''Lysimachia iniki'' is a rare species of flowering plant in the family

Primulaceae The Primulaceae , commonly known as the primrose family (but not related to the evening primrose family), are a family of herbaceous and woody flowering plants including some favourite garden plants and wildflowers. Most are perennial though som ...

known by the common names Wailua River yellow loosestrifeUSDA Plants Profile
/ref> and Wailua River island-loosestrife.''Lysimachia iniki''.

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Nat ...

. 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 else ...

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 state ...

, where there is only one known occurrence existing on the island of Kauai. The plant was federally listed as an endangered species of the United States in 2010.USFWS
Determination of endangered status for 48 species on Kauai and designation of critical habitat; Final rule.
''Federal Register''. April 13, 2010. This plant was discovered in 1992, shortly after

Hurricane Iniki Hurricane Iniki ( ; Hawaiian: ''iniki'' meaning "strong and piercing wind") was the most powerful hurricane to strike Hawaii in recorded history. Forming on September 5, 1992, during the strong 1990–1995 El Niño, Iniki was one of eleven Cent ...

tore a specimen off the tall cliffs above Kauai's Wailua River and dropped bits of it where it could be collected.Marr, K. L and B. A. Bohm. (1997)
A taxonomic revision of the endemic Hawaiian ''Lysimachia'' (Primulaceae) including three new species.
''Pac Sci'' 51(3) 254-87. When analysis revealed it was a new species, it was described to science and named for the hurricane. The Hawaiian word ''`iniki'' means "sharp and piercing, as wind or pangs of love."Pukui, M. K. and S. H. Elbert. (1992). New Pocket Hawaiian Dictionary. University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu. IN: Marr, K. L and B. A. Bohm. (1997)
A taxonomic revision of the endemic Hawaiian ''Lysimachia'' (Primulaceae) including three new species.
''Pac Sci'' 51(3) 254-87. This is a shrub with hairy green hanging branches growing up to 1.5 meters in length. The woody base grows attached to wet, mossy cliffs. The oval leaves are roughly 3 to 5 centimeters long by 2 to 4 wide. The leaves are packed closely together. Funnel-shaped flowers grow in the leaf axils borne on

pedicels In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as ''pedicellate''. Description Pedicel refers to a structure connecting a single flower to its inflorescence. In the absenc ...

up to 2.5 centimeters in length. Each flower has lance-shaped green

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coine ...

s at the base. The flower petals are dark red at the bases and white at the tips. The stamens are dark red. The fruit is a rounded capsule under a centimeter long. When the plant was described there were at least 25 individuals. By 2010 there were 40 plants remaining in the single location where it is known to grow, by the "Blue Hole" at the

headwaters The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source. Definition The ...

of the north fork of the Wailua River. Threats to this species include

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; individuals were damaged during Hurricanes Iniki and

Iwa IWA may refer to: Organizations International * International Water Association * International Webmasters Association * International Woodworkers of America, United States and Canada * International Workers Association, an anarcho-syndicalist fed ...

. It is threatened by its small population size, which may cause loss of reproductive vigor and

genetic variability Genetic variability is either the presence of, or the generation of, genetic differences. It is defined as "the formation of individuals differing in genotype, or the presence of genotypically different individuals, in contrast to environmentally i ...

and makes the species vulnerable to

extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

in any one severe event, such as a hurricane. The cliff-dwelling plant is also vulnerable during

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 ...

ing and landslides. The habitat is vulnerable to

invasion An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity aggressively enter territory (country subdivision), territory owned by another such entity, gen ...

by non-native plant species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6710183 iniki Endemic flora of Hawaii Biota of Kauai Plants described in 1997