''Melicope saint-johnii'', the St. John's pelea or St. John's melicope, is a species of

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

in the family Rutaceae. 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 ...

to the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...

, where it is present only on the island of

Oahu Oahu () (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering place#Island of Oʻahu as The Gathering Place, Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over t ...

. Like other Hawaiian ''Melicope'', this species is known as ''alani''.USFWS
Species Reports: Plants.
/ref> It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

. 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. This tree grows up to 6 meters tall. It grows in moist forest habitat in the Waianae Range of Oahu, where there are probably fewer than 150 individuals remaining. It is threatened by the degradation of its habitat by non-native plant species and feral pigs.''Melicope saint-johnii''.
The Nature Conservancy.

References

saint-johnii Endemic flora of Hawaii Biota of Oahu Waianae Range Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Rutaceae-stub