''Kadua cookiana'' (formerly ''Hedyotis cookiana'') is a rare species of flowering plant in the coffee family known by the common names awiwi'' and Cook's bluet. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, where it is known only from

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 ...

, having been

extirpated Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...

from

Molokai Molokai , or Molokai (), is the fifth most populated of the eight major islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands, Hawaiian Islands archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16 km) at its greatest length an ...

and

.USFWS
''Kadua cookiana'' Five-year Review''.
August 2010. 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 ...

of the United States. Today there are two populations of the plant in the Hanakoa and Waiahuakua Valleys on the Nā Pali Coast of Kauai, with a total global population of no more than 122 individuals. The plant grows next to flowing water, particularly

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...

s, where it grows from cracks in

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

walls next to the falling water. Other plants in the habitat include ahinahina (''Artemisia australis''), kookoolau (''Bidens forbesii'',

akoko The Akoko are a large Yoruba cultural sub-group in the Northeastern part of Yorubaland. The area spans from Ondo state to Edo state in southwest Nigeria. The Akokos as a subgroup make up 20.3% of the population of Ondo state. Out of the present ...

(''Chamaesyce celastroides'' var. ''hanapepensis''), kikawaio (''Christella cyatheoides''), 'uiwi (''Kadua elatior''), and

uki Uki or UKI may refer to: *Uki Goñi, writer, journalist and musician *Uki, New South Wales, an Australian town *Uki, Kumamoto, a Japanese city *Uki Island in Solomon Islands * ''Uki'' (TV series), a pre-school animated television programme from Bel ...

(''Machaerina angustifolia''). This is a small

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 ...

with many short branches up to 20 centimeters long and lined with narrow leaves. It bears white flowers.''Kadua cookiana''.
The Nature Conservancy. It is

gynodioecious Gynodioecy is a rare breeding system that is found in certain flowering plant species in which female and hermaphroditic plants coexist within a population. Gynodioecy is the evolutionary intermediate between hermaphroditism (exhibiting both fema ...

, with an individual plant bearing either bisexual or all female flowers. Threats to this rare species include habitat damage and destruction by

feral pig The feral pig is a domestic pig which has gone feral, meaning it lives in the wild. They are found mostly in the Americas and Australia. Razorback and wild hog are Americanisms applied to feral pigs or boar-pig hybrids. Definition A feral pi ...

s and introduced plant species. Plants may be lost in

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

s, and landslides.

References

External links

USDA Plants Profile
* cookiana Endemic flora of Hawaii Biota of Kauai Taxa named by Adelbert von Chamisso {{Rubiaceae-stub