Cyanea grimesiana ssp. obatae

Cyanea grimesiana ssp. obatae NatureServe Explorer Species Reports — NatureServe Explorer is a source for authoritative conservation information on more than 50,000 plants, animals and ecological communtities of the U.S and Canada. NatureServe Explorer provides in-depth information on rare and endangered species, but includes common plants and animals too. NatureServe Explorer is a product of NatureServe in collaboration with the Natural Heritage Network.

ITIS Reports — Cyanea grimesiana ssp. obatae ITIS (the Integrated Taxonomic Information System) is a source for authoritative taxonomic information on plants, animals, fungi, and microbes of North America and the world.

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This is generally considered a species complex made up of at least three subtaxa. One, var. cylindrocalyx (sometimes treated as a separate species called C. cylindrocalyx), is thought to be extinct. The other two are divided into twelve occurrences on two islands, for a total of fewer than 50 plants. The ssp. grimesiana was formerly found on Oahu and Molokai, but has not been observed on Molokai since 1991, while ssp. obatae is limited to the Waianae Mountains of Oahu. The latter subspecies may only be composed of five individual plants today, and all are located on private, unprotected land.

This Hawaiian lobelioid is a shrub which can exceed three meters in height. The stem and herbage are prickly. The tubular flowers are up to 8 centimeters long and may be purple, green, or yellow with reddish stripes. The fruit is an orange berry.