''Melanthera fauriei'' (formerly ''Lipochaeta fauriei''),
[USFWS]
''Melanthera fauriei'' Five-year Review.
August 2010. known by the common name Olokele Canyon nehe, is a rare species of flowering plant in the
aster family.
Distribution
The plant 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 ...
to
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 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 ...
.
[''Lipochaeta fauriei''.]
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 Natu ...
.
It grows in several types of
forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
on Kauai, and can be found in dry, moist, and wet habitat.
[
]
Description
''Melanthera fauriei'' is sprawling perennial herb.
It produces daisylike yellow flower heads
A pseudanthium (Greek for "false flower"; ) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, compos ...
.[
]
Conservation
''Melanthera fauriei'' is federally listed as an 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. There are only ten populations remaining, with a total global population of no more than 240 plants.[
The main threat to the species is the loss and degradation of its habitat caused by deer, goats, rats, ]wild boar
The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...
s, fires, landslides, and invasive plant species
An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...
.[
]
References
External links
USDA Plants Profile for ''Melanthera fauriei''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6811570
fauriei
Endemic flora of Hawaii
Biota of Kauai