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Mountain cyrtandra

Cyrtandra dentata

Also called Sharp Toothed Cyrtandra, Ha`iwale

Family
Gesneriaceae (African violet family)
Grows as
Shrub
Native range
Hawaiian Is. (Oʻahu)
Climate
wet tropical

About

Cyrtandra dentata is a rare species of flowering plant in the African violet family known by the common names mountain cyrtandra and sharp-toothed cyrtandra. It is endemic to Oahu in Hawaii, where the most recent count estimates 1640 plants occurring in the Waianae Mountains and Koʻolau Mountains. It is a shrub which can reach 5 meters tall and bears white flowers. It was federally listed as an endangered species in 1996. Like other Hawaiian Cyrtandra it is called ha`iwale.

One threat to the species is habitat degradation caused by feral pigs. Some individuals of this species are protected from pig damage by fences put up by the US Army. These enclosures also protect the plant from rats. The plant grows in moist forest that becomes dry in the dry season and is prone to fire, more so when there are military exercises in the area, and the plant does not tolerate fire.

Other Cyrtandra plants

Cyrtandra albiflora · Cyrtandra argentii · Bailey's Cyrtandra · Cyrtandra biflora · Cyrtandra calyptribracteata · Cyrtandra cleopatrae · Kahana Valley cyrtandra · Cyrtandra cumingii · Mapele · Cyrtandra decurrens · Cyrtandra elegans · Forest cyrtandra

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cyrtandra dentata 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.

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