Cyanea dolichopoda
Cyanea dolichopoda was a species of shrub in the bellflower family that was endemic to Kauai. It was discovered in 1990 and has not been located in the wild since 1992. Like other Cyanea it is known as haha in Hawaiian.[2]
| Cyanea dolichopoda | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Campanulaceae |
| Genus: | Cyanea |
| Species: | †C. dolichopoda |
| Binomial name | |
| †Cyanea dolichopoda Lammers & Lorence | |
This Hawaiian lobelioid was discovered in the Blue Hole, a valley on Kauai near the Wailua River. The Blue Hole is deep, nearly surrounded by steep cliffs up to 900 meters tall, and wet, a very high rainfall area filled with waterfalls. Only four plants were ever found, three juvenile specimens and one plant just reaching flowering stage. Because the plant was so obviously an unknown species and was apparently on the brink of extinction, it was given a name. It was not seen again after 1992.[3]
The IUCN has declared the species extinct.[1] The habitat is steep and hard to access. Because it is "very likely" that more specimens of the plant will be found in future surveys, the species was added to the endangered species list of the United States in 2010.[4]
References
- Bruegmann, M. M. & V. Caraway. (2003). Cyanea dolichopoda. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2010. www.iucnredlist.org Archived June 27, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 25 February 2011.
- USFWS Species Reports: Listed Plants.
- Lammers, T. G. and D. H. Lorence. (1993). A new species of Cyanea (Campanulaceae: Lobelioideae) from Kaua'i, and the resurrection of C. remyi. Novon 3:4 431-36.
- USFWS. Determination of endangered status for 48 species on Kauai and designation of critical habitat; Final rule. Federal Register April 13, 2010.