''Delissea rhytidosperma'', is known by the common names Kauai delissea, Kauai leechleaf delissea, and leechleaf delissea. It is a rare species of flowering plant in the bellflower family, that is endemic to Hawaii where it is known only from the island of

Kauai Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest island ...

. It is critically endangered or

extinct in the wild A species that is extinct in the wild (EW) is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as known only by living members kept in captivity or as a naturalized population outside its historic range due ...

. Some populations that were formerly included in the species ''D. rhytidosperma'' are now called '' Delissea kauaiensis''.USFWS
''Delissea rhytidosperma'' Five-year Review.
January 2008. It is a federally listed

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

Description

''Delissea rhytidosperma'', a

Hawaiian lobelioid The Hawaiian lobelioids are a group of flowering plants in the bellflower family, Campanulaceae, subfamily Lobelioideae, all of which are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. This is the largest plant radiation in the Hawaiian Islands, and indeed t ...

, is a

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

which grows up to tall. The leaves have lance-shaped or nearly oval blades up to 19 centimeters long. The tubular flowers have greenish or purplish petals and distinctive hairs next to the

anthers The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

.''Delissea rhytidosperma''.
Center for Plant Conservation. The plant's natural habitat is rocky cliffsides in moist forests dominated by '' Acacia koa''. This habitat has been destroyed and degraded by the action of feral pigs, goats, and mule deer, and by

exotic plant species Exotic may refer to: Mathematics and physics * Exotic R4, a differentiable 4-manifold, homeomorphic but not diffeomorphic to the Euclidean space R4 *Exotic sphere, a differentiable ''n''-manifold, homeomorphic but not diffeomorphic to the ordinar ...

. Germination and establishment are further limited by non-native rodents, snails, and grasses.

References

External links

USDA Plants ProfileThe Nature Conservancy
Lobelioideae Endemic flora of Hawaii Biota of Kauai {{Campanulaceae-stub