Rockface Starviolet

Description

Kadua parvula (formerly Hedyotis parvula) is a rare species of flowering plant in the coffee family known by the common name rockface star-violet. It is endemic to Hawaii, where it is known only from the Waianae Mountains on the island of Oahu.1 It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States. This is a branching shrub growing erect or spreading, the branches reaching 10 to 40 centimeters in length. The lance-shaped or pointed oval leaves are densely spaced on the branches, sometimes overlapping. Each is up to 4 centimeters long by 3 wide and leathery in texture. The flowers may be bisexual or functionally female with fleshy white lobes sometimes tinged pink at the tips. The plants grow on cliffs and ledges in moist areas of the Waianae Mountains.