''Pritchardia affinis'', the Hawai'i pritchardia, is a species of

palm tree The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm ...

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 ...

to the Hawaiian Islands. Wild populations currently exist on the leeward side of the

Island of Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii ) is the largest island in the United States, located in the state of Hawaii. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcanic islands in the North Pacific Ocean. With an area of , it has 63% of th ...

. It was most likely cultivated by Native Hawaiians, so its exact native range is uncertain. ''P. affinis'' reaches a height of . It is threatened by rats and pigs, which damage the trees and eat the seeds before they can grow. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States. Its fruit was reportedly the preferred food of the now-extinct ula-ai-hawane—a

niche Niche may refer to: Science *Developmental niche, a concept for understanding the cultural context of child development *Ecological niche, a term describing the relational position of an organism's species *Niche differentiation, in ecology, the ...

that has been seemingly filled by the introduced lavender waxbill. Pritchardia affinis us botanic garden

References

External links

* * affinis Endemic flora of Hawaii Trees of Hawaii Biota of Hawaii (island) Plants described in 1921 Taxa named by Odoardo Beccari Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{tree-stub