''Wikstroemia villosa'', the hairy wikstroemia or hairy false ohelo, is a tropical species of

plant Plants are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic eukaryotes of the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all curr ...

in the

Thymelaeaceae The Thymelaeaceae are a cosmopolitan family of flowering plants composed of 50 genera (listed below) and 898 species.Zachary S. Rogers (2009 onwards)A World Checklist of Thymelaeaceae (version 1) Missouri Botanical Garden Website, St. Louis. It ...

family.

Distribution

It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to the island of Maui in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

. It was known from

montane rainforest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

s on the windward side of

Haleakalā Haleakalā (; Hawaiian: ), or the East Maui Volcano, is a massive shield volcano that forms more than 75% of the Hawaiian Island of Maui. The western 25% of the island is formed by another volcano, Mauna Kahalawai, also referred to as the Wes ...

volcano on East Maui the ridges in Wailuku Valley on West Maui. ;Conservation ''Wikstroemia villosa'' is currently classified as "critically endangered" (CR) by IUCN (since September 2016). It was once thought to have become extinct due to

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

, and has been classified as an

extinct species This page features lists of extinct species, organisms that have become extinct, either in the wild or completely disappeared from Earth. In actual theoretical practice, a species not definitely located in the wild in the last fifty years of cur ...

on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

from 1998 to 2016. However, it was rediscovered in 2007 with the discovery of one plant on the windward side of Haleakalā in

Haleakalā National Park Haleakalā National Park is an American national park located on the island of Maui in the state of Hawaii. Named after Haleakalā, a dormant volcano within its boundaries, the park covers an area of , of which is a wilderness area. The land w ...

on East Maui. As of 2010, there was one plant and one seedling at the discovery location. In addition, 3 plants have been outplanted at the Waikamoi Preserve. The

US Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with o ...

has recently proposed to list this plant as an endangered species. In the IUCN's report in 2016, 49 mature individuals in 5 subpopulations were confirmed.

References

External links

villosa ''Villosa'' is a genus of freshwater mussels, aquatic bivalve molluscs in the family Unionidae. Species Species within the genus ''Villosa'': * '' Villosa amygdala'' * ''Villosa arkansasensis'' - Ouachita creekshell * ''Villosa choctawensis ...

Endemic flora of Hawaii Biota of Maui ~ Plants extinct in the wild Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Thymelaeaceae-stub