Macaranga dioica (G.Forst.) Müll.Arg.

• Region

  Oceania

• Country

  Vanuatu

• State/Province

  Tafea

• County/Municipio

  North Tanna Area Council

• Locality

  Tanna Island, North Tanna, Village of Nusameto

• Elevation

  Alt. 278 m. (912 ft.)

• Coordinates

  -19.3831, 169.295

• Distribution

  Map all specimens of this taxon

New York Botanical Garden: NY
Vanuatu National Herbarium: PVNH
The Ethnobotany of Vanuatu
Michael J. Balick #4746
N.V. Naoula [Naukau]
03468673
stem For house construction; to build a wall of
a house, split stem into 5-6 pieces and build the
wall. Also these split stems can be used for the
rafters of the house. The small stems can be spliit
into small pieces and will make a fire when ig-
nited even in the rain.
leaf In older times, people used the bigger leaves
of this species as a plate to serve food. Today,
when people go to the bush, they still use this
leaf to serve food such as rice.
leaf Sometimes when the seeds ripen and fall
to the ground they can produce a leaf similar to
island cabbage, used to prepare laplap-a tradi-
tional food made of grated root crops.
N.B. According to local lore, this species is a cu-
rious tree whose fruit can change by magic into
other plants such as the island cabbage. It is be-
lieved that the ground can change color under the
trees when these seeds grow. A scientific-realist
explanation for this is that birds drop other seeds
or the soils’ seed bank produces other species that
start to grow and are thought to be part of this
plant.
Source: Kating Ken Matai (M, 79), Marie Ken Matai (F, 29),
Ken Bob Matai (m, 32), Naloma Ken Matai (F, 21)
New York Botanical Garden: NY
Vanuatu National Herbarium: PVNH
The Flora of Vanuatu
(Euphorbiaceae)
Macaranga dioica (G. Forst.) Mull. Arg.
Vanuatu: Tafea Province. Tanna Island. North Tanna,
Village of Nusameto.
S 19° 22’ 59"; E 169° 17’ 41” ; 278 m elev.
Tree to 7 m tall, dbh 20 cm, staminate flowers
yellow-green. Growing near homestead area. DNA,
digital image. Duplicates: 6.
Michael J. Balick, #4746	- December 3,2015
R. Sean Thackurdeen, Philemon Ala, Frazier Alo,
Thomas J. Doro and Leo Feimaga
A collaboration of NYBG and PVNH, funded by The Christensen Fund,
The National Geographic Society, and The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund.
03468673