Cyanea procera
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Cyanea procera (English name: Molokai Cyanea) is an extremely rare plant species from the bellflower family(Campanulaceae). This tree is only found on the Hawaiian island of Molokai . It belongs to the genus Cyanea within the subfamily of lobelia plants (Lobelioideae), all of which 66 species endemic to Hawaii are. Many types of these are called hāhā by the locals.
description
Cyanea procera is a palm-like tree , but aster-like (Asteridae) have no palm-like properties, reaching heights of 3 to 9 meters. The sessile lance-shaped leaves are 60 to 75 centimeters long and 10 to 17 centimeters wide. The leaf margin shows many small teeth.
The racemose inflorescence consists of ten to twenty individual flowers. The zygomorphic flower is fivefold. The five sepals form a goblet from which linear triangular calyx tips protrude. The five purple-colored petals are fused into an almost upright or slightly curved corolla tube 6 to 8 centimeters long, which ends in five downwardly curved corolla lobes. This makes them appear single-lipped. The berries are elliptical or egg-shaped .
Occurrence
The original distribution area of Cyanea procera included the Kamolo region on Molokai, today the only occurrence is limited to the Kawela Gorge in the Molokai Forest Reserve . This tree grows in damp forests on canyon slopes and in canyon valleys.
status
Cyanea procera was thought to be extinct between 1938 and 1987, until two specimens were rediscovered in the Kawela Gorge on the western side of the Puʻu O Kaeha on Molokai. During the 1990s, eight specimens in three populations were known. Except for one individual, however, all specimens were received by 2005. This makes Cyanea procera one of the rarest plant species in the world.
The greatest risk comes from landslides caused by the grazing of vegetation by wild goats in the gorge, rats, snails and competition from alien plant species ( neophytes ).
literature
- Warren L. Wagner, Derral R. Herbst, SH Sohmer: Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawaii . University of Hawaii Press, 1999. ISBN 0824821661
Web links
- Entry at Natureserve
- National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG) - Cyanea procera (PDF, description and photos; 385 kB)
- Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1994 (PDF; 254 kB)
- Cyanea procera in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2006. Posted by: World Conservation Monitoring Center, 1998. Retrieved on 15 April, 2007.