Pritchardia Affinis
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Pritchardia affinis'', the Hawai'i pritchardia, is a species of
palm tree The Arecaceae () is a family of perennial, flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are colloquially c ...
that is
endemic 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 foun ...
to the
Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to nort ...
. Wild populations currently exist on the leeward side of the
Island of Hawaii Hawaii is the List of islands of the United States by area, largest island in the United States, located in the Hawaii, state of Hawaii, the southernmost state in the union. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcani ...
. It was most likely cultivated by
Native Hawaiians Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was settled at least 800 years ago by Polynesian ...
, its exact native range is uncertain. ''P. affinis'' reaches a height of . It is threatened by pests such as rats and pigs, which damage trees and eat the seeds before they can grow. 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, inv ...
of the United States. The fruit of Pritchardia affinis was reportedly the preferred food of the now-extinct ula-ai-hawane—a niche that has been seemingly filled by the introduced lavender waxbill.


References


External links

* * affinis Endemic flora of Hawaii Trees of Hawaii Biota of Hawaii (island) Plants described in 1921 Taxa named by Odoardo Beccari Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{tree-stub