woody pods2–8 cm wide with a extra an extra ridge 1.5–3 mm from the seam edge. Specimens:Smith 74—Without further locality (1901).Sykes 525—Waste place at Paliati.Sykes 1017—Near a path in fernland near Hinoki the Paliati area.Sykes 1157—Passionfruit plantation at Liku.Sykes 1284—Cleared area on terrace edge near Halagigie Point.Whistler 10800—Near the coast at the Anato Forest Area, not seen elsewhere.Desmodium heterocarpon (L.) DC.Niuean Name: noneEnglish Name: noneReason for Listing: infrequency of collectionStatus: Polynesian adventiveSuggestion Action: a search should be made of where it has already been found, and in other disturbed areas. GPS coordinates should be recorded for any individuals found, and seeds collected. A Polynesian introduction to Niue, ranging from Desmodium heterocarpon (Palau)Southeast Asia to Hawai‘i. It is rare in sunnydisturbed areas on Niue. It was probably a commonweed prior to the European era, but is nowuncommon due to competition with more aggressive,more recently introduced weeds. Sykes thought thissubshrub, which he found only in one remotelocality, might be a recent introduction to Niue. Itwas not found during Whistler’s 1997, 2003, or 2013visits. It is virtually unknown to Niueans, and nolocal names or uses are reported. The Niueanpopulation belongs to var. strigosum V. Meeuw.The specific name is sometimes incorrectly spelledheterocarpum. Erect subshrub up to 1 m in height withappressed-pubescent stems and lanceolate, striate,attenuate-tipped stipules up to 5 mm long. Leavestrifoliate, alternate; rachis 1–3 cm long, stipellate atthe tip; leaflet blades mostly obovate, 1.8–6 cm long(the terminal one the largest), rounded to subcordateat the base, emarginate to rounded at the tip; uppersurface glabrous, lower appressed-pubescent, lighterin color; petiolule 1–3 mm long, appressedpubescent. Inflorescence a terminal and sometimes 38

upper axillary, many-flowered raceme mostly 3–8 cm long. Calyx synsepalous, campanulate,1.5–2 mm long, divided about half way into 5 deltoid lobes, on a pedicel 4–6 mm long. Corollapapilionaceous, 4.5–6 mm long, pink to purple, banner suborbicular, notched at the tip, wingsnarrowly oblong. Ovary superior, 1-celled; style simple. Stamens 10, diadelphous, enclosed bythe keel. Fruit a straight, segmented legume (–0.7) 1.4–2.5 mm long, notched on one margininto 2–9 dark brown segments covered with hooked hairs. Flowering and fruiting occurcontinuously. Distinguishable by its subshrub habit; alternate, trifoliate leaves with obovate leafletsnotched at the tip; racemes of purple to pink, papilionaceous flowers; and hairy, dark brownlegumes notched along one edge into 2–9 segments. Specimens:Sykes 541—Taro plantation at Tukuofe near Tafalomahina.Tephrosia purpurea (L.) Pers.Niuean Name: kohuhuEnglish Name: noneReason for Listing: infrequency of modern collectionStatus: Polynesian cultigenSuggestion Action: a search should be made of disturbed areas and coastal areas. If found, the GPS locations should be noted and seeds collected. A Polynesian introduction to Niue, distributed Tephrosia purpurea (Tonga)from southern Africa to eastern Polynesia (Hawai‘i),but probably an ancient introduction to the easternpart of its range, including all of Polynesia. It wasprobably once cultivated or casually so, but has sincefallen into disuse and has become rare on Niue (andover most of its Polynesian distribution). Yunckernoted it as “frequent in waste areas, along roadsides,etc.” Sykes reported it as being fairly common weedof plantations, particularly those in open parts of thebasin. It was not found during any of Whistler’svisits. The principal use of the plant was forstupefying fish, a practice reported from all the higharchipelagoes of tropical Polynesia and westward toat least India. Small shrub up to 1 m in height, with finelypubescent stems and linear stipules. Leaves odd-pinnately compound, alternate; rachis mostly 4–8 cmlong; leaflets 7–13, opposite, leaflet bladesoblanceolate to obovate, 1–3.5 cm long, acute at thebase, notched at the tip, surfaces silky-pubescent;margins entire; petiolules 1–2 mm long. 39

Inflorescence of several-flowered racemes up to 20 cm long, terminal or borne opposite a leaf.Calyx synsepalous, campanulate, 4–5 mm long, divided about halfway into 5 unequal lobes,pubescent, on a pedicel mostly 4–8 mm long. Corolla papilionaceous, 6–9 mm long, thestandard white or with reddish purple to pink within. Ovary superior, style with an unlobedstigma. Stamens diadelphous, 10. Fruit a brown to straw-colored, straight, narrow pod 3–5 cmlong that splits open into two twisted valves when dry to release the 5–9 dark, oblong seeds ca. 3mm long. Flowering and fruiting reported from February to July. Distinguishable by its small shrubby habit; alternate, pinnately compound leaves; 7–13pairs of leaflets up to 3 cm long and notched at the tip; racemes of white to pink, “butterfly”flowers; and narrow, papery pods that twist apart at maturity to release the dark oblong seeds. Specimens:Yuncker 9671—Old clearing two miles south of Alofi.Yuncker 9979—Weed in dooryard at Alofi.Sykes 172—Old taro plantation at Kavaka.Sykes 442—Abandoned plantation near Namoui.Sykes 574—Plantation weed near Vaiea.Sykes 671—Open area in old plantation near Fatiau in the Vaiea area.Sykes 1158—Passionfruit plantation at Liku.Krauss 1590—Alofi.Uraria lagopodoides (L.) Desv.Uraria lagopodioides (L.) Desv. (a common misspelling)Niuean Name: uluhega?English Name: noneReason for Listing: infrequency of collectionStatus: Polynesian adventiveSuggestion Action: a search should be made of where it was found, and other disturbed areas. If found, the GPS locations should be noted and seeds collected. A Polynesian introduction to Niue, native to Uraria lagopodoides (Tonga)southern Asia. It is uncommon in disturbed placeson Niue, where it was probably accidentallyintroduced in ancient times. It was probably once acommon weed, but has now nearly disappeared sinceit cannot compete with the aggressive, more recentlyintroduced weeds. Yuncker noted it as being“occasional in waste areas and clearings.” Sykesreported it to be occasional but locally commonwhere it is found. It was not found during Whistler’sthree visits. It is virtually unknown to Niueans, andno uses or local names have been reported. 40

Prostrate or suberect subshrub with pubescent stems up to 60 cm long, and deltoid,acuminate-tipped stipules ca. 5 mm long. Leaves trifoliate, alternate; rachis 1–2.5 cm long,pubescent, with a swollen base; leaflet blades suborbicular to ovate or elliptic, 1–5.5 cm long,rounded at the base, obtuse to notched at the tip; upper surface glabrous, veins of lower surfacepubescent; margins entire; petiolules 1–2 mm long, with a linear stipel ca. 1 mm long.Inflorescence a dense, many-flowered, cylindrical, terminal raceme 2.5–5.5 cm long, the flowerssubtended by an ovate, densely hirsute bracteole 5–7 mm long. Calyx divided to near the baseinto 5 unequal, densely hirsute linear lobes, the longest ones 5–7 mm long, subsessile. Corollapapilionaceous, lavender and white; banner orbicular, ca. 3 mm long; wings falcate-oblong,adhering to the keel, ca. 3 mm long; keel enclosing the stamens. Ovary superior, 1-celled, stylefiliform with a capitate stigma. Stamens 10, diadelphous, enclosed within the keel. Fruit ablack, indehiscent, 1-seeded ovoid legume 2.5–3.5 mm long. Flowering and fruiting occurcontinuously. Distinguishable by its low-growing subshrub habit; pubescent stems; trifoliate leaves;lavender flowers borne in dense hairy raceme; and a one-seeded pod. Specimens:Yuncker 9892—Waste ground two miles south of Alofi.Yuncker 10203—Waste ground near Hikutavaki.Sykes 449—Pasture of young coconut grove at Vaipapahi Farm.Sykes 927—In pasture at Vaiea Farm. LAMIACEAELeucas decemdentata (Forst. f.) Sm.Leucas flaccida R. Br.Niuean Name: pupu eloEnglish Name: noneReason for Listing: infrequency of moderncollectionStatus: Polynesian adventiveSuggestion Action: a search should be made of where it was found, and other disturbed areas. GPS coordinates should be recorded for any individuals found, seeds collected. Indigenous or a Polynesian introduction to Niue, Leucas decemdentata (Tonga)ranging from tropical Asia to the Society Islands. Itwas probably weedy in pre-European times but isnow uncommon apparently because of its inability tocompete with more-recently introduced weeds. It isuncommon or rare in disturbed places, such asplantations. Yuncker, who collected it once, noted itas being found “along roadsides and in waste areas.”Sykes, who collected it four times, noted it to be 41

“widely scattered, but usually uncommon in plantations, waste places, and on tracks though openforest.” It was not found during Whistler’s 1997, 2003, or 2013 visits. No uses are reported, butit may be used as a medicinal plant. Herb up to 40 cm or more in height, with weak, pubescent, 4-angled stems. Leaves simple,alternate; blade ovate, 2.5–3.5 cm long, acute to rounded and slightly oblique at the base, broadlyacute at the tip; surfaces light green, finely pubescent; margins crenate; petiole 9–11 mm long.Inflorescence of 5–8-flowered axillary verticils borne at the axils. Calyx campanulate, 4.5–6mm long, pubescent, 10-ribbed, ribs extending into 10 linear teeth on top, on a pedicel 1–2 mmlong. Corolla sympetalous, bilabiate, white, tube ca. 7 mm long, lower lip reflexed, pubescent,3–4 mm long, lower lip 6–7 mm long, 3-lobed at the tip with an additional pair of lateral lobes.Ovary superior, deeply 4-lobed; style 2-lobed at the tip. Stamens 4, epipetalous, enclosedwithin the lower lip. Fruit comprising 4 dark, oblong nutlets ca. 1.5 mm long, enclosed withinand falling free of the membranous calyx. Flowering and fruiting occur continuously. Distinguishable by its herbaceous habit; square (in cross-section) stems; opposite, toothed,ovate leaves; axillary whorls of flowers; white, 2-lipped corolla; and fruit of 4-nutlets enclosedwithin the membranous, 10-toothed calyx. Specimens:Yuncker 10070—Roadside weed 2 miles east of Alofi.Sykes 300—Old clearing among taller vegetation near Namoui.Sykes 679—Along sea track in coastal forest near Vaitafe.Sykes 733—Waste place north of Alofi.Sykes 875—In plantation near Makefu. MALVACEAEHibiscus abelmoschus LNiuean Name: fou igoEnglish Name: noneReason for Listing: infrequency of moderncollectionStatus: indigenousSuggestion Action: a search should be made in disturbed areas where it may be found, and plants found should have their seeds collected and distributed for planting (it can be an attractive ornamental). A Polynesian introduction to Niue, probably Hibiscus abelmoschus (Rotuma)native to tropical Asia. It is uncommon on Niue indisturbed places and waste areas. It is not clear ifthis plant was an intentional introduction for itsshowy flowers, or was accidental. Yuncker, whocollected it twice, described it as “frequent,” butSykes, who collected it four times, noted it as“rather uncommon.” It was not found during 42

