Listed as endangered in 1994, the population estimate of Lobelia oahuensis at that time was 100 to 200 plants. At the recovery project’s outset in 2019, those numbers dropped to fewer than 20 individual plants.
The Maui News A new virtual field trip created by the Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife will allow students of all ag
To recognize the big importance of tiny snails from Hawai’i, Gov. John Green on Thursday proclaimed 2023 the Year of the Kāhuli. The governor signed a proclamation Thursday that hails the native Hawaiian species, which inhabited almost every ecosystem across the state and played a key role in the natural and cultural life of Hawai’i, according to a state Department of Land and Natural Resources news release.
dgrossman@mauinews.com
Cyanea heluensis, a newly described native plant, is shown in a recent photo. The only known individual was discovered in wet ohia forest on Mauna Kahalawai in West Maui.
Plant Extinction Prevention Program photo A new native flower was discovered in a remote location in West Maui last week, and it’s the only known plant of its kind to exist so far.
While exploring the steep slopes of Helu above Lahaina, botanists Hank Oppenheimer and Jennifer Higashino found a single large Cyanea heluensis. This new species is related to other native plants known as haha, but has different features, including unique leaves and curved, long, white flowers.