Cyanea crispa

• Hawaiian Name: Haha
• Conservation Status: Endangered
• Distribution: O’ahu (Ko’olau mountains)
• Date photographed: 11/2/2010
• Ease of viewing: Difficult
• *Identification: Form– Stems fleshy, 0.3-1.3 m long Leaves– broadly obovate; blades 30-75 cm long by 9-16 cm wide; margins undulate, callose-crenulate to entire; petioles 0.8-4 cm long. Flower– hypanthium obconical, 8-12 mm long; calyx lobes ovate to oblong, 6-12 mm long; corolla pale magenta with darker longitudinal stripes, 4-6 cm long.
• My notes: I was shown this population in the Southern Ko’olaus. It consists of 2 mature plants about 10 feet from each other. I truly am a dorky guy because I was so excited to come across these plants. I almost high-fived the guy I was with. It was like seeing a mint condition Amazing Fantasy #15 in the middle of the forest. They were a lot bigger than I was expecting: one was about 4 feet tall. Unfortunately, I saw no other seedlings or juveniles in the area.
  
• Links: Cyanea crispa SGCN (pdf), Smithsonian Flora of the Hawaiian Islands, UH Botany, Native Hawaiian Plants- Cyanea, US Fish and Wildlife, Cyanea crispa 5-year review (pdf)
• Additional pics:

*From Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai’i