Cyanea shipmanii

Cyanea shipmanii
Conservation status
Critically Imperiled (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Campanulaceae
Genus:	Cyanea
Species:	C. shipmanii
Binomial name
Cyanea shipmanii Rock

Cyanea shipmanii is a rare species of flowering plant in the bellflower family known by the common name Shipman's cyanea. It is endemic to the island of Hawaii, where it is known only from the slopes of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea.^[1] It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States. Like other Cyanea it is known as haha in Hawaiian.^[2]

This plant has been declining steadily since 1994 when there were fewer than 50 individuals left, all growing on the side of Mauna Kea. By 2002 more occurrences were known but the total global population was only 12 plants. By 2007 there were two wild plants. Some seedlings have been grown in nurseries, but only 37% have survived when planted in habitat.^[3]

This Hawaiian lobelioid is a shrub which can reach four meters in height. The leaves are deeply divided and subdivided with many tiny lobes, resembling the leaves of ferns. The inflorescence bears greenish white flowers. The natural habitat of the plant is composed of moist forest on volcanic soils. The plant has been driven toward extinction by degradation of its habitat from exotic plant species and feral pigs.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Cyanea shipmanii. The Nature Conservancy.
2. ^ USFWS Species Profile: Listed Plants
3. ^ USFWS. Cyanea shipmanii Five-year Review. July 2009.

External links

• USDA Plants Profile