Metrosideros polymorpha
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Metrosideros polymorpha is a plant from the genus of metrosideros ( Metrosideros ) within the family of myrtle (Myrtaceae). It is endemic to the islands of Hawaii and iscalled ʻŌhiʻa lehua there, from which the name ohia tree is derived. The mostly bright red flowers are known as Lehua .
Description and ecology
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Appearance and leaf
Metrosideros polymorpha grows as a small, upright or outstretched shrub or tree , which can reach heights of 20 to 24 meters, in exceptional cases up to 30 meters and chest height diameters of 45 to 90 centimeters, rarely up to 216 centimeters. The straight or twisted trunk ends in a compact or open crown . The mostly rough and cracked trunk bark flakes off in thick scales. More rarely, the bark is also smooth and then flakes off in thin long strips. Young trees usually have buttress roots , which, however, usually rot with age. On some trees you can also find aerial roots growing in clusters . The buds are obovate.
The constantly against arranged on the branches of leaves in a leaf blade divided and a petiole. The petiole is between 0.1 and 1.6 inches long and 1 to 3 millimeters thick, but can also be completely absent. The light green to dark gray-green leaf blade is 1 to 8 centimeters long and 1 to 5.5 centimeters wide and is obovate, rounded to elliptical, broadly ovoid to ovate. It has several pairs of raised leaf veins . The upper side of the leaf is smooth, while the underside of the leaf is usually woolly to closely covered with hair. The leaf margins are bent back to flat, the leaf tip is usually rounded, more rarely blunt or tapered and the leaf base is wedge-shaped to heart-shaped.
Inflorescence and flower
The inflorescence shaft is 0.7 to 1.8 inches long with a diameter of 0.1 to 0.3 inches. The flowers are in a hairless to woolly hairy, compressed terminal inflorescence , which consists of two to five pairs of umbels and is 5 to 8 centimeters tall. The bracts are ovoid to approximately circular with a length of 0.5 to 1 centimeter and a width of 0.3 to 0.5 centimeters. The flower stalk is 0.2 to 0.8 inches long and 0.1 to 0.2 inches thick.
The mostly red, more rarely salmon-red to yellow flowers are hermaphroditic with a double flower envelope . The flower cup is 0.3 to 0.7 centimeters high and has a diameter of 0.3 to 0.8 centimeters. The sepals are round to triangular with a length of 1.5 to 4 millimeters and a width of 1.5 to 3 millimeters. The obovate to circular petals are 2.5 to 5 millimeters long and 2 to 4.5 millimeters wide. The 1 to 3 centimeter long stamens protrude above the corolla and give the flowers a fluffy to brush-like appearance. The stylus is 1.3 to 3 inches long.
The yellow flowers appear to be able to self-pollinate ( autogamy ), while the red flowers are dependent on pollinators. Both insects ( entomophilia ) and birds ( ornithophilia ) appear as pollinators .
Fruit and seeds
The smooth or fluffy hairy capsule fruits are slightly curved and are 0.3 to 1 centimeter long and just as thick when ripe. They contain numerous tiny seeds. On average, 1750 seeds weigh one gram.
Chromosome number
The number of chromosomes is 2n = 22.
Occurrence
The natural range of Metrosideros polymorpha is in Hawaii . It includes the islands of Hawaiʻi , Kauaʻi , Lānaʻi , Maui , Molokaʻi and Oʻahu .
Metrosideros polymorpha thrives from sea level to altitudes of 2500 meters. It grows mainly in moist to temperate or dry forests in valleys and on mountains as well as in subalpine bushland and on dry lava rock . A large number of different types of soil are colonized, but medium to heavy clay soils predominate. Furthermore, one finds Metrosideros polymorpha on rocky soils and soils that form on lava flows.
Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death (ROD)
Since 2014, death of the ʻʻhiʻa trees has been observed on the island of Hawaii , caused by two types of fungus, Ceratocystis huliohia and Ceratocystis lukuohia . The fungus has also been present on the island of Kaua'i since 2018 . Since then, the Department of Agriculture and the National Park Service have introduced quarantine laws and cleaning regulations, especially for hiking boots, to prevent the fungi from spreading to unaffected areas or to neighboring islands.
Systematics
The first description of Metrosideros polymorpha was in 1830 by Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré .
Of Metrosideros polymorpha there are up to eight varieties :
- Metrosideros polymorpha var. Dieteri J.W.Dawson & Stemmerm. occurs on Kaua'i and grows as a small tree with a rough bark. The buds are larger than the other varieties and the hairless leaves are broadly obovate.
- Metrosideros polymorpha var. Glaberrima (H.Lév.) H.St.John occurs in the entire distribution area of the species and grows as a shrub or large tree with a rough bark that peels off in thin strips. The hairless leaves are ovate to obovate to elliptical in shape.
