Kadua parvula

Kadua parvula

Critically Imperiled  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Rubiaceae
Genus: Kadua
Species: K. parvula
Binomial name
Kadua parvula
Synonyms

Hedyotis parvula

Kadua parvula (formerly Hedyotis 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.[1] 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.[1]

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.[2]

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.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 Kadua parvula. The Nature Conservancy.
  2. 1 2 USFWS. Kadua parvula Five-year Review. January 2008.
  • USDA Plants Profile
  • "Kadua parvula". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).


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