Hibiscadelphus distans

Hibiscadelphus distans

Hibiscadelphus distans is a very rare tree of the genus Hibiscadelphus. It comes in a wild form only on the island of Kauai in the Hawaiian archipelago.

Description

H. distans is a shrub or small tree reaching a height of 5.5 m. It has a smooth gray bark and a rounded crown. The four to ten centimeters long, medium green leaves are heart-shaped and covered with star-shaped hairs. The flower is 3.5 cm long and barely open. The petals are initially green and get with the age of a wine red color.

Occurrence

The presence of H. distans is limited to lower to middle altitudes between 305 m and 550 m in the remains of an endemic open dry forest on the river Koai'e in Waimea Canyon. The ground consists of basalt, overlain by dry, crumbly, reddish-brown earth. The average temperature is 18.5 to 25.7 ° C.

Status

There are only two known populations occurring in the wild, with an estimated inventory of 80 to 200 trees. The original population was discovered in 1972, was located in the Nā Pali state-owned Kona Forest Reserve in Koaie Canyon. 1989, this population was destroyed by a landslide. Three Botanical Gardens are currently attempting this species in cultivation to use: the National Tropical Botanical Garden on Kauai and the Waimea Valley and the Lyon Arboretum on Oahu.

Despite its extreme rarity H. distans is the most common species of the genus Hibiscadelphus. As the most powerful threat to the soil erosion caused by overgrazing by feral goats and pigs and competition with invasive plant species are.