''Gardenia brighamii'', commonly known as nānū, nau, or forest gardenia, is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Rubiaceae The Rubiaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the coffee, madder, or bedstraw family. It consists of terrestrial trees, shrubs, lianas, or herbs that are recognizable by simple, opposite leaves with interpetiolar stipules a ...

, that 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 ...

Description

''Gardenia brighamii'' is a small tree, reaching a height of . The glossy, dark green leaves are ovate, long and wide. The petals of the solitary, white flowers are fused at the base to form a tube in length and have six lobes.

Gallery

File:Gardenia brighamii (5187430581).jpg, Fruits File:Gardenia brighamii (5187430869).jpg, Flowers File:Gardenia brighamii (5188030936).jpg, Leaves File:Gardenia brighamii (4756682758).jpg, Bark File:Gardenia brighamii - Koko Crater Botanical Garden - IMG 2258.JPG, Plant

Habitat and range

Forest gardenia inhabits

tropical dry forests The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive ...

at elevations of . It previously could be found on all main islands, but today populations only exist on Maui, Molokai,

Oahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O� ...

, and Lānai, and the Big Island.

Conservation

The total population of ''G. brighamii'' is between 15 and 19 trees. There are only two plants in the wild on

and one on the Big Island. Major threats to the survival of this species include loss of

dry forest Dry or dryness most often refers to: * Lack of rainfall, which may refer to **Arid regions **Drought * Dry or dry area, relating to legal prohibition of selling, serving, or imbibing alcoholic beverages * Dry humor, deadpan * Dryness (medical) * ...

habitat and the establishment of invasive species, such as fountain grass (''

Pennisetum setaceum ''Cenchrus setaceus'', commonly known as crimson fountaingrass, is a C4 perennial bunch grass that is native to open, scrubby habitats in East Africa, tropical Africa, the Middle East and south-western Asia. It has been introduced to many part ...

'').

Uses

Native Hawaiians made kua kuku (

kapa Kapa is a fabric made by native Hawaiians from the bast fibres of certain species of trees and shrubs in the orders Rosales and Malvales. Description and uses It is similar to ''tapa'' found elsewhere in Polynesia (the Hawaiian phoneme corr ...

anvils) and pou (house posts) from the wood of nānū. A yellow kapa dye was derived from the fruit pulp. The white, fragrant

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are used in lei. Today, it is grown as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

on the islands.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2245771 brighamii Plants described in 1867 Endemic flora of Hawaii Trees of Hawaii Critically endangered flora of the United States Taxonomy articles created by Polbot