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Brighamia insignis
Also called 'ōlulu, Hawaiian Palm, Vulcan Palm, `olulu
Brighamia insignis, commonly known as ʻŌlulu or Alula in Hawaiian, or colloquially as the vulcan palm or cabbage on a stick, is a species of Hawaiian lobelioid in the bellflower family, Campanulaceae. It was native to the islands of Kauaʻi and Niʻihau, but has been extinct in the wild since at least 2020. This short-lived perennial species is a member of a unique endemic Hawaiian genus with only one other species.
Although extinct in the wild, B. insignis is not hard to cultivate in a nursery, and it has come into use as a novel ornamental plant.
Brighamia insignis was found at elevations from sea level to 480 m (1,570 ft) in mesic shrublands and dry forests that receive less than 170 cm (67 in) of annual rainfall. It grew on rocky ledges with little soil and steep sea cliffs. Associated plants include ʻāhinahina (Artemisia spp.) ʻakoko (Euphorbia celastroides), alaheʻe (Psydrax odorata), kāwelu (Eragrostis variabilis), pili (Heteropogon contortus), kokiʻo ʻula (Hibiscus kokio), ʻānaunau (Lepidium serra), nehe (Lipochaeta succulenta), pokulakalaka (Munroidendron racemosum), and ʻilima (Sida fallax).
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Brighamia insignis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