Whistler’s three most recent visits. No uses are reported, but perhaps it was once used as anornamental. Shrub up to 1.5 m in height, with sparsely or sometimes densely pubescent stems; stipuleslinear, up to 6 mm long. Leaves simple, alternate; blade suborbicular, deeply or sometimesshallowly 3- or sometimes 5-lobed, 6–20 cm long and nearly as wide, subcordate to subhastate atthe base, mostly shortly acuminate at the tip; surfaces mostly sparsely pubescent, especially onthe veins; margins toothed; petiole 5–20 cm long. Inflorescence of solitary, axillary flowersCalyx spathaceous, ca. 2.5 cm long, 5-dentate at the tip, split along one side, adnate to thecorolla and falling off with it, and subtended by an epicalyx of 7–10 linear lobes 5–18 mm long;petiole 4–13 cm long in fruit. Corolla of 5 unequally sided, obovate petals ca. 5–7 cm long,strongly veined on the outer surface, lemon yellow with purple at the base. Ovary superior, witha filamentous style surrounded by the staminal tube, stigma purple, 5-lobed. Stamens many,monadelphous, fused to form a staminal tube around the ovary and style. Fruit a many-seeded,pubescent, ovoid capsule 5–7 cm long, splitting open by 5 valves. Flowering and fruiting occurcontinuously. Distinguishable by its shrub habit; large, alternate, usually deeply lobed leaves; flowerssolitary in the axils; showy corolla of 5 lemon-yellow petals purple at the base; stamens unitedinto a tube around the 5-lobed style; and a large, hairy, ovoid capsule. Specimens:Jensen 48—Without further locality.Yuncker 9636—Clearing six miles east of Alofi.Yuncker 10162—Wasteland near Fonukula plantation.Sykes 168—In grassy area in coconut plantation at Vaiea.Sykes 638—Fernland near Fetuna.Sykes 925—Cleared fernland and rough pasture at Vaiea.Sykes 957—Old pasture at Vaiola.Sida samoensis RechingerNiuean Name: mōtofu totoloEnglish Name: noneReason for Listing: infrequency of moderncollectionStatus: Polynesian adventive or possibly indigenousSuggestion Action: a search should be made in disturbed areas where it may be found and where it has been found, and seeds should be collected from any plants found. GPS coordinates should be recorded for any individuals found. A Polynesian introduction to Niue, or perhaps Sida samoensis (Tonga)indigenous, apparently native to Fiji or somewherein western Polynesia or eastern Melanesia. This 43

plant is a mystery: although its limited regional distribution would indicate a native status, it isvirtually never found in undisturbed habitats, indicating a Polynesian introduction. It is nowuncommon to rare in disturbed places on Niue. It was probably more common before theEuropean era, before more aggressive weeds arrived on the island. Yuncker noted it as a“roadside and garden weed.” Sykes noted it as “a locally fairly common weed of waste placesand plantations…it seems to be commonest in the Alofi and Fonukula areas.” It was not foundduring Whistler’s 1997, 2003, and 2013 visits. No uses have been reported. Prostrate subshrub, much-branched, with finely stellate-pubescent stems up to 35 cm long,and equal, filiform, stipules 1–3 mm long. Leaves simple, alternate; blade orbicular to broadlyovate, 0.5–2.5 cm long, cuneate to rounded at the base, acute to obtuse at the tip; lower surfacedensely stellate-pubescent; margins serrate; petiole 3–5 mm long. Inflorescence of solitary,axillary and subterminal flowers. Calyx cup-shaped, 3.5–5 mm long, deeply divided into 5broadly ovate, apiculate, strongly ribbed lobes, on thin pedicel 1–2 cm long. Corolla rotate, with5 free, pale orange, obovate, unequally bilobed petals ca. 7–9 mm long. Ovary superior, usually1-celled, stigma 5-lobed. Stamens many, monadelphous. Fruit a flattened-globose schizocarp3–4.5 mm in diameter, breaking up at maturity into 5 mericarps, each with a pair of terminalawns ca. 1.5 mm long. Flowering and fruiting occur continuously. Distinguishable by its prostrate, somewhat woody herb habit; small, alternate leaves withtoothed margins; pale orange, 5-parted, monadelphous flowers lacking bracts below the calyx;and a rotate schizocarp that splits into 5 segments (mericarps), each bearing a pair of awns. Specimens:Yuncker 10034—Roadside weed near Alofi.Sykes 139—Waste ground at Fonuakula Farm.Sykes 616—Open short turf in coconut plantation at Lalole.Sykes 1189—Among rocks on track on lower terrace.Urena lobata L.Niuean Name: mōtipoEnglish Name: noneReason for Listing: infrequency of modern collectionStatus: Polynesian adventiveSuggestion Action: a search should be made in disturbed areas where it may be found and where it has been found, and plants found should have their seeds collected. GPS coordinates should be recorded for any individuals found. A Polynesian introduction to Niue, probably native to Asia, but now widespread indistribution. It is rare on Niue as a weed of disturbed places, such as roadsides and pastures. Itwas probably common as a weed in ancient times, but has become drastically reduced infrequency of occurrence, apparently because it cannot compete well with the numerous weedsintroduced since the beginning of the European era. Yuncker noted it as a “frequent weed inclearings and waste areas.” Sykes noted it to be locally abundant in inland places, but it was notfound during Whistler’s 1997, 2003, or 2013 visits. No local uses are reported. 44

Erect subshrub up to 2 m in height, with Urena lobata (Samoa)stellate-pubescent stems often tinged purple; stipuleslanceolate, 1–3 mm long, caducous. Leaves simple,alternate; blade ovate to elliptic, 2–10 cm long,round to subcordate at the base, acute at the tip;surfaces sparsely pubescent with stellate and simplehairs, especially on the veins; margins irregularlytoothed to shallowly 3–7-lobed or -angled; petiole 2–10 cm long, densely stellate pubescent.Inflorescence of solitary, axillary flowers. Calyxcup-shaped, 4–6 mm long, deeply divided into 5ovate sepals subtended by an involucre divided tonear base into 5 bracts 4–7 mm long, on a pedicel 2–4 mm long. Corolla rotate, 1.2–2 cm long, dividedto near base into 5 pink, obovate petals rounded atthe tip. Ovary superior, 5-celled, with a 10-branched stigma on a drooping style. Stamensnumerous, monadelphous. Fruit a subgloboseschizocarp 8–12 mm across, splitting at maturity into5 pubescent, 1-seeded subglobose mericarps 2.5–3.5mm long, covered with spines with tiny hooks at theapex. Flowering and fruiting occur continuously. Distinguishable by its subshrub habit; stellatepubescence; alternate leaves; pink 5-lobed flowers;numerous stamens fused into a stamina tube; droopingstyle; and a subglobose, bur-like fruit. Specimens:Yuncker 10048—Thicket near the seas north of Alofi.Sykes 112—Abandoned plantation at Tauli near Lakepa.Sykes 436—Abandoned plantation near Namoui. MENISPERMACEAEPachygone cf. vitiense DielsNiuean Name: noneEnglish Name: noneReason for Listing: infrequency of collectionStatus: indigenousSuggestion Action: a search should be made in areas where it has been and may be found to determine its frequency and distribution, and GPS coordinates recorded for any individuals found. Indigenous to Niue, also occurring Fiji, Tonga, the Cook Islands (Miti‘aro), Makatea, andthe Society Islands (Borabora and Mo‘orea). Smith noted only its presence in Tonga and Fiji, ashe did not see more recent collections of this plant elsewhere. It is rare in coastal forest on Niue,reported from the north end and east side of the island (once each). Sykes noted that he found 45

only one individual of this. It was found during Whistler’s 1997 visit, but not during the ones in2003 and 2013. No local names or uses are reported. The species name is only tentative, sinceno fertile material has been collected on the island.Liana, high climbing, with striate, glabrous tofinely pubescent young stems. Leaves simple,alternate; blade coriaceous, ovate to suborbicular(rarely elliptic), (3–) 5–14 cm long, truncate tosubcordate at the base, round to acute, andapiculate at the tip; surfaces glabrous, 3–5-veinedfrom near the base; margins entire; petiole 1–4 cmlong, thickened and sometimes bent distally.Inflorescence of axillary, several- to many-flowered panicles up to 11 cm long, with unisexualflowers; dioecious. Calyx (of male flowers, atleast) of 9 free, lanceolate to ovate sepals ca. 1.5 (–2.5) mm long, three in the outer whorl and 6 in theinner whorl, on a filamentous pedicel 1–10 mmlong. Corolla of 6 free, obovate-spathulate, palegreen petals ca. 1 mm long. Ovary of femaleflowers superior, of 3 carpels; style reflexed,simple; carpels reduced to pistillodes in maleflowers. Stamens of male flowers 6, epipetalous;reduced to staminodes in the female flowers.Fruit comprising 3 red, ovoid druplets 1.4–1.7 cm Pachygone cf. vitiense (Tonga)long. Flowering reported from November toMarch, fruiting in February at least, but bothprobably longer in duration and possibly throughoutthe year.Distinguishable by its liana habit; coriaceous, alternate, mostly hear-shaped leaves oftenwith a bent petiole; thin axillary panicles of tiny green flowers; and fruit consisting of threedrupelets.Specimens:Sykes 864—Clearing in the lower terrace forest along the Mutalau to Uluvehi track.Whistler 10757—One seen in coastal forest east of Liku. MYRTACEAESyzygium neurocalyx (A. Gray) Christoph.Eugenia neurocalyx A. GrayNiuean Name: koliEnglish Name: noneReason for Listing: probably no longer found on the islandStatus: Polynesian cultigen 46

Suggestion Action: nothing; probably no longer found on Niue, apparently lost from cultivationbecause it was no longer needed for its fragrant fruits.Native to Fiji, but was probably an ancientintroduction to Samoa, Tonga, Futuna, ‘Uvea, andapparently Niue. It was cultivated around housesand in plantations on Niue, but apparently fell intodisuse and disappeared before it was even collectedby any botanists. Its presence on the island isevidenced by an entry from a 1907 dictionary” “koli,name of a shrub.” In Samoa, its fragrant fruit wassuspended on a string worn around the neck, andwas used to scent coconut oil in Fiji, Tonga, andSamoa. Seemann (1865–1873) noted that “Thenatives wear the whole fruit, or part of it, aroundtheir neck, suspended on a string, for the sake of thedelicious odour, and also scent with it the cocoa-nutoil used for greasing their naked bodies.”Small tree up to 4 m (9 m in Fiji) in height,with terete, glabrous stems. Leaves simple,opposite; blade lanceolate to long-elliptic, 12–30 cmlong, rounded to subcordate at the base, rounded toacute at the tip; surfaces glabrous, glossy above,lighter, dull, and glandular-punctate below; margins Syzygium neurocalyx (Tonga)entire; petiole 1–7 mm long. Inflorescence aterminal, short, several-flowered capitate panicle. Calyx campanulate to rotate, 1.5–2 cm long,strongly 10–14-ribbed, notched into round or oblong, red- or green-tinged with red calyx lobesup to 1 cm long; sessile. Corolla of 4 white, suborbicular petals 8–15 mm long. Ovary inferior,with a simple style 3–5 cm long. Stamens many (several hundred), free, yellow, the filaments upto 2.5 cm long. Fruit a fragrant, subglobose, shallowly angled, red to purple berry up to 7.5 cmlong. Flowering reported in the South Pacific from January to August, fruits from May toDecember.Distinguishable by its small tree habit; large, opposite, shortly-stalked leaves; large flowersin short, terminal clusters; numerous spreading yellow stamens; and large red to purple,shallowly angled berry.Specimens: (none) NYCTAGINACEAEBoerhavia acutifolia (Choisy) J.W. Moore Boerhavia diffusa of some authors, non L.Niuean Name: kātuleEnglish Name: noneReason for Listing: infrequency of modern collectionStatus: Polynesian adventive 47

