- Melicope balloui
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Melicope balloui Conservation status Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae (unranked): Angiosperms (unranked): Eudicots (unranked): Rosids Order: Sapindales Family: Rutaceae Genus: Melicope Species: M. balloui Binomial name Melicope balloui
(Rock) T.G. Hartley & B.C. StoneMelicope balloui (also called Rock Pelea) is a species of plant in the Rutaceae family. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. It is threatened by habitat loss. Like other Hawaiian Melicope, this species is known as alani.[1]
This plant was described in 1913 by Joseph Rock, who named it after Howard M. Ballou, proofreader of his book on Hawaiian trees. It is a shrub or small tree with leathery oval leaves up to 10 centimeters long by 7 wide. Young twigs are coated in yellow-brown hairs. The female inflorescence contains 5 to 9 flowers; the male flower has never been seen. The fruit is a capsule about 2.5 centimeters wide.[1]
This plant is only known from the slopes of the volcano Haleakalā on Maui. There is a single occurrence containing an unknown number of plants.[2]
References
- ^ a b USFWS. Species Reports: Plants.
- ^ Melicope balloui. The Nature Conservancy.
External links
- World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. Melicope balloui. 2010 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 29 May 2011.
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