Ethnobotany of Tokelau: The plants,their Tokelau names,and their uses

Three research trips were made to the Tokelau Islands (including Swains Island), located north of Samoa in Western Polynesia, and a collection of the flora of the islands was made. At the same time, Tokelauan informants were interviewed about native names and uses of plants found there. This information was augmented by a literature review, by data on plant specimens stored at the Bernice P. Bishop Museum, and by interviews with other Tokelauans now living in Samoa. From this information, an account of Tokelauan plant names and their ethnobotanical uses was compiled.