Suggestion Action: a search should be made in areas disturbed areas where it is most likely to befound, and GPS coordinates recorded for any individuals found.Probably an unintentional Polynesianintroduction to Niue, perhaps native to the Indo-Malayan region, but apparently an ancientintroduction eastward to the Marquesas. It isuncommon on Niue in disturbed areas such as oldplantations and dooryards. Both Yuncker (whocollected it five times) and Sykes (who collected ittwice) noted this to be a common plantation weed,but it was not found during Whistler’s 1997 and2003 visits, and only once during the 2013 survey.Sykes noted that it is particularly common in themore open areas of the central basin. The root isedible in times of famine and it may have been usedfor this.Herb, prostrate or low growing, with glabrousor pubescent, striate stems radiating from thethickened taproot. Leaves simple, opposite; bladenarrowly lanceolate to oblong or ovate, mostly 1–4cm long, acute to cordate at the base, acute at the tip;surfaces glabrous, lower surface often purple;margins undulate; petiole 3–15 mm long. Boerhavia acutifolia (Samoa)Inflorescence of several-flowered, axillary cymes,or nearly umbellate, on a peduncle 1–10 cm long.Calyx (perianth) petaloid, campanulate, white topink, 2–3 mm long, shallowly 5-lobed, on a pedicel 0–2 mm long. Corolla absent. Ovarysuperior, with a filamentous style and capitate or disc-shaped stigma. Stamens 2–4, free,exserted. Fruit a sticky, club-shaped to ellipsoid anthocarp 3–4 mm long, 5-ribbed, 1-seeded.Flowering and fruiting occur continuously.Distinguishable by its prostrate herb habit; striate stems; opposite leaves often purple on thelower surface; undulate leaf margins; tiny flowers with a pink, petaloid calyx and no corolla; anda tiny, club-shaped or ellipsoid fruit with sticky ribs.Specimens:Yuncker 9688—Waste ground near Mutalau.Yuncker 9689—Waste ground near Mutalau.Yuncker 9690—Waste ground near Mutalau. (Three in same area same day)Yuncker 10119—Dooryard weed near Makefu.Yuncker 10155—Open rocky cliff east of Alofi.Sykes 484 (169754)—Weed in plantation at Toa near Vailoa.Sykes 148—Taro plantation at Fonuakula Farm.Sykes 484—Plantation at Toa near Vaiola.Whistler 12994—Uncommon along the trail to the Talava Arches. 48

OLACACEAEXimenia americana L.Niuean Name: noneEnglish Name: noneReason for Listing: infrequency of collectionStatus: indigenousSuggestion Action: a search should be made in coastal areas, particularly near where it was recorded, and GPS coordinates recorded for any individuals found.Indigenous to Niue, pantropical in distribution.It is rare in coastal areas usually very near the shore.A single individual was found by Whistler in his1997 visit. No local names or uses have beenreported, but in Tonga and Samoa childrensometimes suck on the fruit.Erect shrub up to 3 m in height, with glabrousstems and bearing short spines in the axils. Leavessimple, alternate or in fascicles; blade elliptic, 2–7cm long, acute to rounded at the base, rounded toacute and mucronate at the tip; surfaces glabrous;margins wavy to entire; petiole 3–8 mm long.Inflorescence of several flowers in short axillaryclusters. Calyx cup-shaped, about 1 mm long,deeply 4-lobed, on a pedicel ca. 3–4 cm long.Corolla of 4 free white petals 7–9 mm long, denselyhairy inside. Ovary superior, 4-celled; style filiformwith a small capitate stigma. Stamens 8, free, withdensely pubescent filaments. Fruit an ovoid drupe1.8–2.8 cm long, with a thin yellow pericarp.Flowering and fruiting occur continuously. Distinguishable by its shrubby habit; leaves Ximenia americana (Samoa)often in fascicles; axillary spines; white flowersdensely pubescent inside; and large ovoid stone fruit.Specimens:Whistler 10861—Scrubby vegetation behind and inland of Liku. PASSIFLORACEAEPassiflora aurantia Forst. f. Passiflora samoensis ExellNiuean Name: vine kilimaō?English Name: noneReason for Listing: infrequency of collection 49

Status: indigenousSuggestion Action: a search should be made in forest areas, particularly along the forest margins, and seeds should be collected from any individuals found in fruit. GPS coordinates should be recorded for any individuals found.Indigenous to Niue, ranging from eastern Australia to Niue. It is rare in sunny forest areas,where it scrambles over shrubs and trees. Yuncker noted it was “seen occasionally in thickets,”but Sykes noted it to be “locally fairly common or common” during his visits. Whistler saw it asingle time during his 1997 visit, but not during the ones in 2003 and 2013. No uses arereported, and the name seems to be a modern one since it uses “vine” (pronounced VEE-NAY) inits recorded name.Climbing herbaceous vine up to 6 m or morein height, with mostly glabrous stems. Leavessimple, alternate; blade broadly ovate tosuborbicular, mostly 3–9 (–15) cm long, subacute tocordate at the base, acute at the tip; surfacesglabrous, 3-nerved from the base, with severalglands on the lower surface; margins 3- or 5-lobed;petioles 1.5–3.5 cm long, often with a pair of glandsalong its length. Inflorescence of solitary, axillaryflowers, borne on an articulated pedicel 1–4 cmlong. Calyx deeply 5-lobed, lobes oblong, 3–5 cmlong, keeled on the back, often petaloid on theinside, white or tinged with red or orange, turningdarker with age. Corolla of 5 cream-colored toorange or red petals similar to the sepals, but usuallyabsent; outer corona composed of purplish threadsmostly 8–12 mm long, inner corona tubular, 7–15mm long. Ovary superior, 1-celled; style with 3capitate stigmas. Stamens 5, united at the base intoan androgynophore, with versatile anthers. Fruit asubglobose capsule 2.5–5 cm long, containing manyseeds borne on parietal placenta. Flowering Passiflora aurantia (Samoa)reported from May to September, fruiting inFebruary, but both probably occur throughout the year.Distinguishable by its climbing herbaceous vine habit; axillary tendrils; alternate, trilobate,glabrous leaves; white and reddish flowers with a purple corona; and an ovoid, many-seededberry having parietal placentation.Specimens:Yuncker 9701—Thicket near Mutalau.Sykes 122—Clearing in forest on Muitauliku Road near Vinivini.Sykes 1078—New logging track in Liku forest.Whistler 10850—Forest edge along the roadside west of Hakupu. 50

PORTULACACEAEPortulaca samoensis Poell.Portulaca pilosa L. of some authorsNiuean Name: noneEnglish Name: noneReason for Listing: infrequency of collectionStatus: indigenousSuggestion Action: a search should be made in coastal areas where it was found, and elsewhere in suitable areas, to determine its range and frequency on Niue. GPS coordinates should be recorded for any individuals found.Indigenous to Niue, ranging from therewestward to New Guinea. It is rare growing oncoastal rocks on the southwest corner of the island.Sykes found this species only in one place, and it hasnot been reported on Niue since then. In his revisionof the genus, Geesink (1969) included this in thepresumably pantropic (but not occurring east ofNiue) Portulaca pilosa. Smith (1981), however,believed Portulaca samoensis to be a separate Portulaca samoensis (Samoa)species, differing in its shorter axillary hairs (up to 5mm long rather than 10 mm) that do not obscure theleafy parts of the stem. No local names are reportedand it is virtually unknown to Niueans.Succulent herb, perennial, with prostrate stems up to 20 cm or more in length, glabrousexcept for conspicuous tufts of hairs up to 5 mm long in the leaf axils. Leaves simple, alternateor opposite; blade narrowly elliptic to lanceolate, 5–10 mm long, attenuate at the base, acute atthe tip; surfaces glabrous; margins entire; subsessile. Inflorescence of 1–several flowers in ashort terminal cluster. Calyx of 2 broadly sepals united at the base, 1–1.5 mm long; sessile.Corolla of 4 or 5 free, yellow, obovate petals mostly 4–8 mm long. Ovary inferior, 1-celled;style 5-lobed. Stamens 20–30, free, yellow. Fruit a subglobose, circumscissile capsule 2.5–4.5mm long, containing numerous, tiny, dark-gray seeds. Flowering and fruiting occurcontinuously.Distinguishable by its prostrate succulent habit; conspicuous axillary tufts of hairs; smallnarrow, succulent leaves; tiny terminal, 4- or 5-merous yellow flowers; and a capsule whose capsplits off to release the many tiny dark seeds.Specimens:Sykes 252—Coral crevice near the exposed coast near Anaana, south of Halagigie Point.Sykes 894—Among wayside stones near the exposed coast near Anaana, south of HalagigiePoint. 51

SAPINDACEAEAllophylus timoriensis (DC.) Bl.Allophylus rhomboidalis (Nad.) Radlk.Niuean Name: noneEnglish Name: noneReason for Listing: infrequency of collectionStatus: indigenousSuggestion Action: a search should be made in coastal and secondary areas where it has been found, and other suitable sites should be visited to see if it has a wider distribution on Niue. GPS coordinates should be recorded for any individuals found.Indigenous to Niue, ranging from Indo-Malayato the Marquesas. It is rare in coastal and inlandareas of Niue in thickets, secondary forests, andclearings on the north end of the island. Yunckermade no mention of its frequency, but Sykes notedthat it seems to be uncommon. It was not foundduring Whistler’s 1997 or 2003 visits, but locatedonce in 2013. No local names or uses are reported Allophylus timoriensis (Samoa)and it is probably unrecognized by Niueans,especially since it is too small for timber.Small tree or shrub up to 12 m or in height (but usually much less), with subglabrous youngstems. Leaves trifoliate, alternate, rachis 3–10 cm long; blades elliptic or oblong to obovate, 6–18 cm long, terminal one largest, oblique to cuneate or attenuate at the base, acuminate torounded and sometimes notched at the tip; surfaces glabrous, often with fuzzy domatia in theaxils of the secondary veins on the lower side; margins entire to undulate, or rarely with tinyteeth terminating the secondary veins; lateral petiolules 2–12 mm long, terminal one longer.Inflorescence of terminal and upper-axillary, few-branched, many-flowered panicles up to 12 cmlong, ultimately with 4–7-flowered cymes on racemose stalks less than 2 mm long; flowersunisexual, trees monoecious, sexes mixed in the same panicles. Calyx of 4 sepals in unequalpairs, 2 reniform and 2 ovate, 2–3 mm long, on a pedicel 1–4 mm long. Corolla of 4 spathulatewhite petals as long as the sepals, densely hairy inside. Ovary of female flowers superior, 2-lobed (rarely 3), surrounded by a small, 4-lobed disk, with a sessile, 2-lobed (rarely 3) stigma;ovary sterile in male flowers. Stamens of male flowers 8, free, exserted, reduced to staminodesin the female flowers. Fruit a pair of globose, fleshy orange to red schizocarps 7–10 mm indiameter, but one often aborting. Flowering and fruiting occur continuously.Distinguishable by its small tree habit; alternate, trifoliate leaves; many-flowered paniclesor racemes of short cymose clusters; tiny white, unisexual flowers; and small, red, globose or 2-lobed fruits. 52

