Cyanea asarifolia

Cyanea asarifolia is a rare species of flowering plant in the bellflower family known by the common name gingerleaf cyanea. It is endemic to Kauai, where there were no more than 30 individuals in a single population as of 2005.[2] It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States. Like other Cyanea it is known as haha in Hawaiian.[3]

Cyanea asarifolia

Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Campanulaceae
Genus: Cyanea
Species:
C. asarifolia
Binomial name
Cyanea asarifolia

This Hawaiian lobelioid is a small, short-lived shrub. The leaves are heart-shaped and the inflorescence bears up to 40 flowers which are white with purple stripes.[4]

The plant was discovered in 1970[4] and described as a new species in 1975.[5] The first known population was composed of five or six plants and it is thought to have been extirpated. Another population containing 14 adult plants and five juveniles was found, but it was soon heavily damaged by Hurricane Iniki. Only a few seedlings survived. Today the only known population contains 20 to 30 plants, but some of these appear to be reproducing. Some plants have been propagated in a greenhouse and then planted in appropriate habitat, but these individuals were destroyed in a landslide.[2]

Threats to the remaining population include natural events such as landslides, which could conceivably cause extinction. The gene pool is small. Plants are threatened by slugs, rats, mice, feral pigs, and exotic plants.[2][1]

References
  1. Bruegmann, M. M. & V. Caraway. (2003). Cyanea asarifolia. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2010. www.iucnredlist.org Archived June 27, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 24 February 2011.
  2. USFWS. Cyanea asarifolia Five year Review. April 2009.
  3. Hawaiian Native Plant Genera: Cyanea
  4. Cyanea asarifolia. Archived 2010-12-15 at the Wayback Machine Center for Plant Conservation.
  5. "Cyanea asarifolia". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 21 January 2018.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.