Saint Helena Olive

St. Helena Olive tree ( Nesiota elliptica ), illustration.

The St. Helena Olive tree ( Nesiota elliptica ) was the only species of the monotypic genus Nesiota. Despite the name, he was not closely related to the olive tree, but belonged to the family of the buckthorn family ( Rhamnaceae ). He was endemic to the highest points of the eastern central mountain range of the island of St. Helena and is considered to be extinct since 2003.

Description

The St. Helena Olive tree was a small tree reaching heights of growth of up to four meters, with numerous branches and a dark brown to black bark. The wrong elongated and curled at the top leaves were 5 to 8 inches long and 2 to 3.5 inches wide. The upper side of the leaves was dark green and the bright underside was covered with flat adjacent hairs.

The tightly bundled, bright pink flowers grew in a branched inflorescence not sticking out through the leaves. The flowering period was from June to October. The plant was self-incompatible to 99 %, which means that this species was not able to pollinate themselves. As pollinators the endemic species of fly Sphaerophoria ( Loveridgeana ) acted beattiei.

The fruit needed one year to maturity. The hard, woody fruit capsules were one to two inches long, they burst open when ripe, with triangular, shiny black seeds appeared.

Extinction

The St. Helena Olive tree was already in the 19th century extremely rare. Probably the decline to habitat loss due to deforestation for timber production, overgrazing was driven by feral goats and fungal infections. The botanist John Charles Melliss counted in 1875 only twelve to fifteen trees, and shortly afterwards was the kind considered lost until in August 1977, a single specimen was rediscovered at the Diana 's Peak. This tree was attacked by numerous fungal infections which were exacerbated to get him in the attempt. The last wild St. Helena Olive tree was received on October 11, 1994, but succeeded before in the "Environmental Conservation Section ," St. Helena to use an offshoot of a two-meter high tree. Before this specimen was received in 1997, in 1995 in the " Pounceys Arboretum " four seedlings are used. Of which survived from 1999 only one. In December 2003, the specimen died due to a fungal infection. Since then, the species is considered extinct.