Cyanea truncata
Encyclopedia
Cyanea truncata is a rare species of flowering plant in the bellflower family
known by the common name Punaluu cyanea. It is endemic to the islands of Oahu
and Molokai
in Hawaii
, but it is now extinct
in the wild. It exists in cultivation and some individuals have been planted in appropriate habitat. It is a federally listed endangered species
of the United States. Like other Cyanea
it is known as haha in Hawaiian
.
By the 1980s this Hawaiian lobelioid
was known only from the Koʻolau Mountains of Oahu, and the last plants were seen in 1983. No more were found until 1998 when one plant was discovered; it died in 2001 but by then its offspring were being propagated
. In 2004 three plants were discovered and these were still alive two years later. In the meantime, the offspring of the propagated individual had been planted in appropriate habitat. Some of these are still alive today, growing inside an enclosure along with another endangered plant, Schiedia kaalae, where they are protected from feral pigs that rove the area.
The aforementioned pigs were a major force that drove the plant to extinction. The animals are extremely destructive to the habitat, rooting the soil, tearing down larger vegetation, uprooting small plants and seedling
s, and transporting the seeds of exotic plants
into the area. Exotic plants that threaten this and other rare natives include kukui (Aleurites moluccana), ti (Cordyline fruitcosa), and Christmas berry (Schinus terebinthifolius). Rat
s and slug
s also damage the plants.
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 Punaluu cyanea. It is endemic to the islands of Oahu
Oahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
and Molokai
Molokai
Molokai or Molokai is an island in the Hawaiian archipelago. It is 38 by 10 miles in size with a land area of , making it the fifth largest of the main Hawaiian Islands and the 27th largest island in the United States. It lies east of Oahu across the 25-mile wide Kaiwi Channel and north of...
in 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...
, but it is now extinct
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
in the wild. It exists in cultivation and some individuals have been planted in appropriate habitat. 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...
of the United States. 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...
.
By the 1980s 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...
was known only from the Koʻolau Mountains of Oahu, and the last plants were seen in 1983. No more were found until 1998 when one plant was discovered; it died in 2001 but by then its offspring were being propagated
Plant propagation
Plant propagation is the process of creating new plants from a variety of sources: seeds, cuttings, bulbs and other plant parts. Plant propagation can also refer to the artificial or natural dispersal of plants.-Sexual propagation :...
. In 2004 three plants were discovered and these were still alive two years later. In the meantime, the offspring of the propagated individual had been planted in appropriate habitat. Some of these are still alive today, growing inside an enclosure along with another endangered plant, Schiedia kaalae, where they are protected from feral pigs that rove the area.
The aforementioned pigs were a major force that drove the plant to extinction. The animals are extremely destructive to the habitat, rooting the soil, tearing down larger vegetation, uprooting small plants and 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, and transporting the seeds of exotic plants
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...
into the area. Exotic plants that threaten this and other rare natives include kukui (Aleurites moluccana), ti (Cordyline fruitcosa), and Christmas berry (Schinus terebinthifolius). 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 and 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 also damage the plants.