Specimens:Yuncker 9707—Thicket near Mutalau.Sykes 621—Secondary forest margin at Vaipapahi.Sykes 865—Edge of clearing in coastal forest near the Mutalau to Uluvehi track.Sykes (181437)—Secondary forest remnant at Vaipapahi.Whistler 13006—Uncommon on the edge of native forest along a dirt road near Fetuna.Elattostachys apetala (Labill.) Radlk.Elattostachys falcata sensu auct. non (Seem.) RadlkoferNiuean Name: lautaha?English Name: noneReason for Listing: infrequency of collectionStatus: indigenousSuggestion Action: a search should be made in forested areas on the island to see how frequent it really is. Any individuals located should have their location of collection GPS referenced, and if in fruit, the seeds collected for propagation.Indigenous to Niue, ranging from NewCaledonia to Niue. Although common in Tonga andSamoa, it is rare in primary forest on Niue. Yunckernoted it as “occasional in forested areas,” whileSykes noted it as rare. It was found duringWhistler’s 1997 visit, but not in any of the 21 forestplots that were sampled, and not during the visits in2003 and 2013. No uses have been reported, and thelocal name is questionable since it means “one leaf,”when in fact the tree has large compound leaves with Elattostachys apetala (Samoa)several leaflets.Large tree up to 20 m or more in height, with finely puberulent to glabrous stems and ablack trunk. Leaves even-pinnately compound, alternate, rachis up to 40 cm long (longer insaplings), leaflets in 3–6 subopposite or alternate pairs; leaflet blades unequally sided, lanceolateto falcate, 7–20 cm long, rounded to acute and usually somewhat oblique at the base, acuminateat the tip; surfaces glabrous, with a covered, oblong domatium often present on the lower leafsurface; margins entire; petiolule 4–14 mm long. Inflorescence a dense, axillary raceme up to15 cm long, or rarely a few-branched panicle of racemes with a puberulent rachis; flowersapparently functionally unisexual; trees monoecious. Calyx rotate, deeply 5-lobed, ca. 1 mmlong, yellowish, on a pedicel 2–4 mm long, both covered with a fine brown pubescence. Corollaof 5 tiny red, pubescent, deltoid to broadly ovate petals as long as the calyx. Ovary of femaleflowers superior, 3-celled, with a short style bearing 3 inconspicuous stigmas; ovary vestigial inmale flowers. Stamens of male flowers 8, free, exserted, anthers red, present but sterile infemale flowers. Fruit an obovoid, 3-angled capsule 1–1.7 cm long, fuzzy inside, on a stalk 4–8 53

mm long, and splitting open at maturity along 3 seams to release 3 aril-covered seeds.Flowering reported in February and March and from June to October, fruiting during mostmonths, and both perhaps periodically throughout the year. Distinguishable by its large tree habit; alternate, pinnately compound leaves; absence of tinyscales on the lower leaf surface; inconspicuous male flowers with red stamens; and femaleflowers producing a 3-lobed capsule densely hairy inside. Specimens:Yuncker 10229—Forest near Avatele.Yuncker 10245—Forest near Fatiau.Sykes 740—Primary forest along Muitauliku Road at Vinivini.Sykes 1016—Secondary forest near Hinoki in the Paliati area.Sykes 1148—Near margin of primary forest at Vinivini.Sykes s.n. (fruit)—Tapuhilia near Tuapa (legit Luka Falase).Whistler 10807—Forest along the Vinivini track. SOLANACEAENicotiana fragrans HookerNiuean Name: noneEnglish Name: noneReason for Listing: infrequency of collectionStatus: indigenousSuggestion Action: a survey of coastal areas should be made to see if this species, which is probably rare throughout its range, is more widely distributed on Niue. GPS coordinates should be recorded for any individuals found. Indigenous to Niue, also found in New Nicotiana fragrans (Niue)Caledonia (Isle of Pines) and Tonga, and wasrecently discovered in Fiji (Ono-i-Lau). It is reportedon Niue only from the northeast corner of the islandon makatea rocks near the sea. Sykes noted this fromonly two localities. It was not found duringWhistler’s 1997 or 2003, visits, but was found in oneplace in 2013 and a nearby location on a previoustrip. Stemless perennial herb up to 50 cm in height,with a woody base and densely viscid stems. Leavessimple, alternate, in a basal rosette; blade fleshy,oblanceolate to spathulate, 3–22 cm long, rounded atthe tip, attenuate at the base; surfaces denselyviscous, upper side slightly darker than lower, veinsof lower surface somewhat aqueous; margins entire;petiole tapering into the blade. Inflorescence a 54

several-flowered (4–6 flowers, rarely as many as 9) terminal raceme with a viscous rachis up to20 cm long. Calyx synsepalous, campanulate, 0.9–2.2 cm long, divided about halfway into 5unequal, lanceolate lobes, viscous on the outside, on a viscous pedicel mostly 5–15 mm long.Corolla sympetalous, salverform, white; tube 4–5.5 cm long, viscous on the outside; limb 1.8–2.5 across, divided into 5 rounded lobes 5–8 mm long slightly notched at the tip. Ovarysuperior, shallowly 4-lobed; style as long as the tube and bearing a green, capitate, 2-lobedstigma. Stamens 5, epipetalous, included, with the anthers reaching the top of the throat. Fruitan ovoid, papery capsule 1.1–1.3 cm long, enclosed within the calyx and containing many tinyblack seeds. Flowering and fruiting probably occur throughout the year. Distinguishable by its woody herb habit; alternate leaves covered with sticky hairs; narrow,several-flowered, axillary inflorescences; white salverform corolla up to 5.5 cm long, with 5rounded, spreading lobes; and many-seeded, ovoid capsule up to 1 cm long. Specimens:Sykes 682—Coastal rock crevices on the northeast coast at Vaitafe.Sykes 851—Coastal rock crevices at Valikele near the Uluvehi to Mutalau track.Whistler 4973—Coastal makatea rock at Vaitafe.Whistler 13019 (lost?)—Coastal rocks in a crevice just south of the trail to Vaitafe.Solanum amicorum Benth.Solanum uporo sensu Yuncker, non DunalNiuean Name: noneEnglish Name: noneReason for Listing: infrequency of collectionStatus: indigenousSuggestion Action: a survey of coastal areas should be made to see if this species, which is probably increasing rare in the rest of its range (Tonga), is more widely distributed on the island. GPS coordinates should be recorded for any individuals found. Indigenous to Niue, also found in Tonga, and Solanum amicorum (Tonga)there is one record of its being collected in Samoa inthe late 1800s, but this record is doubtful. It is rareon Niue in coastal areas and thickets on the west sideof the island. It was not listed in Yuncker, but two ofhis specimens, one identified as Solanum uporo andthe other not included in his publication, belong here.Sykes did not find this species. It was found duringWhistler’s 1997 visit, but not during the ones in 2003and 2013. Subshrub up to 1.3 m or more in height withdistinctly stellate-pubescent stems. Leaves simple, 55

alternate; blade broadly ovate, mostly 8–18 cm long and 4.5–10 cm wide, round to subtruncateand often somewhat oblique at the base, acute to broadly so at the tip; surfaces stellate-pubescenton the veins, especially on the lower side; margins subentire; petiole 1.5–4 cm long, denselystellate-pubescent. Inflorescence of axillary and terminal, several-flowered cymes. Calyxsynsepalous, broadly cup-shaped to rotate, 1.5–2 mm long, shallowly divided into 5 apiculatelobes, stellate-pubescent on the outside, on a pedicel 1–1.5 cm long. Corolla sympetalous,rotate, ca. 1.2–1.8 cm wide, white or yellowish white, densely stellate-pubescent on the outside,divided about halfway to the base into 5 triangular lobes. Ovary superior, with a short style andcapitate stigma. Stamens 5, epipetalous, yellow. Fruit a subglobose berry ca. 8–10 mm indiameter, dull orange-red. Flowering and fruiting probably occur throughout the year. Distinguishable by its subshrub habit; alternate, mostly broadly ovate leaves with stellate-pubescence on the veins (especially on the lower side); several-flowered clusters of white, wheel-shaped flowers with yellow stamens; and dull, red-orange fruit much like a cherry tomato up to 1cm in diameter. Specimens:Yuncker 10103—Thicket near Makefu.Yuncker 10039—Thicket on sea cliff north of Alofi.Whistler 10824—Along the coast in a village at Makefu (Maleoa).Solanum ferox L.Solanum album sensu Yuncker, non Lour.Solanum repandum Forst. f.Solanum uporo sensu Sykes pro parte, non DunalNiuean Name: loku mokaEnglish Name: Polynesian tomatoStatus: Polynesian cultigenReason for Listing: infrequency of collectionSuggested Action: conduct a survey of waste areas and plantations, and ask farmers if they know where it grows. GPS coordinates should be recorded for any individuals found and seeds collected for propagation. A Polynesian introduction to Niue, native to Solanum ferox (Fiji)somewhere in Melanesia, recorded from New Britainto the Marquesas. It is currently uncommon in oldplantations, probably in places where it was formerlycultivated for its tomato-like fruit. It fell into disuse,probably because of the comparative superior qualityof introduced tomatoes. Originally the Polynesian andMelanesian form was thought to belong to a separatespecies, Solanum repandum, but they now appear to bea cultivars of an Asian species, Solanum ferox, and, 56

according to Heiser (1996), are correctly called Solanum ferox var. repandum (Forst. f.) Bitter.Yuncker noted that he did not find this plant, but he actually did, but misidentified it. Sykesnoted it was found in only three places during his visits. He listed his specimen 748 here, but itas not seen, and listed 749 under Solanum uporo, which was examined. Whistler found it duringhis 1997 visit, but not the ones in 2003 and 2013. Shrub up to 1.5 m in height, unarmed, but stems covered with simple or stellate pubescence,at least when young. Leaves simple, alternate; blade broadly ovate, 13–35 cm long, obtuse totruncate and often unequally-sided at the base, rounded to acute at the tip; upper surface sparselypubescent, lower side densely stellate-pubescent; margins with 3–5 lobes at the lateral veinterminations; petiole 3–11 cm long. Inflorescence a 5–12-flowered axillary cyme up to 1.5 cmlong. Calyx synsepalous, campanulate, deeply divided into 5 ovate, acute-tipped lobes 5–9 mmlong, pubescent on the outside, on a pedicel 5–15 mm long in flower (elongating in the fruit).Corolla white, sympetalous, star-shaped, deeply divided into 5 ovate to nearly lanceolate lobes5–9 mm long. Ovary superior, 4–6-celled, with numerous ovules; style simple with a capitatestigma; ovary sterile in the upper flowers on the cyme. Stamens 5, epipetalous, yellow. Fruit asubglobose, many-seeded, red to yellow berry 4–5 cm long, pubescent, 1 (2–4) forming perinflorescence. Flowering and fruiting occur throughout the year. Distinguishable by its shrubby habit; pubescence often of star-shaped hairs; large, alternateleaves; lobed leaf margins; white, 5-lobed flowers in short axillary cymes; and fuzzy, red toyellow, tomato-like berries usually borne singly or in pairs. Specimens:Smith 47—Without further locality.Yuncker 10221—Weed in plantation near Alofi.Sykes 607—Abandoned taro plantation at Niufela.Sykes 748?(not seen)—Banana plantation at Utuhina near Muitauliku Road.Whistler 10819—Plantation at Makefu (Maleoa).Solanum viride Sol. ex Forst. f. Solanum uporo Dun. Solanum tongaense St. JohnNiuean Name: polo itiEnglish Name: noneStatus: Polynesian cultigenReason for Listing: infrequency of collectionSuggested Action: conduct a survey of waste areas and plantations, and ask farmers if they know where it grows. GPS coordinates should be recorded for any individuals found, and seeds collected from fruiting individuals. Probably an ancient introduction to Niue, originally native to somewhere in easternMelanesia, but spread naturally or introduced by ancient Polynesians eastward across the Pacificto Hawai‘i. The exact native range is difficult to determine: it still occurs in native habitats andhas a fruit that appears to be attractive to birds, but it was apparently cultivated on many islandswhere it has disappeared after cultivation was terminated. It is currently rare on Niue in old 57

plantations and cleared areas. Yuncker misappliedthis name to Solanum amicorum. Sykes noted thatthe species was very rare at the time of his visits.It was not found during Whistler’s visits. Thefruits were probably once used as a minor foodsource and possibly for decoration, and the plantprobably had medicinal uses. Smith recorded thename as simply polo.Shrub up to 2 m in height with nearlyglabrous to pubescent stems. Leaves simple,alternate; blade ovate, mostly 8–18 cm long,unequal and usually decurrent at the base, acute atthe tip; surfaces glabrous to pubescent with simpleand branched hairs; margins subentire to shallowlylobed; petiole 1–3 cm long. Inflorescence ofaxillary and terminal, several-flowered cymes.Calyx synsepalous, 2–7 mm long, 5-lobed, on apedicel 4–20 mm long (1–5 cm long in fruit).Corolla sympetalous, rotate, white or yellowishwhite, often pubescent on the outside, divided to Solanum viride (Samoa)near the base into 5 lobes 5–12 mm long. Ovarysuperior, with a short style and capitate stigma.Stamens 5, epipetalous, yellow. Fruit a subglobose or ellipsoid berry mostly 1–2 cm indiameter, glossy red. Flowering and fruiting probably occur throughout the year.Distinguishable by its subshrub habit; alternate, mostly glabrous, ovate leaves; several-flowered clusters of white, wheel-shaped flowers with yellow stamens; and red fruit much like acherry tomato.Specimens:Smith 63—Without further locality.Sykes 569—Taro plantation near Hakupu.Sykes 627—Middle of a newly cleared track at Malafasi.Sykes 749—Banana plantation at Utuhina near Muitauliku Road. THYMELAEACEAEWikstroemia foetida (L. f.) A. GrayNiuean Name: noneEnglish Name: noneStatus: indigenousReason for Listing: infrequency of collectionSuggested Action: conduct a survey of the area around Matapa Chasm to see if any other individuals are found in the area. 58

