''Boehmeria grandis'', commonly called ʻakolea, is a flowering species of the

Urticaceae The Urticaceae are a family, the nettle family, of flowering plants. The family name comes from the genus ''Urtica''. The Urticaceae include a number of well-known and useful plants, including nettles in the genus ''Urtica'', ramie (''Boehmeri ...

family that is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. ʻakolea can be found in mesic to wet forests across Hawaiʻi along streams, on ridges, and valley floors. Multiple sources have cited observations in Makaua Gulch on Oʻahu. The ʻakolea can look like and be confused with its endemic counterpart Māmaki (''

Pipturus albidus ''Pipturus albidus'', known as ''māmaki'' (sometimes ''waimea'', for its resemblance to olomea) in Hawaiian and known as Waimea pipturus in English, is a species of flowering plant in the nettle family, Urticaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. ...

'') of the same family. However, differences in ʻakolea's appearance come from its exerted stamens, the tightly grouped seeds on the branches of Māmaki, and subtle differences between the leaves of both that can be difficult to notice.

Ecosystem services

ʻakolea is one of the four endemic host plants for the pulelehua (''

Vanessa tameamea Vanessa may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Vanessa'' (Millais painting), an 1868 painting by Pre-Raphaelite artist John Everett Millais * ''Vanessa'', a 1933 novel by Hugh Walpole * ''Vanessa'', a 1952 instrumental song written by Bernie ...

''), meaning the pulelehua butterflies and caterpillars will only reproduce where these host plants are found. Other pulelehua host plants include Māmaki, Olonā (''

Touchardia latifolia ''Touchardia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the nettle family, Urticaceae. It is monotypic containing a single species, ''Touchardia latifolia'', commonly known as olonā in Hawaiian. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Etymology The ge ...

''), and Ōpuhe (''Urera glabra'') and ('' U. kaalae''). Pulelehua Shelter Flap

References

grandis Grandis may refer to: * Grandis (company), a company producing magnetoresistive random-access memory * Grandis (company), a company producing High quality Italian racing bicycles * Grandis (surname) * Mitsubishi Grandis, a large multi-purpose vehic ...

Endemic flora of Hawaii {{Urticaceae-stub