Schiedea verticillata

Schiedea verticillata, known as the Devils Slide schiedea[2] or Nihoa carnation, is an endangered species of plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, endemic to the island of Nihoa in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, where it was discovered in 1923 by the Tanager Expedition. It has been listed as endangered since 1996.

Schiedea verticillata
Artist's rendition of Nihoa carnation; note triangular-shaped leaves

Imperiled  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Caryophyllaceae
Genus: Schiedea
Species:
S. verticillata
Binomial name
Schiedea verticillata

It has stems 40–60 cm (16–24 in) long, erect or sometimes trailing, and fleshy mint-colored leaves as long as 15 cm. The flowers are petal-less, have ten stamens and 4-5 styles. The plant estivates, dying back to the fleshy perennial roots during the dry season. Less than 400 individual plants survive in two of Nihoa's rocky valleys, but the population has remained stable. How this plant is pollinated is not known. Even though there are very few individuals surviving, the carnation can avoid inbreeding, a problem that threatens fellow Nihoan plant Amaranthus brownii, because this carnation has the highest genetic diversity of its genus.

Notes
  1. "Schiedea verticillata". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 2011-03-01.
  2. "Schiedea verticillata". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
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References
  • Evenhuis, Neal L.; Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. (2004). Natural History of Nihoa and Necker Islands. Bishop Museum Bulletin in Cultural and Environmental Studies; No. 1. Honolulu, Hawaii: Bishop Museum Press. ISBN 1-58178-029-X.
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