atoll research bulletin no. 392 the flora of - Smithsonian Institution ...

Triumfetta procumbens F0rst.f. "beach burr"
ikiau, ikiow, igiau, giau (B)(N); te kiaou (K); tolotolo, kiaou (T)
syn. T. fabreona Gaud.
Indigenous. Paleotropics. Rare. Pubescent prostrate subshrub with long-trailing,
densely-stellate pubescent branches up to 3 m long; leaves, 1.5 to 6 cm long and nearly
as wide, alternate, broadly ovate to suborbicular or shallowly 3-lobed, rounded to obtuse,
base rounded to subcordate, crenate-serrate, densely stellate-woolly beneath, palmately 5-
to 7-nerved; petioles, up to 6 cin long; inflorescences, axillary, pedunculate, subumbel-
late clusters; calyx, 5-lobed, with a cornate protuberance at tip; corolla, 10 to 12 mm
across, 5-parted, petals bright yellow; stamens, numerous and distinct; fruit, 6 to 12 mm
in diameter, subglobose, spiny, burr-like, stellate-pubescent. Growing along coastal strip
and in open areas in coastal thickets. Probably incorrectly reported as T. semitriloba
Jacq. by Burgess in 1935. Juice from crushed leaves used medicinally to cure filariasis
and fever, to retard hair from falling out, and for a gelatinous post-natal medicine which
is drunk by mothers to help rid them of afterbirth; crushed leaves and stems also mixed
with toddy (kera.wa.i) and used as poultices on boils. 1, 2, 4(11 IN), 5(109), 6, 7(27803).
URTICACEAE (Nettle Family)
Laportea ruderalis (F0rst.f.) Chew
luna, aluna, pakisikisi (T)
syns. Urtica ruderalis Forst. f. ; Fleurya. ruderalis (Forst. f.) Gaud. ex Wedd. ;
Schykowskya. rudera.1i.s (Forst. f.) Endl. ; Boehmeria paniculata Gaud. ;
Fleurya. panicu1a.ta Gaud.
Indigenous. Malayo-Pacific. Rare. Erect, un- or few-branched, slightly fleshy,
glabrous herb, up to 40 cm high; leaves, 1.5 to 8 cm long and 1 to 4 cm long, alternate,
obtuse, obtuse or acute, base truncate or subcordate, coarsely crenate; petiole, as long as
blade; inflorescences, axillary, pedicellate, in open paniculate clusters, shorter than
petiole; male flowers, 4-rarely, 3- or 5-merous; female flowers, 4-merous, perianth with
unequal lobes; fruit, obliquely ovate, an achene partly enclosed in the persistent perianth.
Growing in shady areas near caves and in moist habitats at the base of the limestone
escarpment. 5(99), 6, 7(27809).
Pellionia sp.
Recent introduction. Trop. Asia. Small, creeping, succulent, perennial herb;
leaves, 2.5 to 7 cm long, oval, attractive, variegated with combinations of purple, light
green, bronzy-green or gray depending on the species and cultivar; inflorescences,
inconspicuous, greenish. Pot plant. 6.