''Metrosideros boninensis'' 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 t ...

in the family

Myrtaceae Myrtaceae, the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All sp ...

. It is endemic to the

Bonin Islands The Bonin Islands, also known as the , are an archipelago of over 30 subtropical and tropical islands, some directly south of Tokyo, Japan and northwest of Guam. The name "Bonin Islands" comes from the Japanese word ''bunin'' (an archaic rea ...

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arch ...

and is found exclusively on Chichijima Island, excepting for two remaining trees located on neighboring Anijima Island. ''M. boninensis'' is classified as ‘endangered’ in the Japanese Red Data Book and, although there were 326 plants recorded in 2004, genetic diversity of ''M. boninensis'' is extremely low.

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described by botanist Bunzo Hayata in 1918, as ''Eugenia boninensis''. This was corrected to ''M. boninensis'' in 1938 by Takasi Tuyama.

Cultivars

There are no known cultivars of ''M. boninensis'' available, and the plant is not widely available in plant nurseries.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15371743 boninensis