Studia Mirabilium

Snapshot: Lazarus, the Clermontia

Posted on February 21, 2015 by Sebastian Marquez

Clermontia kakeana is still a fairly common lobeliad. Except on O’ahu; it is not easy to see on pretty much any trail here. Tantalus has a fairly healthy population of it. I’d like to think we at the Manoa Cliff restoration have done our darnedest to keep it that way.

There were a couple plants that died a few years back that I wish I got more fruit from. Every time I checked before, they never had any fruit. It was disappointing that the last time I checked they were just skeletons for plants.

While we do have some representation from those plants, I had always hoped to have more. And it turns out, tucked in the back of our colleague’s refrigerator was a little bag of seeds collected from those very plants. From 2010 though. I was skeptical that those 5 year old seeds would germinate, but imagine my surprise when I saw this. There’s “plants vs. zombies” and then there’s zombie plant. Score 1 (more like a few hundred) for team lobeliad!

Posted in Botany | Tagged Clermontia, Hawaiian Lobeliads, Native Hawaiian Plants | 5 Comments

Spot the different Rollandia species of Konahuanui!

Posted on February 15, 2015 by Sebastian Marquez

So, this new species Cyanea konahuanuiensis (Haha mili’ohu), how does it look different from other Cyanea spp? There are actually a few species of Cyanea spp. that live in the same general area as haha mili’ohu. Let’s take a look. The top picture is Cyanea humboltdiana the bottom is said C. konahuanuiensis. Incidentally, these two are definitely sympatric, the 2 plants themselves are a few hundred feet from each other.

Again, top is C. humboldtiana, bottom is Haha mili’ohu. Notice how much more hairy the leaves of haha mili’ohu are compared to C. humboldtiana. As you can see above, both surfaces are quite hairy.

There is a lot going on here. Both species have long, pendulous infloresences, but again C. konahuanuiensis‘ entire floral structure is much hairier than C. humboldtiana. As for the flowers themselves, notice too how much larger the calyx (the triangular petals surrounding the colorful flower) are on haha mili’ohu than C. humboldtiana.

Even the keiki look different!

And there are more Cyanea spp, specifically in the Rollandia radiation, that live in the general area.

This Cyanea calycina is maybe a quarter mile away. The leaves and flowers are not as hairy, floral structure is shorter and less droopy, and calyx are chunkier.

This Cyanea koolauensis too is roughly a quarter mile away. Its leaves are much more glabrous and a lot skinnier.

And Cyanea crispa is found nearby too. Leaves can get much, much larger on C. crispa vs. C. konahuanuiensis. And again, the entire floral structure is very different.

So there we have it, a quick visual guide to some of the differences between Cyanea konahuanuiensis and the other closely related species that live nearby. Of course, a more exhaustive list is found in the paper. (Hint, hint, hint)

Posted in Botany | Tagged Cyanea, Hawaiian Lobeliads, Native Hawaiian Plants, New Species | Leave a comment

The Wonder of Discovery: # 34 Cyanea konahuanuiensis

Posted on February 14, 2015 by Sebastian Marquez

So I changed up the format for my next post in the lobelia series. For how can it be normal; Cyanea konahuanuiensis is a species brand new to science that I helped describe!

I’m not going to rehash everything, that is what the paper is for. But I’ve always had this romantic image of what discovering a new species would be like. That of the pith-helmeted naturalist with a well-waxed mustache hacking his way through malaria infested swamps. Imagine the naturalist pushes aside a man-sized frond to encounter a quiet glade. His heart skips a beat. In the center of this opening, with a solitary beam of dappled sunlight shining on it, is some unknown wonder of nature. (In my daydream it’s a giant ground sloth!) Our intrepid naturalist feels vindicated and cannot wait to tell his benefactors back home what he has discovered.

Real scientific discovery is pretty far from that fiction. For one, I first met C. konahuanuiensis on one of the soggiest, chilliest hikes I had ever been on! And two, scientific discovery is more than just saying “Hmm, I think you’re something new!”, posting a picture on the interwebs, and have everyone congratulating you on a job well done. I didn’t know it at the time, but it was the start of a 2+ year process to formally describe the species.

But I must say, I feel pretty proud of my small part in all of this. I’d imagine it is more so for the rest of the team who really put the effort behind all of i: Maggie, Adam, Mashuri & Tobias. I tip my cap to you folks.

