There are no clearer bellwethers of the widening biodiversity crisis than newly named species that are already critically endangered when christened. A recent example is the bellflower Cyanea kauaulaensis described from Maui by Dr Hank Oppenheimer of the University of Hawaii and Dr David H Lorence of the National Tropical Botanical Garden in Kalaheo. Sadly, this new plant joins nearly 200 native species in Hawaii that have fewer than 50 known individuals in the wild and that are the focus of Hawaii's Plant Extinction Prevention Program. This lovely plant belongs to the lobelioid bellflowers, all of which are endemic to this island chain. With 125 species, the lobelioids constitute the greatest plant species radiation not only of Hawaii, but of any archipelago on Earth.
Showing posts with label bellflower. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bellflower. Show all posts
Thursday, 9 January 2014
New to Nature No 116: Cyanea kauaulaensis
There are no clearer bellwethers of the widening biodiversity crisis than newly named species that are already critically endangered when christened. A recent example is the bellflower Cyanea kauaulaensis described from Maui by Dr Hank Oppenheimer of the University of Hawaii and Dr David H Lorence of the National Tropical Botanical Garden in Kalaheo. Sadly, this new plant joins nearly 200 native species in Hawaii that have fewer than 50 known individuals in the wild and that are the focus of Hawaii's Plant Extinction Prevention Program. This lovely plant belongs to the lobelioid bellflowers, all of which are endemic to this island chain. With 125 species, the lobelioids constitute the greatest plant species radiation not only of Hawaii, but of any archipelago on Earth.
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