- Metrosideros polymorpha var. Incana (H.Lév.) H.St.John occurs in the entire range of the species and grows as a shrub or large tree with rough bark. The hairy leaves are ovate to almost circular in shape.
- Metrosideros polymorpha var. Macrophylla (rock) H.St.John occurs in Hawaii and Maui and grows as a small to large tree, the bark of which flakes off in thin strips. The hairless and relatively large leaves are broadly ovate.
- Metrosideros polymorpha var. Newellii (Rock) H.St.John occurs in Hawaii and usually grows along waterways as a shrub or small tree. The hairless leaves are elliptical in shape.
- Metrosideros polymorpha var. Polymorpha is the nominate form and occurs in the entire distribution area with the exception of Kauaʻi . It grows as a shrub or small tree with a rough bark. The leaves are hairy to woolly on the underside and are ovate to almost circular in shape.
- Metrosideros polymorpha var. Pseudorugosa (Skottsb.) JWDawson & Stemmerm. occurs on Maui and grows as a deciduous shrub in marshland. The small leaves are 1 to 1.5 centimeters long and ovate to approximately circular in shape.
- Metrosideros polymorpha var. Pumila (A. Heller) JWDawson & Stemmerm. occurs on Kauaʻi, Maui, Molokaʻi and Oʻahu and grows as a deciduous shrub in swamps with a bark that peels off in thin scales. The smooth or hairy to woolly leaves are broadly ovate to circular in shape.
use
The hard and durable wood of Metrosideros polymorpha is used for the manufacture of furniture and stakes, but also as firewood . The native Hawaiians also used it to manufacture the superstructures for their boats and to carve tikis . The species is considered an excellent honey plant.
Individual evidence
- ↑ ʻōhiʻa in Hawaiian Dictionaries
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j JB Friday, Darrell A. Herbert: Metrosideros polymorpha (ʻōhiʻa lehua) , April 2006: PDF at Agroforestry .
- ↑ Native Plants Hawaiì: Metrosideros polymorpha
- ^ Lehua in Hawaiian Dictionaries
- ↑ a b c d e f g Metrosideros polymorpha. In: Flora of the Hawaiian Islands. www.botany.si.edu/pacificislandbiodiversity/hawaiianflora, accessed on August 16, 2015 (English).
- ↑ Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death, ROD (Ceratocystis lukuohia (wilt disease), Ceratocystis huliohia (canker disease)) , Hawaii Invasive Species Council website , accessed November 23, 2019
- ↑ Rapid ʻ Rapidhiʻa Death , College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources website , accessed November 23, 2019
- ↑ Quarantine Rule §4-72-13 on Ohia and Soil (pdf), accessed on November 23, 2019
- ↑ precautionary measures of the National Park Service , accessed on November 23, 2019
- ^ Voyage Autour du Monde ... on the Corvettes de SM l'Uranie et la Physicienne. Botanique , page 482
- ^ Metrosideros polymorpha at Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, accessed August 16, 2015.
- ^ Metrosideros polymorpha var. Dieteri. In: Flora of the Hawaiian Islands. www.botany.si.edu/pacificislandbiodiversity/hawaiianflora, accessed on August 16, 2015 (English).
- ^ Metrosideros polymorpha var. Glaberrima. In: Flora of the Hawaiian Islands. www.botany.si.edu/pacificislandbiodiversity/hawaiianflora, accessed on August 16, 2015 (English).
- ^ Metrosideros polymorpha var. Incana. In: Flora of the Hawaiian Islands. www.botany.si.edu/pacificislandbiodiversity/hawaiianflora, accessed on August 16, 2015 (English).
- ↑ Metrosideros polymorpha var. Macrophylla. In: Flora of the Hawaiian Islands. www.botany.si.edu/pacificislandbiodiversity/hawaiianflora, accessed on August 16, 2015 (English).
- ↑ Metrosideros polymorpha var. Newellii. In: Flora of the Hawaiian Islands. www.botany.si.edu/pacificislandbiodiversity/hawaiianflora, accessed on August 16, 2015 (English).
- ↑ Metrosideros polymorpha var. Polymorpha. In: Flora of the Hawaiian Islands. www.botany.si.edu/pacificislandbiodiversity/hawaiianflora, accessed on August 16, 2015 (English).
- ^ Metrosideros polymorpha var. Pseudorugosa. In: Flora of the Hawaiian Islands. www.botany.si.edu/pacificislandbiodiversity/hawaiianflora, accessed on August 16, 2015 (English).
- ↑ Metrosideros polymorpha var. Pumila. In: Flora of the Hawaiian Islands. www.botany.si.edu/pacificislandbiodiversity/hawaiianflora, accessed on August 16, 2015 (English).
