Hibiscadelphus
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Hibiscadelphus (Hawaiian: Hau kuahiwi = Highland hibiscus) is one in Hawaii endemic plant species in the subfamily Malvoideae within the family of the Malvaceae (Malvaceae).
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description
They are deciduous trees that reach heights of growth of 5 to 7 meters; they have a rounded crown . The egg-shaped leaves are either lobed or unlobed, depending on the species.
The flowers hang individually on the delicate branches. The petals are purple or pink in color. In the subfamily Malvoideae, the many stamens have grown together to form a tube surrounding the pistil , the so-called Columna . The long, candle-shaped, dark red Columna is perfectly adapted in its curved shape to the beak shape of the Hawaiian honeyeater ( Drepanidinae ).
The main reason for the extinction of the Hibiscadelphus species was probably the strong interdependence between the plants and the bird species that act as pollinators ( ornithophilia ). Since the honeydew birds were the main pollinators, the extinction of the birds also sealed the decline of these trees. Another reason for the rarity of this genus is competition with neophytes and habitat destruction by introduced goats and pigs.
Systematics
The genus Hibiscadelphus was described for the first time in 1911 by the Austrian-American botanist Joseph Francis Rock using the species Hibiscadelphus giffardianus . It got its botanical name because of its similarity with the hibiscus plants, especially the linden-leaved marshmallow ( Hibiscus tiliaceus ); hence the nickname "brother of the hibiscus".
Today, the genus includes eight species of trees, three of which are already extinct and another four are very rare or extinct in the wild.
Here is a list of the recent species:
- Hibiscadelphus distans L. E. Bishop & DR Herbst - Less than 200 specimens exist above the Koaie River in Waimea Canyon on Kaua'i .
- Hibiscadelphus hualalaiensis Rock - The species used to live on the slopes of Hualālai near Kailua , but is now only used in cultivation after the last wild tree died in 1992.
- Hibiscadelphus giffardianus Rock - This species is only known in the wild from a single tree from Mauna Loa , Hawaii, which was discovered in 1910. In 1930 this tree died. Before that, however, it could be cultivated with a few cuttings and today it exists in botanical gardens.
- Hibiscadelphus stellatus Oppenheimer, Bustamente & Perlman - species described in 2014. 99 specimens exist in the Kaua`ula Valley in western Maui.
- Hibiscadelphus woodii Lorence & WL Wagner - This species was firstdiscoveredon Kaua'i in 1991and first described in 1995. The four known copies were received by 2011. In 2019, a new specimen was rediscovered by drone photo.
The following species of the genus are considered extinct:
- Hibiscadelphus bombycinus C.N. Forbes † - Probably extinct before 1868. Occurrence: Kawaihae, Hawai'i
- Hibiscadelphus crucibracteatus R.W. Hobdy † - In 1981a single tree was discoveredon a slope of the Puhielelu Ridge on Lānaʻi at an altitude of 750 m above sea level, which died in 1985. Efforts to save this tree through seedlings have failed.
- Hibiscadelphus wilderianus Rock † - Probably extinct around 1912. Known from a single tree that was discovered in 1910 near Auwahi on Maui , Hawaii.
There was also the hybrid Hibiscadelphus × puakuahiwi K.Baker & S.Allen , a cross between Hibiscadelphus hualalaiensis and Hibiscadelphus giffardianus , which was discovered in 1973 but has since been destroyed.
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literature
- Warren L. Wagner, Derral R. Herbst, SH Sohmer: Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai'i (= Bishop Museum special publication. Volume 97). 2nd Edition. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu 1999, ISBN 0-8248-2166-1 .
- James K. Baker: The Plant Genus Hibiscadelphus in Hawaiʻi. A History, Analysis of Problems, and a Management Plan for Trees in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. In: Cooperative National Park Resources Studies Unit. University of Hawaii at Manoa. Department of Botany. Technical Report. Volume 34, Honolulu 1980, PDF file; 210 kB .
Web links
- A tree's tribulations (Engl.) ( Memento of 3 August 2003 at the Internet Archive )
- Hibiscus articles