Indigenous to Niue, ranging from Fiji toTahiti. This shrub is rare on coastal limestonecliffs at Matapa Chasm, where it was recorded asnew species record for Niue during the presentsurvey. No uses or Niuean names have beenrecorded for this inconspicuous shrub.Shrub up to 2 m in height, with glabrous, red-brown stems. Leaves opposite, simple, bladelanceolate, 2–4.5 cm long, rounded at the base,acute at the tip; surfaces glabrous, upper sidedarker, veins of lower side aqueous; marginssubentire; petiole 1.5–3 mm long. Inflorescence aterminal, several-flowered (6–8) umbel on a rachisless than 1 cm long. Calyx synsepalous,salverform, petaloid, yellow, tube 6–8 mm long,limb divided into 4 spreading ovate lobes 2–3 mmlong. Ovary superior, with a yellowish green,subsessile, capitate stigma. Stamens episepalous,8, attached at 2 levels in the calyx throat. Fruit ared, ovoid drupe 6–7 mm long, containing 1 black Wikstroemia foetida (Samoa)seed. Flowering and fruiting occur continuously.(2 July 2000)Distinguishable by its shrub habit; red-brown stems; opposite leaves with short petioles;yellowish-green, petaloid calyx with 4 rounded lobes; and red drupe containing a single largeblack seed.Specimens:Whistler 12995—Cliff face at Matapa chasm, only one individual seen. ULMACAEAETrema cannabina Lour.Trema orientalis (L.) Bl.Niuean Name: mageleEnglish Name: noneStatus: indigenousReason for Listing: infrequency of collectionSuggested Action: conduct a survey of thickets and disturbed places to see if it still occurs on the island, and GPS coordinates recorded for any individuals found. The species is a common tree elsewhere in Polynesia. Indigenous to Niue, ranging from India to western Polynesia. It is rare in thickets anddisturbed forest on Niue. Yuncker noted that it is “occasional in thickets,” but Sykes did not findit, nor was it found during Whistler’s visits. No uses are reported. 59

Medium-sized tree up to 12 m in height, withpubescent stems and caducous, lanceolate stipulesup to 4 mm long, not forming a ring around thestem. Leaves simple, alternate, distichous; bladelanceolate, 6–15 (–20) cm long, cordate andsometimes unevenly so at the base, long-attenuateat the tip; upper surface scabrous to hispidulous,lower side hispidulous, sometimes densely so, 3-veined from the base with the midrib furtherdivided; margins finely serrate; petiole 4–18 mmlong, hispid. Inflorescence a several-flowered(mostly 6–25), axillary cyme up to 3 cm long;flowers unisexual, male and female in the sameinflorescence, trees monoecious. Calyx of 5green, ovate, pubescent sepals 1–1.5 mm long, ona pedicel 1–4 mm long. Corolla absent. Ovary offemale flowers superior, pubescent, with a sessile,2-branched stigma; ovary vestigial in the maleflowers. Stamens 5, free, sessile, anthers white,absent in the female flowers. Fruit a black, ovoidto subglobose drupe 3–4 mm long. Flowering andfruiting occur continuously. Trema cannabina (Samoa) Distinguishable by its medium-sized treehabit; free stipules; coarse, alternate, lanceolate leaves cordate at the base; pubescent leafsurfaces; long-attenuate leaf tip; tiny green flowers; and black ovoid drupes borne in short, denseclusters.Specimens:Yuncker 10223—Thicket near Avatele.Yuncker 10230—Thicket near Hakupu.Yuncker 10231—Thicket near Hakupu (same as previous specimen). URTICACEAEDendrocnide harveyi (Seem.) ChewLaportea harveyi Seem.Niuean Name: magihoEnglish Name: stinging-nettle treeStatus: indigenousReason for Listing: infrequency of collectionSuggested Action: conduct a survey of secondary forest and coastal areas to determine its distribution on the island, and GPS coordinates recorded for any individuals found. It is a common tree elsewhere in Polynesia. 60

Indigenous to Niue, ranging from Fiji to Tahiti(but probably extinct in the latter, andconsequently, Niue has the current easternmostdistribution). It is uncommon in secondary forest,especially in coastal areas. Sykes noted that it is arather uncommon species “seen only in a lowerterrace area on the east side of Niue and in thecentral area known as Lefuka.” It was foundduring Whistler’s 1997 and 2003 visits, and wasrecorded in one of the 21 forest plots sampledduring the former visit. The wood is too soft to beof much use (large trees can fairly easily be cutdown with a bush knife). The inflorescence, atleast, has stinging hairs.Large tree up to 20 m in height, with softwood, glabrous to densely puberulent stems;stipules up to 3 cm long and connate around thestem at the axil; bark light brown, thin, greenunderneath, wood white oxidizing to pale orange.Leaves simple, alternate; blade ovate to lanceolate,13–40 cm long, rounded to cordate or peltate at thebase, acute to shortly acuminate at the tip; surfaces Dendrocnide harveyi (Tonga)glabrous, especially the lower side, pinnate or 3- or5-nerved from the base, veins often purple (especially on the lower surface); margins dentate orcrenate to subentire; petiole 2–12 cm long, glabrous to puberulent. Inflorescence a many-flowered, axillary panicle up to 15 cm long, on a peduncle sometimes armed with stinging hairs;flowers unisexual, trees dioecious. Calyx of the male flowers comprising 4 (5) green, ovatesepals ca. 1.5 mm long, those of the female flowers 4-lobed, green, less than 0.2 mm long, on apedicel 1–2 mm long. Corolla absent. Ovary of female flowers superior, with a reflexed linearstigma; ovary vestigial in male flowers. Stamens of male flowers 4, free, exserted on a curvedfilament at anthesis, absent in female flowers. Fruit an irregularly ellipsoid achene ca. 1.5 mmin diameter, embedded in the fleshy, light-green, angled pedicel. Flowering and fruiting occurthroughout the year.Distinguishable by its large tree habit; soft-wood; alternate, ovate leaves with purple veins;stinging hairs typically on the inflorescence; tiny, greenish flowers; and tiny seed-like fruitsembedded in their swollen pedicels.Specimens:Yuncker 9927—Thicket 3 miles southwest of Lakepa.Sykes 535—Near road through forest at Lefuka.Sykes 844—Rather open forest on the lower terrace on the liku to Tautu track.Sykes 845—Rather open forest on the lower terrace on the Liku to Tautu track.Sykes 1269—Roadside margin of old secondary forest at Lefuka.Whistler 10813—One tree found in secondary forest at Tuanaki. 61

Laportea interrupta (L.) ChewFleurya interrupta (L.) Gaud.Niuean Name: ogoogoEnglish Name: noneStatus: Polynesian adventiveReason for Listing: infrequency of collectionSuggested Action: conduct a survey of villages to determine its distribution on the island, and GPS coordinates recorded for any individuals found. The species is more common elsewhere in Polynesia.A Polynesian introduction to Niue and as far eastas Tahiti, probably native to Southeast Asia. It isuncommon in disturbed places on Niue, especially inplantations and around houses. Yuncker noted it as“occasional in waste areas and clearings.” Sykesnoted that it “seems to have remained rare and wasseen only occasionally in plantations and wasteplaces on the west side of Niue.” However, two of Laportea interrupta (Cooks)the specimens he ascribed to this species are actuallymisidentifications, and belong to Acalypha indica.Laportea was not found during Whistler’s visits.Erect herb up to 80 cm in height, with irritant hairs on the foliage and inflorescence, andpubescent stems reddish at the base. Leaves simple, alternate; blade ovate, 3–17 cm long,rounded to subcordate at the base, acuminate at the tip; surfaces with imbedded cystoliths, uppersurface appressed-pubescent, lower surface with scattered hairs; margins serrate; petiole 1–13 cmlong. Inflorescence of narrow, axillary panicles up to 25 cm long with flowers in fascicles;flowers unisexual, plants monoecious. Calyx of 4 or 5 greenish, ovate sepals 0.3–1.5 mm long,pubescent on the outside, on a pedicel less than 1 mm long. Corolla absent. Ovary of femaleflower superior, celled, stigma 3-lobed; absent in male flowers. Stamens of male flowers 4 or 5,free, absent in female flowers. Fruit a green, compressed-ovoid achene 1.5–2 mm longsurrounded by a membranous wing that is dispersed with the achene. Flowering and fruitingoccur continuously.Distinguishable by its herbaceous habit; irritant hairs; alternate, ovate leaves with coarselytoothed margins; long, narrow panicles of inconspicuous green flowers in clusters at intervalsalong the axis; and small, ovoid, seed-like fruits.Specimens:Jensen 27—Without further locality.Yuncker 10235—Waste area near Alofi.Sykes 1116—In semi-shade beside a shed at the Alofi wharf. 62

CYPERACEAEFimbristylis ovata (Burm. f.) KernFimbristylis cf. acuminata Vahl of YunckerNiuean Name: noneEnglish Name: noneStatus: Polynesian adventiveReason for Listing: infrequency of collectionSuggested Action: conduct a survey of plantations and fernlands to determine its distribution on the island. Areas where it is found should have their GPS coordinates recorded, and seeds collected to be planted for conservation.Indigenous, or perhaps a Polynesianintroduction because it does not have a naturalhabitat on Niue, probably native to somewhere in theOld World tropics. It is rare in disturbed places onNiue. Yuncker noted it to be “infrequent” in wasteground, while Sykes noted it as a rare plant seen inonly two villages. It was not found during Fimbristylis ovata (Fiji)Whistler’s three survey visits. No local names oruses are reported for this inconspicuous weed.Medium-sized sedge, erect, densely tufted, up to 40 cm in height arising from a shortrhizome. Culms erect, slender, 10–40 cm long, less than 1 mm in diameter. Leaves basal,linear, 1/2 to 2/3 as long as the culms, 0.5–1.2 mm wide; sheaths 1–3 cm long, brown, eventuallydisintegrating into fibers. Inflorescence a solitary, terminal, yellow-brown to yellow-green,many-flowered ovoid spikelet 6–15 mm long, subtended by 2 or 3 scale-like bracts, the lowestone setose, up to 1 cm long. Glumes 2-ranked below, imbricate above, ovate, 3–6 cm long, 3-nerved, mucronate with an acute keel. Ovary superior; style lobes 3. Stamens 3, free. Fruit awhite, broadly ovate achene 2–3 mm long. Flowering and fruiting occur continuously.Distinguishable by its sedge habit; densely tufted, erect filamentous culms; basal linearleaves over half as long as the culms; and solitary, terminal ovoid spikelet 5-15 mm long.Specimens:Yuncker 9871—Waste area at Fonukula.Sykes 855 (2)—Waste ground near a house at Mutalau.Mariscus seemannianus (Boeck.) PallaNiuean Name: noneEnglish Name: noneStatus: indigenousReason for Listing: infrequency of modern collection 63

