''Cyanea undulata'' is a rare species of flowering plant in the bellflower family known by the common names wavy cyanea and leechleaf cyanea. 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 elsew ...

to the island of

Kauai Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest island ...

, where it is in rapid decline.USFWS
''Cyanea undulata'' Five-year Review.
January 2008. It is a federally listed

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

of the United States. Like other '' Cyanea'' it is known as ''haha'' in Hawaiian.USFWS Species Profile: Listed Plants
/ref> This

Hawaiian lobelioid The Hawaiian lobelioids are a group of flowering plants in the bellflower family, Campanulaceae, subfamily Lobelioideae, all of which are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. This is the largest plant radiation in the Hawaiian Islands, and indeed t ...

is a

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

which can exceed three meters in height. The leaves have wavy edges and the flowers are yellow.''Cyanea truncata''.
The Nature Conservancy. The plant was first described in 1909 and then it was not seen again until it was rediscovered in 1991. In 1994 there was a single population containing 28 plants. By 2006 the population was in poor shape, with a single mature plant and a few juveniles remaining. The species has become rare because of habitat degradation by feral pigs, exotic plant species, and damage to plants caused by

rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include ''Neotoma'' ( pack rats), ''Bandicota'' (bandicoot ...

s and

slug Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc. The word ''slug'' is also often used as part of the common name of any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a very reduced shell, or only a smal ...

References

External links

USDA Plants Profile
undulata Endemic flora of Hawaii Biota of Kauai Plants described in 1909 {{Campanulaceae-stub