"Flora of the Cook Islands is a complete account of plants found wild in the Cook Islands and plants common in cultivation written by W. R. (Bill) Sykes, a retired botanist living in Christchurch, New Zealand. Descriptions and keys are provided for 108 fern and 567 flowering plant species. Of these, 104 ferns and 187 flowering plant species are indigenous. The remainder are either naturalised or are found in cultivation. Of the native plants, 26 species are found only in the Cook Islands. The remainder of the native species are shared mainly with the rest of East Polynesia or have a wider distribution. This Flora will be useful throughout Polynesia. Comprises 950 pages, 185 color images with an emphasis on the colorful garden flora, 256 black and white drawings placed alongside descriptions, uses of plants, especially traditional medicinal uses, introduction history for many naturalised and important crop species like coconut and bananas, and Cook Island names of plants. This is a joint project of the National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG), Landcare Research, International Association for Plant Taxonomy, Canterbury Museum, and Smithsonian Institution, Department of Botany."--Amazon com.