Suggested Action: conduct a survey of villages and plantations to determine its distribution on the island.Indigenous to Niue, ranging from Fiji to theSociety Islands. It is uncommon in clearings,secondary forest, and open primary forest on Niue.Sykes noted that it was “not growing commonlyanywhere, but it probably occurs in most forestedareas above the lower terrace.” It was not foundduring Whistler’s three survey visits. No localnames or uses have been reported.Medium-sized sedge, erect, loosely tufted, upto 60 (–80) cm in height. Culms subterete, 1–3 mmin diameter, striate, glabrous. Leaves many, basal,linear, up to 90 cm long, 3–7 (–9) mm wide, withscabrid cutting edges. Inflorescence of (6–) 8–12rays mostly 1–10 cm long, bearing terminalcylindrical spikes 1.5–4 cm long, 3–12 cm long, 5–8(–10) mm wide, these sometimes further branched,bearing numerous spikelets borne sub-densely andperpendicular to the rachis; involucre bracts 6–8,unequal, up to 30 (–70) cm long, 2–8 mm wide.Spikelets lanceolate in outline, 3–4 (–6) mm long,mostly 3-flowered, shiny red-brown, often crowded Mariscus seemannianus (Samoa)at the ends of the rays. Glumes 5–7 (–10),imbricate; the lowest one subulate, the middle ones broadly ovate, mostly 1.5–3 mm long, 7–9-veined, the veins usually yellowish with red-brown in between, usually with a green keel; theupper glume narrowly lanceolate. Ovary superior, 1-celled, with 3 stigmas. Stamens 3, free.Fruit a broadly spindle-shaped, tessellated, 3-angled achene ca. 1.7 mm long. Flowering andfruiting occur continuously.Distinguishable by its medium-sized sedge habit; coarse, sharp-edged green leaves; 6–8large, leaf-like bracts; inflorescence of 8–12 cylindrical spikes or panicles usually with a distinctstalk; and red-brown spikelets.Specimens:Sykes 427—Taro plantation in secondary forest at Mataaho.Sykes 428—On a rock in open secondary forest at Mataaho.Sykes 559—Beside the track on the upper terrace near Halagigie Point.Sykes 667—Among rocks along the track in coastal forest between Fagafou and Fasiau. ORCHIDACEAEBulbophyllum distichobulbum CribbBulbophyllum sp. (2 spp.) of YunckerBulbophyllum sp. nova of Sykes 64

Niuean Name: noneEnglish Name: noneStatus: indigenousReason for Listing: nearly endemicSuggested Action: A sampling of forest trees, by binocular, should be undertaken to determine its frequency in primary forest, and GPS coordinates of individuals found recorded.Indigenous to Niue, also found on Tutuila inAmerican Samoa. It is uncommon (or perhapsoccasional to common, but difficult to spot in thetree canopy) in primary forest on Niue. It wascollected twice by Yuncker, who noted for bothspecimens that it occurred on trees in deep forest.Sykes noted it being “seemingly very common highup on trees in Niuean forests.” It was found duringWhistler’s 1997 visit, but not the ones in 2003 and2013. The species is significant because, although itis not endemic, it occurs on only one other island(Tutuila), where it is rare. No local names or useshave been reported. Small epiphytic herb with a short ascendingrhizome with subspherical, angular pseudobulbs 4–5mm in diameter. Leaves simple, solitary on thepseudobulb; blade coriaceous, elliptic or elliptic-obovate, 2.1–4 × 1–1.5 cm, acute at the base, acuteand apiculate at the tip; surfaces glabrous; marginsentire; subsessile. Inflorescence much longer thanthe leaf, 1-flowered, glabrous; peduncle slender,filamentous, 5–5.5 cm long; bract sheathing, acute to Bulbophyllum distichobulbum (Samoa)acuminate, ca. 4 mm long. Flower yellow; pediceland ovary 5–5.5 cm long. Dorsal sepal linear-lanceolate, acuminate, 11–14 × 1.5–2.1 mm.Lateral sepals obliquely lanceolate, acuminate, ca. 14× 2–2.5 mm. Petals transversely oblong,aristate at apex, ca. 3 × 1 mm. Lip fleshy, narrowly ellipsoidal, auriculate at base, rounded infront, ca. 4.5 × 1.5 mm, hairy; basal auricles erect; callus of two short ridges between auricles.Column ca. 2.5 mm long including the ca. 1.5 mm long apical, aristate stelidia; foot swollen atbase, ca. 1.5 mm long. Fruit a fusiform capsule ca. 1.5–2 cm long. Flowering and fruitingprobably occur throughout the year.Distinguishable by its small epiphytic orchid habit; small, coriaceous, elliptic leaves up to 4cm long borne singly atop a pseudobulb; and solitary yellow flower borne atop a longfilamentous pedicel up to 5.5 cm long.Specimens:Yuncker 9808—On tree in forest near rise to upper terrace near Alofi.Yuncker 9923—On tree in forest three miles southwest of Lakepa.Sykes 347—High up a tree in primary forest along Muitauliku Road at Vinivini.Sykes 769—On a felled tree at Moko near Segisegi. 65

Sykes 878—On a tree in upper terrace forest near Makefu.Whistler 10765—Forest canopy southeast of the Vinivini track.Whistler 10840—Occasional in forest canopy near Fetuna.Bulbophyllum longiscapum RolfeNiuean Name: noneEnglish Name: noneStatus: indigenousReason for Listing: infrequency of collectionSuggested Action: A sampling of forest trees, by binocular, should be undertaken to determine its frequency in primary forest, and GPS coordinates of individuals found recorded.Indigenous to Niue, also found in the SolomonIslands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, and WallisIsland. It is apparently uncommon in the canopy ofprimary forest on Niue. Yuncker noted it occurred“on trees in deep forest.” Sykes noted “ratheruncommon and was rarely seen.” It was foundduring Whistler’s 1997 visit, but not the ones in2003 and 2013. No local names or uses have beenreported. The Bishop Museum specimens of thisspecies were not located.Creeping epiphytic herb with an elongatedrhizome 3–4.5 mm in diameter, bearing widely Bulbophyllum longiscapum (Samoa)spaced narrowly conical-ovoid pseudobulbs, 2–4.5 ×0.8–1.8 cm. Leaves simple, solitary on the pseudobulb;blade coriaceous, broadly acute, 11.5–23 × 2–3.5 cm, attenuate at the base, acute and apiculate atthe tip; surfaces glabrous; margins entire; petiole 2–6 cm long. Inflorescence a raceme 25–79cm long, arising from the rhizome; bracts broadly ovate, acuminate, 8–12 mm long. Flowersproduced sequentially, white or greenish yellow marked with dull purple or red at base ofsegments; pedicel and ovary 10–15 mm long. Dorsal sepal lanceolate, acuminate, 25–30 × 5–5.5 mm. Lateral sepals weakly spreading, obliquely lanceolate, attenuate, acute, 30–35 × 6.5–7.5 mm. Petals broadly ovate, acuminate, briefly setiform at apex, ca. 2 × 1.5 mm. Lip veryfleshy, porrect, oblong-lanceolate, narrowly obtuse, 26–32 × 8–9 mm; side margins revolute,crenate-undulate distally; callus comprising two prominently raised keels that coalesce in front.Column ca. 5 mm long; foot 7–8 mm long. Fruit a narrowly fusiform capsule 4–6 cm long.Flowering and fruiting occur throughout the year.Distinguishable by is epiphytic orchid habit; coriaceous elliptic leaves 11 to 23 cm longborne singly atop a pseudobulb; several-flowered, terminal raceme borne atop a long peduncle;showy white or greenish yellow and purple flowers; and narrow capsule 4–6 cm long. 66

Specimens:Yuncker 9806—Uncommon epiphyte in forest near rise to upper terrace near Alofi. (Not found at the Bishop Museum herbarium.)Sykes 630—Fallen tree in forest at Malafati.Sykes (CRH no. 150588)—Specimen not located at Christchurch.Whistler 10769—Uncommon in forest canopy southeast of Vinivini track.Didymoplexis micradenia (Reichenb. f.) Hemsl.Didymoplexis pallens Griff.Niuean Name: noneEnglish Name: noneStatus: indigenousReason for Listing: infrequency of collectionSuggested Action: A sampling of native forest should be made to determine the orchid’s frequency in this habitat, and GPS coordinates recorded for any individuals found.Indigenous to Niue, ranging westward to NewCaledonia. It is uncommon in native forest on Niue.Yuncker did not find this species, but Sykes noted itsbeing “apparently common in scattered pockets inthe more forested areas…” It was found duringWhistler’s 1997 visit, but not during the ones in2003 and 2013. No local names or uses have beenreported.Leafless terrestrial herb 7–10 cm in height(up to 30 cm in fruit), with irregularly cylindrical-fusiform tubers up to 4 cm long and 0.8 cm in Didymoplexis micradenia (Samoa)diameter; roots slender, filiform. Inflorescenceerect, slender, up to 10 cm long, pinkish brown;peduncle purplish, bearing 2 or 3 short, sheathing cataphylls; bracts ovate-acuminate, 1–1.5 mmlong. Flowers small, dull flesh-brown with a whitish lip; peduncle elongating rapidly afterfertilization, 5–20 cm long. Dorsal sepal oblong-ovate, blunt, adnate to petals, forming a hoodover the column, 5.5–6.6 × 2.5–3.5 mm. Lateral sepals almost fused, oblong to oblong-lanceolate, obtuse, 5–6 × 1.5–2 mm. Lip oblong-cuneiform, weakly 3-lobed at apex, 5.5–6.5 ×2.5–3 mm; callus of 3 ridges of papillae. Column 4.5–5.5 mm long; foot 0.3–0.5 mm long.Fruit a narrowly ellipsoid capsule 1.7–3 cm long, with the persistent perianth on top. Floweringand fruiting have been reported from August to October. Distinguishable by its leafless terrestrial orchid habit; purplish peduncle bearing severalflesh-brown and white flowers; and fusiform fruit.Specimens:Sykes 387—Primary forest in the Huvalu Conservation Area. 67

Sykes 459—Along a recently cleared path in secondary forest at Vaipapahi.Whistler 10787—Uncommon in coastal forest along the Vaikona coast.Whistler 10880—Uncommon in coastal forest at Togo.Eulophia pulchra (Thou.) Lindl.Eulophidium pulchrum (Thou.) Summerh.Eulophia nuda Lindl. ex Wallich, according to Kores (Smith 1995)Niuean Name: noneEnglish Name: noneStatus: indigenousReason for Listing: infrequency of collectionSuggested Action: A sampling of native forest should be made to determine the orchid’s frequency in this habitat, and GPS coordinates recorded for any individuals found.Indigenous to Niue, ranging westward as far asMadagascar. It is uncommon to rare in coastal forestand plantations on Niue. Sykes noted that “it seems tobe scattered throughout Niue in rather open forest, andis probably commoner near the coast because the forestis generally less dense on the lower terrace.” It was notfound during Whistler’s three survey visits. No localnames or uses have been reported.Medium-sized terrestrial herb up to 50 cm inheight with cylindrical pseudobulbs 6–10 cm long.Leaves simple, alternate, 2–3-leafed from thepseudobulb apex; blade elliptic, 18–28 × 4.5–7 cm,attenuate to acute at the base, acuminate at the tip; Eulophia pulchra (Tonga)surfaces glabrous, plicate; margins entire; petiolearticulated in middle, up to 10 cm long. Inflorescence a terminal, several-flowered raceme 40–75 cm long. Flowers green and yellow with red stripes on the lip. Sepals ovate, 8–10 mm long.Petals narrower, 7–9 mm long. Lip 4-lobed with a small basal, bilobed callus; spur short,globular, ca. 3 mm long. Fruit an ellipsoid capsule 2.5–3 cm long, with the perianth persistenton top. Flowering and fruiting probably occur throughout the year.Distinguishable by its medium-sized terrestrial orchid habit; plicate leaves up to 28 cmlong; terminal raceme 40–75 cm long; and green and yellow flowers with red stripes on the lip.Specimens:Sykes 378—Rather open coastal forest along the Lakepa to Puluhiki track.Sykes 747—Banana plantation at Utuhina along the Alofi to Liku road. 68

