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Hibiscadelphus distans
Hibiscadelphus distans (Kauai hau kuahiwi) is an extremely rare species of flowering plant in the mallow family, Malvaceae, that is endemic to the island of Kauaʻi in Hawaii. It is known as hau kuahiwi in Hawaiian, which means "upland Hibiscus tiliaceus." It is a bush or small tree with heart-shaped leaves and yellow flowers and grows at between 1,000 and 1,800 feet (300 and 550 m) in the remnants of native dry forests. Despite its rarity, it is believed to be the only surviving species in the genus Hibiscadelphus which is only known from Hawaii, the other five species having recently become extinct in the wild, some being known from only a single plant.
Hau kuahiwi is found within low to mid-elevations, between 1,000 and 1,800 feet (300 and 550 m) in highly degraded remnants of native dry forests. The substrate is basaltic bedrock overlain by dry, crumbly red-brown soil. The current population exists in the Lower Koaiʻe Canyon, a tributary of Waimea Canyon, at an elevation of roughly 350 m (1,150 ft). Mean temperature in this habitat ranges from 18.5 to 25.7 °C (65.3 to 78.3 °F) and average annual rainfall is 150 cm (59 in). Associated plants include kukui (Aleurites moluccana), ʻāhinahina (Artemisia kauaiensis), alaheʻe (Psydrax odorata), lama (Diospyros sandwicensis), nehe (Lipochaeta connata), kōlea (Myrsine spp.), kuluʻī (Nototrichium sandwicense), ʻālaʻa (Planchonella sandwicensis), Sacramento Bur (Triumfetta semitriloba) and āulu (Sapindus oahuensis).
Hau kuahiwi · Lava hau kuahiwi · Kilauea hau kuahiwi · Hualalai hau kuahiwi · Stellar Hau Kuahiwi · Maui hau kuahiwi · Wood's hau kuahiwi · Hau Kuahiwi
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Hibiscadelphus distans 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.