If there is one thing that people take from this, it is the importance of biological surveying here in Hawai’i. Species have been discovered and more commonly rediscovered here with surprising regularity. With all the detrimental environmental impacts occurring in Hawai’i, some of these plants could go extinct before we even knew they were there.

Having gotten the maudlin issues out of the way, without further ado… Haha mili’ohu! (Rather appropriate that I just turned 34 last week and this is the 34th lobeliad in the series!)

Cyanea konahuanuiensis

Hawaiian Name: Haha mili’ohu
Conservation status: —
Distribution: O’ahu
Date photographed: 7/6/2013
Ease of viewing: Difficult
Identification: Form– Unarmed shrubs 57–69 cm high, with 1–6 stems originating at the base Leaves– blades elliptic to oblong, 10-16 cm wide, 20-33 cm long, petioles 2-4.2 cm long Flower– calyx lobes linear to linear-oblong 5-7 mm wide, 16-18 mm long; corolla dark purple, 12-13 mm wide, 86-99 mm long, externally densely pubescent
Phylogenetic comments: Cyanea konahuanuiensis is a newly described species that shares the staminal column adnation to the corolla with other members of the Rollandia radiation within the Acuminata clade. But, of course, more genetic work needs to be done.
Links: Sporck-Koehler MJ, Koehler TB, Marquez SN, Waite M, Williams AM (2015) A new species of Cyanea (Campanulaceae, Lobelioideae), from the Ko‘olau Mountains of O‘ahu, Hawaiian Islands. PhytoKeys 46: 45-60.doi: 10.3897/phytokeys.46.8694
Additional Photos:

Posted in Botany, Random | Tagged Cyanea, Hawaiian Lobeliads, Native Hawaiian Plants, New Species, scientific discovery | 2 Comments

Snapshot: Patagonian Mara

Posted on February 4, 2015 by Sebastian Marquez

We tend to look at islands like Hawai’i or New Zealand or Madagascar for extreme examples of adaptive radiation. But of course, they are not the only places to see this. Take, for example, this picture I took at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. What may look like some strange cross between a deer and a rabbit is actually a type of rodent.

Patagonian Mara (Dolichotis patagonum) are part of the cavimorph radiation of rodents mainly centering in South America. One of the most familiar to the general public is the Guinea Pig (Cavia porcellus). Perhaps colonizing South America sometime in the late Eocene/ early Oligocene, cavimorphs evolved into many spectacular forms. Unlike many rodents, Mara are monogamous, active during the day, and eat grasses out on the open plain. Hawai’i has lobelias that turn into trees, Patagonia has rodents that turned into antelope. Touche.

These guys were fairly large too! By my reckoning 20-30 lbs. And just a few million years back, mara had much larger cousins. Josephoartigasia monesi may have weighed 2 tons! Imagine that, a rodent larger than a bull. Not your average mouse by any means.

Posted in Animals | Tagged adaptive radiation, Mara, Zoo | Leave a comment

A whole new world, a brave new world

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Sebastian Marquez

So, I’ve been blogging here at Studia Mirabilium for almost a 1/4 of a score now. And hiking almost every weekend since I started. We’re talking a couple hundred of hikes now. But in that time, there were still major portions of O’ahu that I haven’t step foot in. Circumstance and priority may have kept me away, but I was finally able to hike the southern portion of the Wai’anae volcano. I couldn’t wait to see how different that forest would be from my usual stomping grounds. Yes, it was a whole new world for me. So I hope you will join me on this ride (minus the soma-induced flying carpet of course)…

Continue reading →

Posted in Nature | Tagged Happy faced Spiders, Hawaiian Lobeliads, Hiking, Native Hawaiian Plants | 2 Comments

Getting to know your Hawaiian Lobeliads #33: Cyanea calycina

Posted on January 27, 2015 by Sebastian Marquez

Cyanea calycina

Hawaiian Name: Haha
Conservation Status: Endangered
Distribution: O’ahu
Date photographed: 9/13/2014
Ease of viewing: Moderately difficult
*Identification: Form– Stems woody, 1-3 m long. Leaves– elliptic to oblanceolate, blades 15-60 cm long, 5.5-14 cm wide, petiole 1-9 cm long. Flower– calyx lobes oblong to ovate, 4-10 mm long; corolla pubescent, 5-8 cm long.
Phylogenetic comments: Cyanea calycina is part of the Rollandia radiation within the Acuminata clade. As far as I know it is still one big polytomy; it is not clear which former Rollandia spp. are more closely related to which. C. calycina itself was recently split from taxa now known as Cyanea lanceolata. Hopefully soon, we will have a better resolution of this part of the lobeliad tree.
My notes: Holy smoking polymorphy batman! A few traits seem to be diagnostic ( calyx, leaf texture, etc.) but it seems like every thing else is up in the air. If you do a google image search for C. calycina, you’ll see just how variable this species is. I made it a point to monitor this little guy every few weeks. He rewarded me with some of the darkest, purest red flowers known in the taxa. Cyanea calycina… Cyanea chicanery more like it!
Links: Smithsonian Flora of the Hawaiian Islands, UH Botany, Native Hawaiian Plants- Cyanea

