Cyanea hamatiflora is a rare species of flowering plant in the bellflower family

Campanulaceae

The family Campanulaceae , of the order Asterales, contains about 2000 species in 70 genera of herbaceous plants, shrubs, and rarely small trees, often with milky non-toxic sap...

 known by the common name wetforest cyanea. It is endemic to Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

, where it is known from the islands of Maui

Maui

The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the state of Hawaii and is the largest of Maui County's four islands, bigger than Lānai, Kahoolawe, and Molokai. In 2010, Maui had a population of 144,444,...

 and Hawaii

Hawaii (island)

The Island of Hawaii, also called the Big Island or Hawaii Island , is a volcanic island in the North Pacific Ocean...

, and there are probably fewer than 250 plants remaining in total. It is a federally listed endangered species

Endangered species

An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...

. Like other Cyanea

Cyanea (plant)

Cyanea is a genus of lobelioid plants endemic to Hawaii. It contains more than 50 species, ranging in size from shrubs like C. eleeleensis to tall palm-like trees over 10 meters tall such as C. leptostegia...

it is known as haha in Hawaiian

Hawaiian language

The Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the state of Hawaii...

.

There are two subspecies

Subspecies

Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...

 of this species. The more abundant, ssp. hamatiflora, is native to Maui, where there are no more than 250 individuals left and the population is dropping by at least 25% per generation

Generation

Generation , also known as procreation in biological sciences, is the act of producing offspring....

. The rare ssp. carlsonii is now limited to 3 or 4 plants; other subpopulations and all seedling

Seedling

thumb|Monocot and dicot seedlingsA seedling is a young plant sporophyte developing out of a plant embryo from a seed. Seedling development starts with germination of the seed. A typical young seedling consists of three main parts: the radicle , the hypocotyl , and the cotyledons...

s planted in the habitat are thought to be gone.

This Hawaiian lobelioid

Hawaiian lobelioids

The Hawaiian lobelioids are a group of flowering plants in the bellflower family, Campanulaceae, all of which are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. This is the largest plant radiation in the Hawaiian Islands, and indeed the largest on any island archipelago, with over 125 species...

 is a rainforest

Rainforest

Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...

 shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

 which is palm

Palm

Palm may refer to :* Palm, the central region of the front of the hand, see Hand#Human anatomy or metacarpus.-People:* August Palm , Swedish socialist activist* Conny Palm, , Swedish electrical engineer and statistician...

-like in appearance. Threats to the species include degradation of the habitat and damage to plants by feral pigs, goats

Feral goat

The feral goat is the domestic goat when it has become established in the wild. Feral goats occur in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Great Britain, Hawaii, the Galapagos and in many other parts of the world...

, cattle

Cattle

Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...

, rat

Rat

Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...

s, slug

Slug

Slug is a common name that is normally applied to any gastropod mollusc that lacks a shell, has a very reduced shell, or has a small internal shell...

s, and exotic plant species

Introduced species

An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...

 such as selfheal

Prunella vulgaris

Prunella vulgaris, known as common selfheal, heal-all, heart-of-the-earth, is a medicinal plant in the genus Prunella. It grows 5 to 30 cms high , with creeping, self-rooting, tough, square, reddish stems branching at leaf axis...

 (Prunella vulgaris), Kahili ginger

Hedychium gardnerianum

Hedychium gardnerianum is a plant native to the Himalayas in India, Nepal, and Bhutan. It grows to 8 ft tall with long, bright green leaves clasping the tall stems. The very fragrant pale yellow and red flowers are held in dense spikes above the foliage...

 (Hedychium gardnerianum), and velvet tree

Miconia calvescens

The velvet tree, miconia, or bush currant is a species of flowering plant in the family Melastomataceae. It is native to Mexico and Central and South America but is best known for being arguably the worst invasive plant in Hawaii, where it is commonly referred to as the "purple plague", and...

 (Miconia calvescens). Other threats include landslides and an unidentified insect

Insect

Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...

that damages the fruit.