Flueggea neowawraea - Meet the Plants - National Tropical Botanical Garden Plant Database

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Other Resources for Flueggea neowawraea

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Flueggea neowawraea - Leafy branch, with stubs of damaged twigs visible

Leafy branch, with stubs of damaged twigs visible (photo)

Flueggea neowawraea - Twig borer damage to Fleuggea neowawraea

Twig borer damage to Fleuggea neowawraea (photo)

Taxonomy:

Flueggea neowawraea W.J.Hayden (Euphorbiaceae; currently placed in Phyllanthaceae)
Synonyms: Neowawraea phyllanthoides

Common Names:
Hawaiian: Mehamehame

Classification:

Kingdom: Plantae-Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta-Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta-Seed plants
Division; Magnoliophyta-Flowering plants
Class: Dicotyledonae
Subclass: Rosidae
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Euphorbiaceae (or Phyllanthaceae)
Genus: Flueggea
Species: neowawraea

Description:

This tree is single-sexed (dioecious), growing up to 30 m tall, with rough pale-brown bark. It is, or was formerly, one of the largest native Hawaiian trees.

The leaves are thin, dark green on top and pale green on the bottom (4-14 cm long, 2-9 cm wide). The small flowers are green with brown tips, on pedicels (stalks) 3-14 mm long, and the sepals are 1-2.5 mm long. The fruits are round and tiny, 3-6 mm in diameter, juicy, and reddish brown to black.

(Wagner, W. L., D. R. Herbst, and S. H. Sohmer. 1990. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawai'i, Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, Hawai`i)

Geographic Distribution:

This tree is found in mesic forest communities on the leeward sides of Oahu, Maui, Hawaii and Kauai.

(Wagner, W. L., D. R. Herbst, and S. H. Sohmer. 1990. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawai'i, Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, Hawai`i)

Status:

This is one of the rarest endemic trees in Hawai’i: only 70 individuals are known in 30 populations.

(http://www.centerforplantconservation.org/ASP/CPC_ViewProfile.asp?CPCNum=2945)

Species Interconnections and Interdependencies:

An introduced insect, the black twig borer (Xylosandrus compactus) is largely responsible for the tree’s scarcity.

The insect bores into leafy twigs, killing them, and attacks young saplings before they have a chance to reproduce. Stumps of old trees often continue to send up young shoots, so this species may still have a chance at surviving. In addition, adults of the introduced rose beetle feed on the leaves and often defoliate plants, at least those in cultivation.

(Wagner, W. L., D. R. Herbst, and S. H. Sohmer. 1990. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawai'i, Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, Hawai`i)

Preservation and Conservation Strategies:

A number of strategies have been employed to help this plant survive. Researchers at the National Tropical Botanical Garden and The University of Hawaii have collected and stored seeds and experimented with growing the plants in greenhouses.

NTBG currently has 43 living individuals in its garden. Army Environmental staff have fenced and eradicated harmful invasive species located nearby individuals growing on their land on Oahu. Genetic studies have shown some individuals and populations to be more resistant to the borer than others.

(http://www.centerforplantconservation.org/ASP/CPC_ViewProfile.asp?CPCNum=2945)

Indigenous Practices:

The wood of Flueggea neowawraea is known for its extraordinary hardness, and was used by Hawaiians for weaponry.

(http://www.centerforplantconservation.org/ASP/CPC_ViewProfile.asp?CPCNum=2945)

NTBG Herbarium Data:

Click to view an example from our herbarium

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