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Schiedea verticillata

F.Br. (1931)

This name is accepted

Kingdom: Viridiplantae Phylum: Magnoliophyta Class/Clade: Eudicot-CoreEudicot Order: Caryophyllales Family: Caryophyllaceae Genus: Schiedea

Nihoa schiedea

Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Perennial fleshy herbs dying back to enlarged fleshy roots in dry seasons, glabrous, except inflorescence and ± intemode below it glandular–pilose.

Stems: Stems often swollen at the nodes, terete (cylindrical), 4–angled or –ridged, ascending, sprawling or sometimes pendent, 4–7 dm long, terete (cylindrical).

Roots: Roots fleshy and thickened.

Leaves: Leaves simple. Opposite or sometimes whorled (3 per node). Blades broadly ovate to broadly elliptic, 8–15 cm long, (4–)7–9 cm wide. Apex acute to obtuse with a short mucro. Base leaf bases often connate around the stem. Surfaces glabrous;, thick and succulent, often recurved from the base, often somewhat undulate, pale or yellowish green. Margins entire, thickened. 7–12 inconspicuous principal veins. Sessile and slightly or prominently connate with other leaves at the node. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers in inflorescence terminal, with ca. 35 (–65) flowers, 17–25 (–30) cm long, weakly diffuse, densely glandular–pilose, the hairs (0.4–) 0.9–1.2 mm long; bracts pale green, opposite or whorled, lanceolate to broadly ovate, those of central axis 6–40 mm long, those of branches and flowers 3.5–7 mm long; pedicels 5–20 mm long, stout, terete (cylindrical). Flowers bisexual (perfect). Sepals 8–10.5 mm long, lanceolate, green to pale green, opaque, recurved from the base, proximal ⅓ flat, distal part very shallowly concave, usually slightly twisted toward apex, arching at a 80° to 90° angle to the pedicel, glandular–pilose, especially along the midrib, the hairs 0.2–0.9 mm long, margin scarcely scarious, apex attenuate and minutely navicular. Corolla (petals) absent. Stamens 10; filaments subequal, the antisepalous whorl ca. 10 mm long, the alternate whorl ca. 9.5 mm long; anthers 2.3–2.5 mm long, yellow. Ovary superior, 1-celled; ovule placentation free-central; styles 4–7.

Fruit: Capsules 7–9 mm long; narrowly ovoid. Seeds 0.7–0.8 mm long; orbicular–reniform; slightly compressed; the surface evenly tuberculate; perisperm starchy; hard or rarely soft; true endosperm absent.

Ploidy: 2n = probably 60*

Habitat: In coastal soil pockets and cracks in dry cliff faces.

Elevation Range: 30–280 m.

Historical Distribution

Uses and Culture

USES

Natural History

Statewide Status

Endemic

Island Status

O'ahu Only found in cultivation
Nihoa Endemic

Dispersal Agents


Pollinators

Notes

  • Description digitized by Mercedez
  • Description digitized from the Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawaii
  • This species dies back
  • pockets and cracks in cliff faces, 30-280 m, to its enlarged fleshy root during the dry known only from west Palm valley and season.-plate65. Devil's Slide, Nihoa

Bibliography

Name Published In: Bull. Bernice P. Bishop Mus. 81: 29 (1931)

Other References

Wagner et al. 1990:520 (N); Wagner et al. 2005:48 (KEY, DESCR)

Occurrences

SNo. Scientific Name Scientific Name Authorship Locality Habitat Basis of Record Recorded By Record Number Island Source Date
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