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Wikstroemia pulcherrima

Skottsb. (1936)

This name is accepted

Kingdom: Viridiplantae Phylum: Magnoliophyta Class/Clade: Eudicot-Rosids Order: Malvales Family: Thymelaeaceae Genus: Wikstroemia

‘ākia [akia], kauhi

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Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Low shrubs or small, densely branched trees up to ca. 2 m tall; young branches pubescent or with scattered hairs, rarely with a dense yellow indumentum or glabrous.

Stems: Internodes 2–10(–20) mm long.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Opposite. Blades elliptic to ovate or subspatulate, rarely mucronate; (1–)2–3(–5) cm long, (0.5–)1–2(–3) cm wide. Apex acute to rounded. Base acute to rounded. Surfaces glabrous, petioles pilose; vivid green to glaucous on upper surface; lower surfaces pale or yellowish green, ± soft coriaceous, firm and stiff when dry. Margins entire. Pinnately veined. Petioles 1–5 mm long. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers in peduncles up to 5 mm long, hirsute, rachis clavate, 1–10 mm long, hirsute, pedicels 0.5–1 mm long. Flowers bisexual (perfect) or unisexual (and then plants dioecious), yellow, sericeous, becoming glabrate. Calyx tube of staminate flowers 6–10.5 mm long, outer lobes 3–8 mm long, 2–4.5 mm wide, inner lobes 2.8–7 mm long, 1.8–4.5 mm wide; Calyx tube of pistillate flowers 4.5–7.5 mm long, outer lobes 3–6.5 mm long, 2–3.5 mm wide, inner lobes 2.5–5.5 mm long, 1.6–3 mm wide; Calyx tube of perfect flowers 7–10.5 mm long, outer lobes 4.5–8 mm long, 2.5 mm wide, inner lobes 3.5–6.5 mm long, 2–4mm wide. Corolla (petals) absent. Stamens 8, the lower whorl included, the upper whorl sometimes shortly exserted. Ovary superior, 1-celled; ovules solitary and pendulous.

Fruit: Fruit orangish red to dark crimson; globose; 9–18 mm in diameter; fruit drupaceous. Seeds without endosperm.

Ploidy: 2n = 36*

Habitat: Rather common in grazed pastures; along roadsides; and in remnant dry forest.

Elevation Range: 700–950 m.

Historical Distribution

Images

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Uses and Culture

USES

Natural History

Statewide Status

Endemic

Island Status

Hawai'i Endemic

Dispersal Agents


Pollinators

Notes

  • Description digitized by Dylan Charter
  • Description digitized from the Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawaii
  • With its numerous large fruits, Wik- stroemia pulcherrima is attractive and wor- thy of cultivation.

Bibliography

Name Published In: Acta Horti Gothob. 10: 140 (1935 publ. 1936)

Other References

Wagner et al. 1990:1289 (H)

