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Solanum incompletum
Solanum incompletum is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Solanaceae known by the common names thorny popolo and popolo ku mai (popolo being a term for any Solanum species and similar berry-bearing plants). It is endemic to Hawaii, where it occurs today on the islands of Maui, Lanai, and Hawaii. It is threatened by the destruction and degradation of its habitat. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States. The plant is threatened by feral ungulates such as feral pigs, feral goats, and mouflon. The invasion of introduced species of plants such as Pennisetum setaceum (fountain grass) and Kalanchoe tubiflora (chandelier plant) degrades the habitat. The conservation status of this species from the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Hawaiʻi Natural Heritage Ranking has been listed as critically endangered.
The species is extirpated from the islands of Kaua'i and Moloka'i. It was feared extirpated from Hawaiʻi until a small population was discovered there in recent years. Now there are 83 individuals estimated on that island. Several have been outplanted into appropriate habitat. The plants also appear to have trouble reproducing, as evidenced by low seed production, perhaps due to extinction of their preferred pollinators. Many areas of the Hawaiian Islands are prone to wildfires, which endangers the species. The thorny Popolo flourishes in dry and mesic forest/diverse mesic forest area along with subalpine forest area and within ridges and gulches. On the Island of Hawaiʻi it is also found on cinder cones and older lava flows. It does well in elevation between 600–2,260 m (1,970–7,410 ft). This plant species is a short-lived perennial member of the nightshade family.
Nightshade · Dwarf Tamarillo · Solanum acaule · Solanum acerifolium · Sodaapple nightshade · Dutch Eggplant · Solanum adenophorum · Solanum adoxum · Sonoita nightshade · Ethiopian nightshade · Solanum africanum · Solanum agnewiorum
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Solanum incompletum 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.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
