Sesbania tomentosa

ʻOhai
File:Sesbania tomentosa.jpg
Sesbania tomentosa
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Subfamily:	Faboideae
Tribe:	Sesbanieae
Genus:	Sesbania
Species:	S. tomentosa
Binomial name
Sesbania tomentosa Hook. & Arn.

ʻOhai (Sesbania tomentosa) is an endangered species of flowering plant in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is endemic to the main Hawaiian Islands as well as Nihoa and Necker Island. Off-road vehicles, fires, grazing, and alien species competition have destroyed their habitat on the main islands, but they are still quite common on Nihoa and Necker. At least 2000 specimens grow on Nihoa, while Necker doesn't have nearly as many.

ʻOhai grows from sea level to elevations of 2,700 feet (820 m). Over its wide range of habitats, it exhibits a broad variation of color and shape. Plants that grow on Nihoa have reddish-orange flowers and young leaflets that are relatively hairless. Necker plants have salmon to orange colored-flowers, and leaflets that are very hairy. A form that grows as a standing tree exists on Molokaʻi. ʻOhai grows as a prostrate shrub with semi-glaucous leaves devoid of tomentum on the southernmost tip of the island of Hawaiʻi, Ka Lae.

References

• Evenhuis, Neal L. (ed.) (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. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)