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Hawaiian Tropical Dry Forest
Hawaiian tropical dry forests are a tropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregion in the Hawaiian Islands. They cover an area of on the leeward side of the main islands and the summits of Niihau and Kahoolawe. These forests are either seasonal or sclerophyllous. Annual rainfall is less than and may be as low as . The rainy season there lasts from November to March. Dominant tree species include ''koa'' (''Acacia koa''), ''koaia'' ('' A. koaia''), ''akoko'' (''Euphorbia'' spp.), ''ōhia'' lehua (''Metrosideros polymorpha''), ''lonomea'' (''Sapindus oahuensis''), ''māmane'' (''Sophora chrysophylla''), ''loulu'' (''Pritchardia'' spp.), ''lama'' (''Diospyros sandwicensis''), ''olopua'' (''Nestegis sandwicensis''), ''wiliwili'' (''Erythrina sandwicensis''), ''ohe makai'' (''Polyscias sandwicensis''), and ''iliahi'' (''Santalum'' spp.). Endemic plant species include ''hau heleula'' (''Kokia cookei''), ''uhiuhi'' ('' Caesalpinia kavaiensis''), and ''Gouania'' spp. The ''palila'' (''Loxioi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Santalum
''Santalum'' is a genus of woody flowering plants in the Santalaceae family, the best known and most commercially valuable of which is the Indian sandalwood tree, '' S. album''. Members of the genus are trees or shrubs. Most are root parasites which photosynthesize their own food, but tap the roots of other species for water and inorganic nutrients. Several species, most notably ''S. album'', produce highly aromatic wood, used for scents and perfumes and for herbal medicine. It has about 25 known species which are native to Island Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Timor-Leste, and the Philippines), Melanesia (Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Fiji, and New Caledonia), Australia, Polynesia, the Bonin Islands of Japan, and the Juan Fernández Islands of Chile. Indian sandalwood (''S. album'') is native to the tropical dry deciduous forests the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia, the Philippines, and Arnhem Land of northern Australia. It is the only species of the genus found on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sclerophyll
Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaves, short Internode (botany), internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is parallel or oblique to direct sunlight. Sclerophyllous plants occur in many parts of the world, but are most typical of areas with low rainfall or seasonal droughts, such as Australia, Africa, and western North and South America. They are prominent throughout Australia, parts of Flora of Argentina, Argentina, the Cerrado biogeographic region of Geography of Bolivia, Bolivia, Geography of Paraguay, Paraguay and Flora of Brazil, Brazil, and in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub, Mediterranean biomes that cover the Mediterranean Basin, California chaparral and woodlands, California, Chilean Matorral, Chile, and the Cape Province of South Africa. In the Mediterranean basin, Quercus ilex, holm oak, cork oak and olives are typical hardwood tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kokia Cookei
''Kokia cookei'' is a small, deciduous tree commonly known as the kokio, Molokai treecotton, Cooke's kokio, or Molokai kokio. It is about in height, with simple leaves of 5 to 7 lobes, and large flowers. The fruit that the plant produces is composed of a five-lobed capsule that is dry and covered with short, dense hairs. The ''Kokia'' follows the typical flowering plant life cycle. It was distributed in the lowlands of the Hawaiian islands prior to going extinct in 1978. Conservation efforts, such as cultivation, are in place to attempt to nurse the species back to health. It is suspected that the species played a major role in the ecosystem through pollination but it is not confirmed. Distribution This species is only known to have existed in the lowlands of the western Molokai, Molokai island in the Hawaiian Islands. Presumably, its native habitat was lowland Hawaiian tropical dry forests, dry forests on the Windward and leeward, leeward western end of the island. However, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemism
Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 elsewhere. For example, the Cape sugarbird is found exclusively in southwestern South Africa and is therefore said to be ''endemic'' to that particular part of the world. An endemic species can also be referred to as an ''endemism'' or, in scientific literature, as an ''endemite''. Similarly, many species found in the Western ghats of India are examples of endemism. Endemism is an important concept in conservation biology for measuring biodiversity in a particular place and evaluating the risk of extinction for species. Endemism is also of interest in evolutionary biology, because it provides clues about how changes in the environment cause species to undergo range shifts (potentially expanding their range into a larger area or b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polyscias Sandwicensis
''Polyscias sandwicensis'' (formerly '' Reynoldsia sandwicensis''), known in Hawaiian as the 'ohe makai or ''Ohe kukuluāeo'', is a species of flowering plant in the family Araliaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. It is a Hawaiian dry forest tree, adapted by being deciduous and losing its leaves during the regular summer drought. It reaches a height of high with a trunk diameter of . It can be found at elevations of on most main islands. ''Polyscias sandwicensis'' generally inhabits lowland dry forests, but is occasionally seen in coastal mesic and mixed mesic forests. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease .... References External links * sandwicensis Trees of Hawaii Endemic flora of Hawaii Near threatened plants Taxonomy ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erythrina Sandwicensis
Wiliwili (''Erythrina sandwicensis'') is a species of tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. It is the only species of ''Erythrina'' that naturally occurs there. It is typically found in Hawaiian tropical dry forests on leeward island slopes up to an elevation of . ''Wiliwili'' means "repeatedly twisted" in the Hawaiian language and refers to the seedpods, which dehisce, or twist open, to reveal the seeds. Description ''Wiliwili'' trees grow to a height of with a gnarled and stout trunk that reaches in diameter. The bark is smooth, slightly fissured, and covered in gray or black spines up to in length. The bark on the main trunk of mature trees has a distinct orange cast, which is caused by a terrestrial alga. The ''wiliwili'' is summer (dry season) drought deciduous. The dry season usually begins in late April or in May, and trees in the wild typically lose all of their leaves before they bloom. Trees in cultivation may retain much of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nestegis Sandwicensis
''Notelaea sandwicensis'', commonly known as Hawai'i olive or ''olopua'', is a species of flowering tree in the olive family, Oleaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. It is found on all major islands at elevations of in coastal mesic and mixed mesic forests, and, especially, dry forests. It usually reaches a height of with a trunk diameter of , but may reach in height with a trunk diameter of . Uses Native Hawaiians used the hard wood of ''olopua'' to make ''au koi'' (adze handles), ''apuapu'' (rasps for making fish hooks), ''ōō'' ( digging sticks), ''lāau melomelo'' (fishing lures), ''pou'' (house posts), ''pāhoa'' (daggers), ''pīkoi'' (tripping weapons similar to a rope dart), and spears. Because the wood burned well even if green, it was used as ''wahie'' (firewood Firewood is any wooden material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not heavily processed, and is in some sort of firelog, recognizable log or branch form, compared to other form ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diospyros Sandwicensis
''Diospyros sandwicensis'' is a species of flowering tree in the ebony family, Ebenaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. It belongs to the same genus as both persimmons and ebony. Its common name, ''lama'', also means enlightenment in Hawaiian. ''Lama'' is a small to medium-sized tree, with a height of and a trunk diameter of . It can be found in dry, coastal mesic, mixed mesic, and wet forests at elevations of on all major islands. ''Lama'' and ''olopua'' (''Nestegis sandwicensis'') are dominant species in lowland dry forests on the islands of Maui, Molokai, Kahoolawe, and Lānai. Uses The sapwood of ''lama'' is very white and forms a wide band inside the trunk. The heartwood is reddish-brown, fine-textured, straight-grained, and extremely hard. Native Hawaiians made ''aukā'' (upright supports) out of ''lama'' wood, which were used in ''hīnai'' (basket fish trap) construction. The white sapwood represented enlightenment, and thus had many religious uses. The ''pou' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pritchardia
