Degeneria vitiensis is a flowering
tree found on
Viti Levu in
Fiji.[2] It is known as masiratu and vāvāloa in
Fijian, although the latter is also used for Litsea magnifolia.[3] It is a relatively common plant and is used as
timber. It has been found in upland
forests on steep slopes.[4]
The pollen-eating beetle Haptoncus takhtajani is associated with the plant.[5][6][7] The systematics and taxonomy of Degeneriaceae were reviewed in 1991.[8]
^Gatty, Ronald (2009). Fijian-English Dictionary (with notes on Fijian culture and natural history). Suva, Fiji: Ronald Gatty. p. 159.
ISBN978-982-98047-1-6.
^Miller, J. M. 1988. A new species of Degeneria (Degeneriaceae) from Fiji Archipelago. Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 69: 275–280
^Miller, J. M. 1988. Puzzling new floral variation in a possible Mesozoic relict flowering plant, Fiji Islands. P. 4, In: H. J. de Blij (ed.), Letters, National Geographic Research Volume 4. Washington, D. C.: National Geographic Society, 144 pp.
^Miller, J. M. 1989. The archaic flowering plant family Degeneriaceae: its bearing on an old enigma. National Geographic Research 5(2): 218–231.
^Smith, A. C. 1991. Degeneriaceae Pp. 587-588 In: A. C. Smith, Flora Vitiensis Nova, Volume 5. Lawai: National Tropical Botanical Garden, 626 pp.