*From Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai’i

Posted in Botany | Tagged Cyanea, Hawaiian Lobeliads | Leave a comment

Getting to know your Hawaiian Lobeliads #32: Cyanea hardyi

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Sebastian Marquez

Cyanea hardyi -cultivated

Hawaiian Name: Haha
Conservation Status: Apparently secure
Distribution: Kaua’i
Date photographed: 5/22/2013
Ease of viewing: Cultivation -Limahuli Gardens
*Identification: Form– Branched shrub or tree, 1-7 m tall Leaves– elliptic to oblanceolate, blades 18-28 cm long, 2.5-5 cm wide, base attenuate into a winged petiole 2.5-8 cm long. Flower– calyx lobes dentiform, 0.5-1 mm long; corolla purplish to blackish purple, 20-26 mm long, 23 mm wide.
Phylogenetic comments: Cyanea hardyi is part of the purple fruit clade of Cyanea with mostly a Kaua’i radiation. One species (Cyanea angustifolia) has spread to the younger, eastern islands. The various Kaua’i species seem to have partition their niche by elevation (Givnish, 1995)
My notes: Limahuli Gardens is such a jewel on the north coast of Kaua’i; I really have to do a proper post on it one of these days. They have a nice representation of Hawaiian lobeliads, with Cyanea hardyi being one of the more prominent ones.
Links: Smithsonian Flora of the Hawaiian Islands, UH Botany, Native Hawaiian Plants- Cyanea

*From Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai’i

Posted in Botany | Tagged Cyanea, Hawaiian Lobeliads | Leave a comment

Snapshot: Another pinoy bird

Posted on December 31, 2014 by Sebastian Marquez

One of several different species of old world orioles in the Philippines, Black-naped Orioles (Oriolus chinensis) is also native in other parts of Southeast Asia and into China and parts of India. I didn’t see it out in the wild when I was in Bohol, so I checked out the ones at the little animal park. They were pretty active in their cage and such a pretty coloration too!

Posted in Animals | Tagged Philippine Fauna | Leave a comment

1984… and 1884

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Sebastian Marquez

The Bishop Museum just wrapped up their Wonders of Nature exhibit. As great as it was to see the Museum’s collections from throughout the Pacific, I was there for a very specific reason. It was my first real chance to commiserate with some of the recently extinct wonder-fauna of the Hawaiian Forest…

Continue reading →

Posted in Natural History | Tagged Hawaiian Birds, Honeycreeper, Mohoidae | Leave a comment

Relatives staying for the Holidays

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Sebastian Marquez

As the holidays fast approach, we must honor those grand traditions of putting up decorations, sending out photos of your “antler and sweater” festooned family, and eating all the delicious holiday meals. Most importantly, we must revel in the sudden uptick of stress induced letters to Dear Abbey about the headache of relatives staying over for the holidays! I kid, of course, but lest you think this is solely a hominid problem, I give you exhibit A…

At today’s workday over at Paepae O He’eia, we noticed a lone Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii). We were told that it had been hanging out at the fishpond for a good week and a half already. Cackling geese nest in the far north of the new world and are occasional winter visitors here in Hawai’i. Not sure if the lack of a white collar is diagnostic, but I’m assuming this is subspecies minima. With the mallard in the foreground as scale, we can see that this species is much smaller than the ubiquitous Canadian Goose (Branta canadensis) of the mainland.

With its smaller size, a cackling goose can easily be mistaken for the Nene (Branta sandvicensis). One easy way to tell the relatives apart is by looking at the neck…

… on adult nene, the white patch goes all the way down the neck with a distinctive “furrowing” pattern. (The 3 other nene pictured are subadults).

By the way, Nene ohana, the cackling goose was eating all the food for the ducks and chickens at the fishpond. Hope your pantry is stocked! Don’t say that I didn’t warn you…

Posted in Animals | Tagged Branta, Cackling Goose, Nene | Leave a comment