''Geranium arboreum'' is a rare species of

geranium ''Geranium'' is a genus of 422 species of annual, biennial, and perennial plants that are commonly known as geraniums or cranesbills. They are found throughout the temperate regions of the world and the mountains of the tropics, but mostly i ...

known by the common names Hawaiian red-flowered geranium and Hawaii red cranesbill. 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 ...

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 ...

, where it is known only from the island of Maui.''Geranium arboreum''.

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Natu ...

. It was federally listed as an endangered species in 1992.USFWS
Determination of endangered status for ''Geranium arboreum'' (Hawaiian Red-Flowered Geranium).
''Federal Register'' May 13, 1992. Like other Hawaiian geraniums, this plant is known as ''hinahina'' and ''nohoanu''.''Geranium''.
Smithsonian Flora of the Hawaiian Islands. This plant is a shrub which can reach 4 meters in height. The leaves have green, toothed blades up to 3.8 centimeters long. The flowers are red or

magenta Magenta () is a color that is variously defined as pinkish- purplish- red, reddish-purplish-pink or mauvish- crimson. On color wheels of the RGB (additive) and CMY (subtractive) color models, it is located exactly midway between red and bl ...

. The upper petals are erect, but the lower two are curved under. The shape of the flower indicates it is

pollinated Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds, ...

by birds, which is unique among the geraniums. This plant grows in gulches on the slopes of the

volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates ...

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 ...

. There are no more than 500 individuals left. The main threat to this species is the degradation of its habitat by

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and other ...

cattle,

feral pig The feral pig is a domestic pig which has gone feral, meaning it lives in the wild. They are found mostly in the Americas and Australia. Razorback and wild hog are Americanisms applied to feral pigs or boar-pig hybrids. Definition A feral ...

s, and non-native plant species invading the area.

References

* Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai'i, volume 1, 1990, Warren L. Wagner, Derral R. Herbst, S. H. Sohmer, University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu,

External links

arboreum Endemic flora of Hawaii {{Geraniaceae-stub