Geodorum densiflorum (Lam.) SchlechterGeodorum pictum (R. Br.) Lindl.Niuean Name: noneEnglish Name: noneStatus: indigenousReason for Listing: infrequency of collectionSuggested Action: A sampling of native forest should be made to determine the orchid’s frequency in this habitat, and GPS coordinates recorded for any individuals found.Indigenous to Niue, ranging westward to SriLanka. It is rare in sunny open places on Niue.Sykes noted that Yuncker was correct when he statedthat this terrestrial orchid is not common on Niue,and Sykes only saw a few individuals of it at onelocation. It was not found during Whistler’s threesurvey visits. No local names or uses have beenreported. Medium-sized terrestrial herb 20–50 cm in Geodorum densiflorum (Tonga)height, with clustered, subglobose pseudobulbs 1.3–2.6 cm in diameter covered by scarious sheaths when young. Leaves simple, alternate, 2–5 perplant; blade ovate to elliptic-ovate, 18–40 × 4.5–7 cm, attenuate and sheathing at the base,acuminate at the tip; surfaces glabrous, plicate; margins entire; petiole sheath-like, 6–18 cm long,the lowermost 2 smaller and bract-like. Inflorescence a several-flowered raceme 35 cm or morein length, with an erect peduncle and a recurved rachis, with the flowers crowded near the tip;bracts linear lanceolate, 1–1.3 cm long. Flowers pale pinkish white to pale purple with reddishmarks and yellow blotches on lip; ovary 5–9 mm long. Sepals oblong-obovate, abruptlyacuminate, 10–12 × 3–3.5 mm. Petals oblong to oblong-elliptic, obtuse to subacute, 9.5–11 ×3.5–4.5 mm. Lip cymbiform, slightly constricted in middle, weakly bilobed at apex, saccate atbase, 11–13 × 10–12 mm; callus a small transverse ridge at base and warts or keels in front.Column ca. 3 mm long; foot ca. 3 mm long. Fruit a fusiform-ellipsoid, strongly ridged capsule2.4–3.2 cm long. Flowering reported from November to April, fruiting from May to November,but both probably of much longer duration or year round.Distinguishable by it medium-sized terrestrial orchid habit; 2–5 plicate leaves 18–40 cmlong; raceme drooping at the tip; and pinkish to pale purple flowers crowded at the raceme tip.Specimens:Yuncker 10098—In thicket near Makefu, not common.Sykes 786—By coral boulder in taro plantation near the Tuhia‘atu to Hakupu track.Nervilia concolor (Bl.) Schltr.Nervilia aragoana Gaud. 69

Niuean Name: noneEnglish Name: noneStatus: indigenousReason for Listing: infrequency of collectionSuggested Action: A sampling of native forest should be made to determine the orchid’s frequency in this habitat, and GPS coordinates recorded for any individuals found.Indigenous to Niue, ranging from the Malay archipelago to the Society Islands. It isuncommon in primary forest, clearings, and even in disturbed places such as villages. Yunckersaw only one sterile specimen, and Sykes noted that this orchid did not seem to be very common.Because the leaves are seasonal, it may be more common than first impressions would indicate.It was not found during Whistler’s 1997 or 2003 visits. No local names or uses have beenreported.Terrestrial stemless herb arising from anunderground tuber. Leaf solitary, erect; blade heart-shaped, 12–15 × 14–18 cm, cordate at the base, acuteat the tip; surfaces glabrous, plicate, upper side oftenmarked with dark maroon; margins entire; petiole15–30 cm long. Inflorescence a laxly 5–15-floweredraceme up to 45 cm long, bearing linear to linear-lanceolate bracts 15–25 mm long. Flowers pendentor nodding, probably self-pollinating, white orgreenish yellow with a white lip marked with rose orviolet veins; pedicel and ovary 1–1.5 cm long.Sepals and petals linear-lanceolate, acute, 2–2.5 cmlong. Lip 3-lobed near the apex, 2–2.4 cm long; sidelobes small, erect, triangular; midlobe subovate, acuteto obtuse, with undulate margins; callus puberulent inmiddle. Column clavate, ca. 7 mm long. Fruit anovoid capsule 0.9–1.2 cm long, with the persistentperianth on top. Flowering reported from August toNovember, fruiting in October and November, butboth are probably of longer duration. Distinguishable by its small terrestrial herb Nervilia concolor (Cooks)habit; single leaf heart-shaped leaf without a stem;several-flowered raceme up to 45 cm in height producedafter the leaf dies; and raceme up to 45 cm long bearingwhite or greenish-white flowers.Specimens:Yuncker 10057—Coral rocks in shade near dwelling in Alofi.Sykes 791—Recently cleared forest along Muitauliku Road at Tualagi.Sykes 820—More or less primary forest at Ana near the Hakupu to Liku road.Sykes 1038—Primary forest along Muitauliku Road at Vinivini.Whistler 12997—Occasional along the dirt road through the Huvalu Conservation Area. 70

Tuberolabium papuanum (Schltr.) J.J. WoodSarcochilus sp. of SykesThrixspermum sp. of YunckerTrachoma papuanum (Schltr.) M. ClemonsTrachoma societas (Moore) N. HalléNiuean Name: noneEnglish Name: noneStatus: indigenousReason for Listing: infrequency of collectionSuggested Action: a sampling of forest trees, by binocular, should be undertaken to determine its frequency in primary forest, and GPS coordinates recorded for any individuals found.Indigenous to Niue, ranging from Australia tothe Society Islands. It is uncommon on trees in theforest in the central part of the island. Yuncker,who misidentified this species, noted it occurred Tuberolabium papuanum (indet. locality)“on trees in forest.” Sykes believed it to becommon on Niue, particularly on the “lower trees of the coastal fringe.” It was not found duringWhistler’s three survey visits. No local names or uses have been reported.Small epiphytic herb 2–5 cm in height, with terete stems completely covered by distichous,striate, inflated leaf sheaths. Leaves simple, alternate; blade very fleshy, ligulate to elliptic-ligulate, often somewhat falcate, 2.6–6 × 0.9–1.6 cm, acute at the base, rounded and mucronateto bilobed at the tip; surfaces glabrous; margins entire; sessile. Inflorescence sub-densely few-flowered raceme 0.8–1.5 cm long with the peduncle 1–2 mm long; bracts deltoid, ca. 1.5 mmlong. Flowers pale yellow. Dorsal sepal oblong-ovate to oblong-elliptic, 4.5–5.5 × 1.5–2.2mm. Lateral sepals obliquely oblong-ovate, 4.5–5.5 × 2.5–3 mm. Petals oblong-ligulate, 4–5 ×1.5–2.2 mm. Lip closely appressed to the column, somewhat concave, bilaterally compressed,3.5–4 mm long; side lobes erect, broader than long; midlobe porrect, transversely ovate, veryfleshy; spur subcylindrical, ca. 1.5 mm long. Column 1.2–2 mm long. Fruit a narrowlycylindrical capsule 1.5–2.5 cm long. Flowering reported in August, fruiting in May toSeptember, but both probably occur throughout the year.Distinguishable by its small epiphytic orchid habit; strap-shaped leaves up to 6 cm long;short, several-flowered racemes up to 1.5 cm long; and pale yellow flowers.Specimens:Yuncker 9929—Epiphyte in forest 3 miles southwest of Lakepa. (Not found at BishopMuseum.)Sykes 287—Upper terrace forest along Paliasi Road near Alofi.Sykes 698—Upper terrace forest at Fugigie near Onoono.Sykes 880—On a tree in a forest remnant near Makefu. 71

POACEAEBrachiaria paspaloides (Presl) C.E. Hubb.Urochloa paspaloides C. PreslNiuean Name: noneEnglish Name: noneStatus: indigenous or Polynesian adventiveReason for Listing: infrequency of moderncollectionSuggested Action: a survey of areas where it is likely to occur, especially in forest clearings and long forest trails, should be made, and GPS coordinates of individuals found recorded.Probably a Polynesian introduction to Niue,native to the Old World Tropics. It is uncommon indisturbed areas and along forest trails on Niue.Sykes noted it was “seen sometimes in waste, or atleast disturbed, places near the coast, and probably itis present in many plantations.” It was collectedduring Whistler’s 1997 visit, but not the two later Brachiaria paspaloides (Fiji)ones. No local names or uses are reported for thisinconspicuous grass.Medium sized grass with slender, erect or ascending culms 20–60 cm long, rooting at thelower hairy nodes; leaf sheath somewhat hairy, particularly at the top; ligule a short ridge with afringe of hairs ca. 2 mm long. Leaf blade simple, alternate; blade 6–25 x 0.4–1 cm; surfacessparsely hairy; margins scabrous. Inflorescence a panicle of 2–5 spaced racemes 3–8 cm long;rachis short-hairy and often with scattered longer hairs. Spikelets lanceolate, acute, 3–4.5 mmlong, glabrous, mostly paired on unequal pedicels; glumes green or tinged with purple, acute orsharply pointed, 5–7 nerved, lower ca. 3/4 as long as spikelet, upper of similar length; sterilelemma as long as spikelet, acute or shortly awned; fertile lemma finely rugose with a distinctmucro ca. 0.5 mm long, its palea also finely rugose. Fruit an ellipsoid achene ca. 2 mm long.Flowering and fruiting occur throughout the year.Distinguishable by its medium-sized grass habit; panicle of 2–5 spaced racemes 3–8 cmlong; and lanceolate spikelets 3–4 mm long.Specimens:Sykes 385—Waste ground near radio station in Alofi.Sykes 552—Low coastal forest along the Tuhia Atua to Hakupu track.Whistler 10879—Uncommon on the roadside at Togo.Cenchrus caliculatus Cav.Cenchrus caliculatus Cav. 72

Niuean Name: noneEnglish Name: Polynesian burr grassStatus: indigenousReason for Listing: rarity of collectionSuggested Action: a survey of areas where it is likely to occur, especially along sea coasts, should be made, and GPS coordinates recorded for any individuals found.Indigenous to Niue, ranging from NewCaledonia to the Society Islands. It uncommon torare in coastal thickets and sea cliffs on Niue.Yuncker noted it as “occasional in thickets,” andSykes as “rare today on Niue, as it apparently was in1940.” It was not found by Whistler during his threesurvey visits, but he collected it on an earlier trip.No local names or uses are reported.Robust grass, annual or perennial, with trailingto erect culms up to 2 m in length rooting at lowernodes; leaf sheath glabrous, rounded on the back;ligule 0.5–1 mm long, membranous with a fringe ofhairs. Leaves simple, alternate; blade linear, coarse, Cenchrus caliculatus (Tonga)20–50 cm long, 0.8–2.5 cm wide; upper surfacescabrous, lower smooth; margins scabrous. Inflorescence a dense cylindrical spike-like racemebearing many spiny burrs on a somewhat zigzag rachis. Spikelets 5–8 mm long, 2-flowered,lower flower male or sterile, upper bisexual, both surrounded by hard spines fused into a burr 2–4 mm long with a short-hairy base, outer bristles stiffer, longer inner bristles scabrid or somewhatfeatherlike; glumes unequal, 5–7-nerved, enclosed within the bur. Fruit an achene enclosedwithin the spiny bur. Flowering and fruiting probably occur throughout the year.Distinguishable by its tall grass habit; dense, cylindrical, unbranched, spike-like racemes;and burr-like spikelets with soft spines, borne on a zigzag rachis. It differs from sand burCenchrus echinatus, a common and troublesome weed in the Pacific islands, by its much longerinflorescence and soft rather than hard, spiny burs.Specimens:Yuncker 9842—Rocky cliff near the sea five miles north of Alofi.Yuncker 10213—Thickets near the sea near Hakupu.Sykes 553—Low coastal forest on track from Hakupu to Tuhia‘atua.Whistler 4958—On the roadside beside a trail leading down to the coast just south of the oldNiue Hotel.Cyrtococcum oxyphyllum (Hochst. ex Steudel) StapfNiuean Name: noneEnglish Name: noneStatus: indigenous or Polynesian adventive 73