The genus ''Pritchardia'' (family Arecaceae) consists of between 24 and 40 species of fan palms (subfamily Coryphoideae) found on tropical Pacific Ocean Pacific Islands, islands in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Tuamotus, and most diversely in Hawaiian Islands, Hawaii. The generic name honors William Thomas Pritchard (1829–1907), a British consul at Fiji. Description These palms vary in height, ranging from . The leaves are fan-shaped (''costapalmate'') and the trunk columnar, naked, smooth or fibrous, longitudinally grooved, and obscurely ringed by leaf scars. The flowers and subsequent fruit are borne in a terminal cluster with simple or compound branches of an arcuate or pendulous inflorescence that (in some species) is longer than the leaves. Species There are 29 known species, of which 19 are Endemism, endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, with the remainder on other Pacific Islands, island groups. Many are critically endangered. Oahu has the most named ''Pritchardia'' species of any ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sophora Chrysophylla
''Sophora chrysophylla'', known as ''māmane'' in Hawaiian language, Hawaiian, is a species of flowering plant in the pea and bean family, Fabaceae, that is Endemism, endemic to Hawaii. It is highly Polymorphism (biology), polymorphic, growing as a shrub or tree, and able to reach a height of in tree form. Yellow flowers are produced in winter and spring. Biology ''S. chrysophylla'' has ridged golden brown branches. The tree has Pinnate, pinnately compound Leaf, leaves with 6 to 10 pairs of leaflet (botany), leaflets. Each leaflet is long and wide. Leaves are smooth, or with gray or yellow trichome, hairs on the underside. The specific name is derived from the Greek language, Greek words χρυσός (''chrysós''), meaning "gold," and φυλλον (''phyllos''), meaning "leaf." Flowers are found at the bases of leaves or the ends of branches in Inflorescence, clusters – that is, they occur in axillary or terminal racemes. The Petal#Corolla, corolla is yellow. The petal si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sapindus Oahuensis
''Sapindus oahuensis'' is a species of tree in the Sapindus, soapberry family, Sapindaceae. It is Endemism, endemic to Hawaii, where it is limited to Kauai, Kauai (Waimea Canyon State Park, Waimea Canyon) and Oahu, Oahu (Waianae Range, Waianae and Koʻolau Range, Koolau Ranges). Its common names include Āulu,Little, E. L. and R. G. SkolmenĀulu, ''Sapindus oahuensis'' Hillebr.''Common Forest Trees of Hawaii (Native and Introduced)''. Agriculture Handbook no. 679. USDA Forest Service, 1989. Oahu soapberry, alulu, kaulu, and lonomea. It can be found in Hawaiian tropical dry forests, dry and moist forest habitat at elevations of 200 to 2000 feet. Anatomy & Morphology Āulu grows up to tall with a trunk diameter of . It has alternately arranged, hairless leaves which have simple blades, unlike its congener, the Sapindus saponaria, wingless soapberry (''S. saponaria''), which has compound leaves. The leaves are somewhat thick and green with a yellow midvein. They are up to 15 cent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metrosideros Polymorpha
''Metrosideros polymorpha'', the ''ōhia lehua'',; is a species of flowering evergreen tree in the Myrtus, myrtle family, Myrtaceae, that is Endemism, endemic to the six largest Hawaiian Islands, islands of Hawaii, Hawaii. It is a member of the diverse ''Metrosideros'' genus, which are widespread over the southwest Pacific. It is the state tree of Hawai'i. It is a highly variable tree, being tall in favorable situations, and a much smaller prostrate shrub when growing in Hawaiian tropical rainforests#Bogs, boggy soils or directly on basalt. It produces a brilliant display of flowers, made up of a mass of stamens, which can range from fiery red to yellow. Many native Hawaiian traditions refer to the tree and the forests it forms as sacred to Pele (deity), Pele, the volcano goddess, and to Laka, the goddess of hula. Ōhia trees grow easily on lava, and are usually the first plants to grow on new lava flows. ''Metrosideros polymorpha'' is commonly called a ''lehua'' tree, or an ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