Occurrences

SNo. Scientific Name Locality Habitat Basis of Record Description Recorded By Record Number Island Source Date
1 Wikstroemia pulcherrima S. Kohala District, the flats near Puu Heewai about 2 miles SE of Keamuku Growing on rocky slope with Osteomeles and Dodonaea. Preserved_Specimen Tree 7' tall, 2 basal diam. Dark orange fruit numerous, av. 13mm in diam. few flowers green. Davis, J. 654 Hawaii BISH 1981-12-03
2 Wikstroemia pulcherrima Along Mamalahoa Hiway, ca. 5 mi SW. of Kamuela, Parker Ranch Preserved_Specimen shrub, fls. yellow. female flowers. Stone, B.C. 3103 Hawaii BISH 1959-08-13
3 Wikstroemia pulcherrima S. Kohala district. Nohonaohae cinder cone Preserved_Specimen Frequent shrub 3'-7'. Flowers greenish yellow, fruit orange. Davis, J. 245 Hawaii BISH 1980-03-19
4 Wikstroemia pulcherrima Between Puuwaawaa and Kamuela Preserved_Specimen Skottsberg, C.J.F. 692 Hawaii BISH 1922-09-27
5 Wikstroemia pulcherrima Along Kona-Kamuela Hwy. 7.8 miles east of Puuwaawaa ranch enterance. On Parker ranch Among exotic weeds. Preserved_Specimen male flowers. Gupta, S. 324 Hawaii BISH 1967-07-02
6 Wikstroemia pulcherrima Nohonaohae North slope of cinder cone. Preserved_Specimen Large red fruit. Corn, C. Hawaii BISH 1980-01-13
7 Wikstroemia pulcherrima Nohonaohae-iki, a cinder cone near the junction of Mamalahoa highway and Saddle Rd., South Kohala District, Preserved_Specimen Low, spreading shrub 2; tall with large basal diameter growing in Dodonaea-Pennisetum setaceum scrub grassland. Flowers yellow. Cuddihy, L.W. 854 Hawaii BISH 1981-08-12
8 Wikstroemia pulcherrima Kohala Preserved_Specimen Degener, O. 32754 Hawaii BISH 1971-09-27
9 Wikstroemia pulcherrima Kohala Preserved_Specimen Skottsberg, C.J.F. 692 Hawaii BISH 1922-09-27
10 Wikstroemia pulcherrima S. Kohala District, The flats near Puu Heewai, about 2 miles SE of Keamuku Associated with Dodonaea and fountain grass. Preserved_Specimen Tree 6' tall, basal diam. 5, spread of 7'. fruit very round, wider than long, 1x 1.5 cm, dark red. Flowers green. Davis, J. 653 Hawaii BISH 1981-12-03
11 Wikstroemia pulcherrima Along 51 Milepost, Saddle Road On cattle range. Preserved_Specimen male flowers. Degener, O. 27515 Hawaii BISH 1961-07-09
12 Wikstroemia pulcherrima along Saddle Road 51 miles west of Hilo In pasture Preserved_Specimen Shrub, about 4 ft. tall, with smooth, somewhat reddish-brown bark, yellow-green foliage, yellow flowers, orange fruit. Herbst, D.R. 931 Hawaii BISH 1968-02-18
13 Wikstroemia pulcherrima Two miles south of Waimea Airport Sparsely shrub-covered desert heavily grazed by cattle. Preserved_Specimen Many plants scraggly and beaten down. Flowers pale yellow, fruits orange. Tomich, P.Q. 928 Hawaii BISH 1961-11-25
14 Wikstroemia pulcherrima South Kohala, Waikoloa Village Growing in lava near town. Preserved_Specimen A few attractive, but sterile, 1-1.2m tall plants. Hobdy, R.W. 4221 Hawaii BISH 2005-08-11
15 Wikstroemia pulcherrima Along road from Waimea to Hawi; about 200m downslope from road along eastern edge of Mamaewa gulch Dry pasture with some native and alien shrubs on rocky slopes of gulch Preserved_Specimen shrub 1.5 m Price, J.P. 9 Hawaii BISH 2000-07-21
16 Wikstroemia pulcherrima along Saddle Road 51 miles west of Hilo In pasture Preserved_Specimen Shrub, about 4 ft. tall, with smooth, somewhat reddish-brown bark, yellow-green foliage, yellow flowers, orange fruit. Herbst, D.R. 931 Hawaii BISH 1968-02-18
17 Wikstroemia pulcherrima S. Kohala District, cinder cone east of saddle rd-Mamalahoa junction, north of Old Aalii Pumping Station, growing with Dodonaea, Sida, Waltheria, Lipochaeta, and Bidens menziesii var. filiformis. Preserved_Specimen Common shrub, 2' tall, with green fruit. Davis, J. 619 Hawaii BISH 1981-10-08
18 Wikstroemia pulcherrima along Saddle Road 51 miles west of Hilo In pasture Preserved_Specimen Shrub, about 4 ft. tall, with smooth, somewhat reddish-brown bark, yellow-green foliage, yellow flowers, orange fruit. Herbst, D.R. 931 Hawaii BISH 1968-02-18
19 Wikstroemia pulcherrima S Kohala; 4 km W of Waimea off Kawaihae Rd with Leucaena leucocephala, Pennisetum, Koa haole shrubland Preserved_Specimen to 1 m Annable, C.R. 3764 Hawaii BISH 1998-01-19
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