Haha

Cyanea mannii

Description

Cyanea mannii is a branched shrub in the bell-flower family that grows 5-10 ft (1.5-3 m) in height. The leaves are narrowly elliptic or lance-shaped and have hardened teeth along the leaf margins. Each flower cluster arises from the axil of a leaf on a stalk; these clusters comprise six to 12 flowers, each on a stalk 0.3-0.5 in (7.6-12.7 mm) long. Each flower has a smooth, green hypanthium topped by triangular calyx lobes. The purplish corolla forms a nearly upright tube that ends in five spreading lobes. Berries have not been observed on this haha, but flowering was observed in July. This species is distinguished from the seven other species of the genus on Molokai by (1) a branched, woody habit; (2) leaves with small, hardened, marginal teeth; and (3) a purplish corolla.

Habitat

C. mannii typically grows on the sides of deep gulches in 'ohi'a-dominated mesic to wet forests at elevations of 3,000-4,000 ft (914-1,219 m) on East Molokai.

Distribution

This species was known only from a historical occurrence at Ka Lae until 1984, when a single plant was discovered by Joan Aidem on privately owned land west of Puu Kolekole on East Molokai. Additional populations have been discovered since then in the east and west forks of Kawela Gulch within Kamakou Preserve on East Molokai; as of 1996 there were nine known populations of fewer than 1,000 total individuals.

Threats

Feral pigs threaten the habitat of C. mannii. Rats may feed on the fruit or other parts of the plant, as shown by predation on related species. Because of the small number of remaining individuals, one random naturally occurring event could extirpate a significant proportion of the populations.

Conservation and Recovery

Seeds of C. mannii have been collected and propagated by the National Tropical Botanical Garden.

Contacts

U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Regional Office, Division of Endangered Species
Eastside Federal Complex
911 N. E. 11th Ave.
Portland, Oregon 97232-4181
(503) 231-6121
http://pacific.fws.gov/

Pacific Remote Islands Ecological Services Field Office
300 Ala Moana Blvd., Room 3-122
P.O. Box 50088
Honolulu, Hawaii 96850
Telephone: (808) 541-1201
Fax: (808) 541-1216

Reference

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 8 October 1992. "Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Determination of Endangered or Threatened Status for 16 Plants from the Island of Molokai, Hawaii." Federal Register 57 (196): 46325-46340)