Kopa

Hedyotis schlechtendahliana var. remyi

Description

The kopa is a sparsely branched, low-growing shrub. It has weakly erect or climbing stems from 2-12 ft (60-600 cm) long. The stems are somewhat square in cross-section, smooth, and glaucous (i.e., having a fine waxy coating that imparts a whitish or bluish hue). The leaves are arranged in opposite fashion on the stem, and are glossy, thin or somewhat thickened, egg-shaped or with a heart-shaped base, have a very pointed tip, and are 1.2-2.4 in (3-6 cm) long. The margins of the leaves curl under. The veins of the leaves are impressed on the upper surface and raised on the lower surface, with hairs along the veins. The lower surface of the leaves is usually glaucous, like the stems. The leaf petioles are up to 0.4 in (1 cm) long, and bear stipules (appendages on the base of the leaf stalks). The inflorescence stalk (or peduncle) is 0.1-0.6 in (2-15 mm) long, square, usually glaucous, and borne at the ends of the stems. The flowers have functional male and female parts, or only functional female parts. Leaf-like bracts occur at the base of each flower. The hypanthium is top-shaped and 0.06-0.09 in (1.5-2.2 mm) wide. The calyx lobes are usually leaf-like and oblong to broadly egg-shaped, 0.08-0.3 in (2-8 mm) long, and 0.08-0.09 in (1.5-2.5 mm) wide, enlarging somewhat in fruit. The corolla is cream-colored, fleshy, usually glaucous, and trumpet-shaped, with a tube 0.2-0.7 in (6-17 mm) long and lobes 0.06 to 0.4 in (1.5-10 mm) long when the anthers are ripe. The stamens reach only to 0.04-0.1 in (1-3 mm) below the sinuses of the corolla lobes. The styles are woolly on the lower portions, and are 2-to 4-lobed. The ripe fruits are top-shaped to sub-globose capsules, 0.1-0.2 in (2-4 mm) long, and 0.1-0.3 in (3-7 mm) in diameter. The fruits break open along the walls of the locules (or cells) within the fruit. The seeds are dark brown, irregularly wedge-shaped and angled, and darkly granular. This variety of the kopa is distinguished from the other variety by its leaf shape, narrow flowering stalks, and flower color. It is distinguished from other species in its genus by the distance between leaves and the length of the sprawling or climbing stems.

Habitat

The kopa typically grows in mesic, windswept shrubland with a mixture of dominant plant taxa that may include Metrosideros polymorpha, Dicranopteris linearis, and/or Styphelia tameiameiae. It occurs at elevations between 2,400-3,000 ft (730-900 m).

Distribution

The kopa is a locally evolved (or endemic) species that is known from only five locations on the northwestern portion of Lanaihale on the island of Lanai, in the Hawaiian archipelago. Hawaii has an extremely large fraction of endemic species; about 89% of the indigenous flowering plants occur nowhere else in the world.

Threats

The kopa is much reduced in range and abundance from historical times. The primary threats to this endangered plant are habitat degradation and destruction caused by axis deer (Cervus axis ), a non-native species of mammalian herbivore. Also important is competition with alien plant species, such as the strawberry guava (Psidium cattleianum ), fire-tree (Myrica faya ), New Zealand tea (Leptospermum scoparium ), and Christmasberry (Schinus terebinthifolius ). Because of its extremely tiny population size, the kopa is vulnerable to being wiped out by a catastrophic disturbance, such as a hurricane. In the mid-1990s, the kopa was known to survive in the wild as only six individuals in three populations on Kaiholeha-Hulupoe ridge, Kapohaku drainage, and Waiapaa drainage on Lanaihale.

Conservation and Recovery

The remnant individuals of the kopa occur on private lands, and are vulnerable to ongoing damage. Conservation of this extremely rare plant requires that its critical habitat be acquired and protected as an ecological reserve, or by the negotiation of conservation easements. Its tiny surviving population should be monitored, and research undertaken to determine the environmental factors threatening its survival. The local abundance of axis deer and invasive plants should be vigorously reduced or eliminated. Work should be undertaken on the propagation of the kopa in captivity, with the view of providing stock for out-planting to enhance the perilously endangered wild population.

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
Telephone: (503) 231-6121
http://pacific.fws.gov/

U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office
300 Ala Moana Boulevard, Room 3-122
P. O. Box 50088
Honolulu, Hawaii 96850
Telephone: (808) 541-3441
Fax: (808) 541-3470

Reference

U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 3 September 1999. "Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants: Final Endangered Status for 10 Plant Taxa from Maui Nui, Hawaii." Federal Register 64 (171):48307-48324.