Kadua parvula
Encyclopedia
Kadua parvula is a rare species of flowering plant in the coffee family
known by the common name rockface star-violet. It is endemic to Hawaii
, where it is known only from the Waianae Mountains on the island of Oahu
. It is a federally listed endangered species
of the United States.
This is a branching shrub
growing erect or spreading, the branches reaching 10 to 40 centimeters in length. The lance-shaped or pointed oval leaves are densely spaced on the branches, sometimes overlapping. Each is up to 4 centimeters long by 3 wide and leathery in texture. The flowers may be bisexual
or functionally female with fleshy white lobes sometimes tinged pink at the tips. The plants grow on cliffs and ledges in moist areas of the Waianae Mountains.
There are only two known populations extant. One is located on the Mākua Military Reservation, and the other is at Halona. Together they contain at least 263 individual plants.
Threats to the plant include habitat degradation and destruction by feral pigs and goats
and non-native plants
such as Ageratina riparia, Erigeron karvinskianus
, Grevillea robusta
, Melinis minutiflora
, Rubus argutus, and Schinus terebinthifolius.
Rubiaceae
The Rubiaceae is a family of flowering plants, variously called the coffee family, madder family, or bedstraw family. The group contains many commonly known plants, including the economically important coffee , quinine , and gambier , and the horticulturally valuable madder , west indian jasmine ,...
known by the common name rockface star-violet. 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 only from the Waianae Mountains on the island 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...
. 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.
This is a branching 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...
growing erect or spreading, the branches reaching 10 to 40 centimeters in length. The lance-shaped or pointed oval leaves are densely spaced on the branches, sometimes overlapping. Each is up to 4 centimeters long by 3 wide and leathery in texture. The flowers may be bisexual
Plant sexuality
Plant sexuality covers the wide variety of sexual reproduction systems found across the plant kingdom. This article describes morphological aspects of sexual reproduction of plants....
or functionally female with fleshy white lobes sometimes tinged pink at the tips. The plants grow on cliffs and ledges in moist areas of the Waianae Mountains.
There are only two known populations extant. One is located on the Mākua Military Reservation, and the other is at Halona. Together they contain at least 263 individual plants.
Threats to the plant include habitat degradation and destruction by feral pigs and 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...
and non-native 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...
such as Ageratina riparia, Erigeron karvinskianus
Erigeron karvinskianus
Erigeron karvinskianus is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common name Latin American fleabane, though some know it as the Santa Barbara daisy....
, Grevillea robusta
Grevillea robusta
Grevillea robusta, commonly known as the southern silky oak or Silky-oak, or Australian Silver-oak, is the largest species in the genus Grevillea. It is a native of eastern coastal Australia, in riverine, subtropical and dry rainforest environments receiving more than 1,000 mm per year of...
, Melinis minutiflora
Melinis minutiflora
Melinis minutiflora, commonly known as molasses grass, is a species of grass. It has been weedy in Australia, where it has been introduced....
, Rubus argutus, and Schinus terebinthifolius.