Aulu

Description

Rockia is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Nyctaginaceae. The only species is Rockia sandwicensis (Hillebr.) Heimerl. It is also within Tribe Pisonieae. It was once merged with Pisonia before recently in 2020 being separated again. A small to medium-sized evergreen tree, that grows up to 15 m (49 ft) tall, with up to 3 trunks, which are all about 30–60 cm (12–24 in) in diameter. The bark is dark grey, smoothish to finely fissured. The inner bark is whitish, slightly bitter. The twigs (or branches) are light grey with large raised half-round leaf scars. The leaves are glossy green, alternate (arranged), hairless with slender leafstalks of about 3–5 cm (1–2 in) long. They have large oblong blades, which are 10–30 cm (4–12 in) long and 6–15 cm (2–6 in) wide. They are leather-like, blunt, rounded or slightly notched at the apex. They are broad and rounded at the base, edges are smooth (and not toothed), and the upper surface is shiny dark green with visible side veining and are paler underneath. The trees flower during the summer months from June to August. The flowers are clusters rounded on stalks of 3–6 cm (1–2 in) long, at the leaf bases. It is dioecious. There are many male and female flowers but on different trees. The females have 2-3 scales or bracts at the base and narrow greenish tubular calyx about 6 mm long, which is finely hairy and fragrant. The male flowers are stalkless, with a rounded head about 5 cm (2 in) in diameter. It consists of a deeply 5-6 lobed tubular calyx with 5 short lobes. It has about 20 very small sterile stamens inside the tube and a pistil with a narrow ovary, slender style and enlarged fringed stigma. The fruit (or seed capsule), is cylindrical, about 4 cm (2 in) long and very narrow, widest below the middle, composed of enlarged calyx with lobes at the apex and many faint lines and enclosing the narrow 1 seeded fruit (or achene) with a style at the apex. The fruit have a sticky coating and can trap small creatures such as birds, lizards & insects. This can kill the trapped individual if they do not free themselves. It is native to Hawaii. It is found in dry forests, where it grows at altitudes of 610–752 metres (2,001–2,467 ft) above sea level.