Reason for Listing: infrequency of collectionSuggested Action: a survey of areas where it is likely to occur, especially in forest clearings and long forest trails, should be made, and GPS coordinates of any species found recorded.Indigenous or possibly a Polynesianintroduction to Niue, ranging from Malaysia to Niue.It is uncommon in disturbed areas on Niue. Sykes,who collected it only once, noted it to be “probablycommoner than this one observation suggests.” Itwas not found during Whistler’s three survey visits.No local names or uses are reported.Creeping perennial grass with culms erect toslanting in upper part, 20–90 cm long, rooting at thelower nodes; leaf sheath long-hairy on margins,striate, shorter than internodes; ligule membranous,rounded, 1–2 mm long, with hairs at the base. Leafblade simple, alternate; blade linear, 5–15 x 0.4–1.5cm, tapering at both ends; surfaces hairy, particularly Cyrtococcum oxyphyllum (Samoa)on lower surface; margins finely scabrous.Inflorescence a many-flowered panicle 5–15 cmlong bearing many fine racemes scarcely spreading at maturity. Spikelets irregularly ovate, ca.1.5 mm long, slightly hairy, on a pedicel up to 2 mm or more in length; glumes 3/4 to nearly aslong as spikelet, keeled, 3-nerved; upper glume nearly as long as the spikelet, glabrous; sterilelemma similar to the upper glume, 5–7-nerved; fertile lemma light brown and shining, swollennear the base. Fruit an irregularly ovoid, light tan achene ca. 1.5 mm long. Flowering andfruiting occur throughout the year.Distinguishable by its medium-sized grass habit; leaves 4–15 mm wide; and many-floweredpanicles bearing irregularly ovoid spikelets ca. 1.5 mm long on a pedicle up to 2 mm long.Specimens:Sykes 612—Abandoned taro plantation at Niufela.Miscanthus floridulus (Labill.) Warb. ex Schum. & Lauterb.Arundo donax sensu Yuncker; non L.Niuean Name: kahoEnglish Name: Polynesian reedStatus: indigenousReason for Listing: infrequency of recent collectionSuggested Action: a survey of areas where it is likely to occur, especially in fernlands, should be made, and GPS coordinates recorded for any individuals found. 74

Indigenous to Niue, ranging from at leastMicronesia to eastern Polynesia. It is probablyformerly common in sunny places in fernlands, buthas now become uncommon, and was not seenduring the 2013 rare plant survey of Niue. The mostrecent Niuean dictionary noted it was used formaking “stringed skirts and door screens, and thestem for making the shaft of a spear used inchildren’s games.” Yuncker, who misidentified it asArundo donax, a species not found on Niue, notedthat tightly tied bundles of the stems are used astorches, the solitary stems for “lattices,” and theashes from the burned leaves are mixed with coconutoil to treat burns.Robust reed-like perennial grass oftenforming dense clumps. Culms erect or ascending,1.5–3 m in height, stout, up to 1 cm or more indiameter, filled with pith; surfaces glabrous; leafsheath rounded on back, glabrous or with long hairsat the junction with the blade; ligule truncate, ca. 1mm long, glabrous to hairy. Leaf blade coarse, 40– Miscanthus floridulus (Samoa)120 x 1.2–4 cm; surfaces smooth, midrib broad anddistinct; margins coarsely scabrous. Inflorescence a dense, silky, plume-like panicle 20–40 cmlong, bearing many branches 5–25 cm long that droop but spread little. Spikelets lanceolate, ca.4 mm long, mostly glabrous, but with a dense ring of hairs 3–7 mm long around the base, paired,one pedicellate and one sessile, all falling when mature from the unjointed rachis. Lower glumelanceolate, as long as the spikelet; tip acuminate, not keeled; upper glume similar, but slightlykeeled. Fertile lemma with a slender awn 4–10 mm long.Distinguishable by its tall reed habit; large, large, plume-like inflorescence; and silkyspikelets falling from the unjointed rachis when mature.Specimens:Yuncker 9754—Secondary growth and clearings near Liku.Yuncker 10164—Waste area near Fonukula plantation near Alofi.Sykes 573—Open fernland near Vaiea. FERNS ATHYRIACEAEDiplazium proliferum (Lam.) Thouars.Athyrium sp. of YunckerNiuean Name: noneEnglish Name: noneStatus: indigenousReason for Listing: infrequency of collection 75

Suggested Action: a survey of areas where it is likely to occur, especially in forest clearings and primary forest trails, should be made, and GPS coordinates recorded for any individuals found.Indigenous to Niue, ranging from tropical Africato Samoa. It is uncommon in primary forest andprobably in forest clearings on Niue. Yuncker notedits location as three miles southwest of Lakepa, butapparently did not collect it. Sykes noted that it onlyseems to grow in the forest in the Lefuka area. Nolocal names or uses are reported.Large terrestrial fern arising from an erectstock covered with narrow, dull-brown scales withtoothed margins. Stipe up to 60 cm long, greenish,rough and spiny; rachis with smaller spines.Lamina pinnate or when larger, with the basalpinnae lobed to near the base, up to 100 cm or morein length, ca. 40 cm wide; apex of frond similar tothe lateral pinnae, or with 1 or 2 lobes at the base.Pinnae up to 15 pairs, the largest up to 35 x 7 cm,shortly stalked, deeply lobed or almost pinnate at thebase, becoming gradually more shallowly lobedtowards the acuminate tip; lobes entire or slightlytoothed, the free portion rounded to falcate; bulbils Diplazium proliferum (Samoa)present in the axils of most of the pinnae; veins ofthe deeply pinnatifid parts all free, up to 4 lateral veins of adjacent groups uniting to form anirregular parallelogram-shaped areola in the other parts of the frond. Sori on all veins long, butnot reaching he margin.Distinguishable by its large terrestrial fern habit; spiny rachis and stipes; pinnate lamina;proliferous bulbils on the axils of the pinnae; and linear sori.Specimens:Yuncker—(Seen but not collected.)Sykes 534—More or less primary forest at Lefuka. HYMENOPHYLLACEAETrichomanes tahitense NadeauNiuean Name: noneEnglish Name: noneStatus: indigenousReason for Listing: infrequency of collectionSuggested Action: a survey of tree trunks in areas where it is likely to occur, especially in primary forest, should be made, and GPS coordinates recorded for any individuals found. 76

Indigenous to Niue, ranging from Java to theSociety Islands. It is occasional on tree trunks inprimary forest on Niue. It was collected by Whistlerin 1997, a new record, but was not seen by himduring the next two survey visits. No local names oruses are reported, and its inconspicuous habit wouldprobably cause it to be mistaken for a moss or someother lower plant.Small epiphytic fern arising from a denselyhairy, long-creeping rhizome. Fronds sessile,orbicular, 0.5–2.5 cm in diameter thin, overlapping,peltate, attached to the rhizome near the center of thelower side that is appressed to the tree or rocksurface; surfaces wavy with concentric undulations,the lower side clothed with dark hairs. Veinsradiating from the center of attachment, numerous,forked; false veins present between the true veins.Sori 1–3 on each frond, exserted beyond the margin;involucre tubular, the mouth much dilated; thereceptacle only slightly exserted. Trichomanes taitense (Samoa) Distinguishable by its tiny epiphytic fern habit;leaves round, thin, appressed to the tree or rocksurface; and tiny sori exserted beyond the margin of the frond.Specimens:Whistler 10749—Seen only once on a tree trunk in deep forest along the Vinivini track. MARATTIACEAEAngiopteris evecta (Forst. f.) Hoffm.Angiopteris commutata PreslNiuean Name: palataoEnglish Name: noneStatus: indigenousReason for Listing: infrequency of collectionSuggested Action: a survey of areas where it is likely to occur, especially in primary forest, should be made, and GPS coordinates recorded for any individuals found. Indigenous to Niue, ranging from Malaysia to eastern Polynesia. It is uncommon in primaryforest on Niue, possibly only in the Lefuka area. Yuncker noted it grows in “a few local areas indense forest shade.” Sykes noted it as being rare and restricted to more or less primary forest atLefuka. It was not found by Whistler during his 1997 and 2003 visits, but was seen but notcollected, at Fetuna during the 2013 survey. No local names or uses are reported. 77

Large terrestrial fern with fronds arising from astout fleshy rhizome. Stipes up to 2 m long, coveredwith small soft scales when young. Frondsbipinnate, up to 4 m in length; pinnae up to 120 x 40cm; pinnules 2–3 cm apart, lanceolate, 10–20 x 1–2.5cm, narrowed gradually to an acuminate, stronglytoothed apex, the margins elsewhere with a smallblunt tooth at each vein ending; pinnule base unequal,the basioscopic rounded, the acroscopic cuneate;lower surface paler with small scattered scales on thecostae and veins, larger narrow rufous scalesoccasionally abundant at the base of the costa. Veinssimple or once forked, the recurrent veins indistinct.Sori of 7–12 sporangia 1–2 mm from the margin.Distinguishable by its large terrestrial fern habit;large stout rhizome; long frond and stipes up to 5 mor more in length; bipinnate fronds; lanceolatepinnules attenuate and toothed at the tip; and soriborne in clusters of 7–12 near the margins. Angiopteris evecta (Samoa)Specimens:Yuncker 9772—Dense forest six miles east of Alofi.Sykes 91—In a gully near road running through old forest at Lefuka.Sykes 1071—Near road through primary forest at Lefuka.Sykes 1270—Old forest at Lefuka. OPHIOGLOSSACEAEOphioglossum petiolatum HookerNiuean Name: noneEnglish Name: noneStatus: indigenousReason for Listing: infrequency of collectionSuggested Action: a survey of areas where it is likely to occur, especially in primary forest, should be made, and GPS coordinates recorded for any individuals found. Indigenous to Niue, ranging from Southeast Asiato Niue. It is rare in open places in primary andperhaps secondary forest on Niue. Sykes saw it onlyonce, growing in beside a road recently made throughan area of primary forest. It was found by Whistlerduring is 1997 visit, but not during the survey visits in2003 and 2013. Ophioglossum petiolatum (Niue) 78

Tiny terrestrial fern arising from a subglobose rhizome bearing several fronds at the sametime. Stipe (common stalk) up to 6 cm long. Frond simple, borne distally on the common stalk;blade ovate, up to 2.5–1.5 cm when sterile, cuneate at the base, acute at the tip. Venationreticulate, with few free vein endings. Fertile stalk bearing an erect spike 1–4 cm long, with arow of large, immersed sporangia on each side, these opening by transverse slits. Distinguishable by its tiny terrestrial fern; tiny ovate frond less than 2.5 cm long cuneate atthe base; and a spike bearing 2 rows of sporangia immersed on the edges. Specimens:Jensen 75?—Without further locality.Sykes 745—Beside track through primary forest along Muitauliku road at Tualagi.Whistler 10789—One patch seen in the forest along the trail to Vaikona. POLYPODIACEAEPhymatosorus nigrescens (Bl.) Pichi Serm.Phymatodes nigrescens (Bl.) J. Sm.Niuean Name: noneEnglish Name: noneStatus: indigenousReason for Listing: infrequency of collectionSuggested Action: a survey of areas where it is likely to occur, especially in primary forest, should be made, and GPS coordinates recorded for any individuals found.Indigenous to Niue, ranging from Sri Lanka toTahiti. It is rare as an epiphyte in primary forest onNiue. Sykes noted that it was collected only once, but“is probably not uncommon in the more open forestedareas of Niue.” No local names or uses are reported.Medium-sized epiphytic fern arising from astout, green, creeping rhizome covered with darkbrown scales when young. Stipe dull brown to yellowwhen dry, up to 60 cm long. Frond herbaceous, up to80 x 45 cm, pinnatifid, lobed to within 1 cm of the Phymatosorus nigrescens (Samoa)midrib; lobes up to 10 pairs, oblique, up to 3.5 cmwide, long-acuminate at the tip, with sinuous margins sinuous and distinct main vein. Sori bornesingly in the large costal areolae, very deeply embedded and forming conspicuous tubercles onthe upper surface; sporangia protected when young by translucent, irregularly shaped paraphyses.Distinguishable by its medium-sized epiphytic fern habit; creeping green rhizome;pinnatifid fronds; and sori borne singly in costal areolae and forming conspicuous tubercles onthe upper side.Specimens:Sykes 873—Base of a tree in upper terrace forest near Makefu. 79