Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Shrub.

Stems: Stem 1.2 cm diam. densely short–pubescent, cicatrices not seen.

Roots: Roots mycotrophic via vesiculararbuscular mycorrhizae (Koske et al. 1992).

Leaves: Leaves simple. Alternate, forming a dense spherical, oblate, or cylindrical apical rosette. Blades narrowly elliptic, 21–23×1.4–1.8 cm, 12–16 times longer than wide. Apex acuminate. Base attenuate, sometimes quite petiole-like, in other cases the differentiation of a petiole very indefinite and the leaf clearly sessile. Surfaces glabrous; blades coriaceous. Margins crenulate. Petiolate–sessile. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers in racemes 35–45–flowered, the axis densely short pubescent; peduncle 12–14 cm long; sterile bracts narrowly oblong or linear, 52–115×6–11 mm, the margin crenulate or entire, the apex acuminate; rachis 16–19 cm long; floral bracts narrowly oblong or linear, 18–54×3–6 mm, the margin entire, the apex acute or acuminate. Fully developed flowers unknown. Calyx synsepalous; tube glabrous, adnate to the ovary, forming a hemispheric, campanulate, oblate, obovoid, ovoid, or ellipsoid appendicular hypanthium 1/12–1/6 as long as the corolla; lobes 5, valvate, triangular, oblong, linear, ovate, lanceolate, or narrowly elliptic, 3/5 as long as the hypanthium to nearly 3 times as long, the dorsal sometimes a bit longer than the ventral, erect or ascending (spreading in T. kauaiensis), caducous from the young fruit, minutely auriculate in T. auriculata, the margin entire (rarely sparsely denticulate and/or ciliate toward apex), the apex round, obtuse, acute, or acuminate and sometimes apiculate. Fully developed flowers unknown. Stamens 5, antisepalous, connate distally for most of their length; Fully developed flowers unknown. Ovary inferior; Fully developed flowers unknown.

Fruit: Fully developed fruits unknown. Seeds: mature seeds not seen.

Ploidy:

Habitat: Known only from the type; which presumably was collected in lowland wet shrubland in Waikolu; Moloka‘i.

Elevation Range: 950–1,000 m.