Metrosideros macropus

Lehua mamo
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Myrtales
Family:	Myrtaceae
Subfamily:	Myrtoideae
Tribe:	Metrosidereae
Genus:	Metrosideros
Species:	M. macropus
Binomial name
Metrosideros macropus A.Gray

M. macropus flower. Also note the long leaf petioles.

Lehua mamo (Metrosideros macropus), is a species of tree in the eucalyptus family, Myrtaceae. It is endemic to the island of Oʻahu in the Hawaiian Islands. It is closely related to the widespread and highly variable ʻōhiʻa lehua (M. polymorpha), found throughout the islands. Lehua mamo, however, is only found in the Koʻolau mountains. It is distinguished from M. polymorpha by the elongate leaf petioles (1/3-1/2 as long as the leaf blades, compared to less than 1/4 as long in M. polymorpha) and the consistently yellow flowers. The latter character is also found in some varieties of M. polymorpha, which normally has red flowers, but the flowers of M. macropus are never red.

This tree can be buried underneath hot cinders ejected by a volcano and still grow new shoots and roots.^[1]

References

1. ^ Suzuki, David; Grady, Wayne (2004), Tree: A Life Story, Vancouver: GreyStone Books, p. 14, ISBN 978-1-55365-126-0