Kanaloa (botany)

Taxobox
name = "Kanaloa"
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Fabales
familia = Fabaceae
subfamilia = Mimosoideae
genus = "Kanaloa"
genus_authority = Lorence & K. Wood
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = See text.

"Kanaloa" is a Hawaiian genus of plant of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Mimosoideae.

This genus is interesting because it is known from its pollen grains (found in archaeological cores) to have once been quite common on O‘ahu (Athens "et al." 1992) and to have also occurred on Maui (James & Burney 1997) at least. However, the pollen grains could not be associated with any known plant until the very recent discovery of just a few surviving specimens of "K. kahoolawensis" on Kaho‘olawe (Lorence & Wood 1994). Whether the pollen grains in the archaeological samples belong to "K. kahoolawensis" or not is not known. As Kaho‘olawe was united with Maui and other islands prehistorically ("see also" Maui Nui), this is entirely possible as regards the Maui finds. On the other hand, it is far more likely than not that the O‘ahu remains represent another, extinct, species - possibly an ancestor of "K. kahoolawensis" -, judging from the biogeography of Hawaiian land plants.

References

* Athens, J. S.; Ward, J. V. & Wickler, S. (1992) Late Holocene lowland vegetation on O’ahu, Hawai’i. "New Zealand Journal of Archaeology" 14: 9–34.

* James, Helen F. & Burney, David A. (1997): The diet and ecology of Hawaii's extinct flightless waterfowl: evidence from coprolites. "Biol. J. Linn. Soc." 62(2): 279–297. [http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ap/bj/1997/00000062/00000002/art00158 HTML abstract]

* Lorence D. H. & Wood, K. R. (1994) "Kanaloa", a new genus of Fabaceae (Mimosoideae) from Hawaii. "Novon" 4: 137–145.