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Hibiscadelphus stellatus
Stellar Hau Kuahiwi is a rare tree in the mallow family, found only in one valley on West Maui, Hawaii, with fewer than one hundred plants left. It is a conservation species and is not commonly grown, so care guidance is general and based on its wet tropical native habitat.
Hibiscadelphus stellatus is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is called stellar hau kuahiwi in the United States Department of Agriculture PLANTS database. It is endemic to West Maui, Hawaii. It was first formally described in 2014. The specific epithet stellatus comes from the Latin for "star-shaped", referring to its stellate pubescence and the five, star-shaped involucral bracts, as well as its "beautiful and stellar (outstanding) flowers".
It is only known from three populations and fewer than one hundred plants in a valley on the western side of the island. It is closely related to Hibiscadelphus wilderianus, differing in part in its denser hairiness and larger flowers.
Hau kuahiwi · Lava hau kuahiwi · Kauai hau kuahiwi · Kilauea hau kuahiwi · Hualalai hau kuahiwi · Maui hau kuahiwi · Wood's hau kuahiwi · Hau Kuahiwi
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Hibiscadelphus stellatus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
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.
