:Brighamia insignis
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Brighamia insignis - general view.JPG
|image_caption =
|status = EW
|status_system = IUCN3.1
|genus = Brighamia
|species = insignis
|authority = A.Gray
|range_map = Hawaii in its region.svg
|range_map_caption = Brighamia insignis is endemic to Hawaii
|synonyms =
- Brighamia citrina (C.N.Forbes & Lydgate) H.St.John
- Brighamia citrina var. napoliensis H.St.John
- Brighamia insignis f. citrina C.N.Forbes & Lydgate
|synonyms_ref = {{cite POWO |id=139643-1 |title=Brighamia insignis A.Gray |accessdate=15 June 2023}}
}}
Brighamia insignis, commonly known as ʻŌlulu or Alula in Hawaiian,{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WA246oBPf7UC |title=Nā Lei Makamae: the Treasured Lei |first=Marie A. |last=McDonald |author2=Paul R. Weissich|author3= Jean Cote |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-8248-2649-9 |page=124}} or colloquially as the vulcan palm{{cite web|url=https://www.shootgardening.co.uk/plant/brighamia-insignis |title=Brighamia insignis , Hawaiian palm, Hawaiian vulcan palm, Hawaiian alula, Olulu palm, Cabbage tree, Cabbage on a stick - Shoot |publisher=Shootgardening.co.uk |date= |access-date=10 January 2016}} or cabbage on a stick,[http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=BRIN4 USDA Plants Profile] is a species of Hawaiian lobelioid in the bellflower family, Campanulaceae. It is native to the islands of Kaua{{okina}}i and Ni{{okina}}ihau, but has been extinct in the wild since at least 2019-2020. This short-lived perennial species is a member of a unique endemic Hawaiian genus with only one other species.
Description
Brighamia insignis is a potentially branched plant with a succulent stem that is bulbous at the bottom and tapers toward the top, ending in a compact rosette of fleshy leaves. The stem is usually {{convert|1|-|2|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} in height, but can reach {{convert|5|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}.{{cite web |url=http://ntbg.org/plants/plant_details.php?plantid=1923 |title=Brighamia insignis |work=Meet the Plants |publisher=National Tropical Botanical Garden |access-date=15 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624023806/http://ntbg.org/plants/plant_details.php?plantid=1923 |archive-date=2013-06-24 |url-status=dead }} The plant blooms in September through November.[http://www2.hawaii.edu/~eherring/hawnprop/bri-insi.htm Hawaiian Native Plant Cultivation Database.] University of Hawaii, Manoa. It has clusters of fragrant yellow flowers in groups of three to eight in the leaf axils. The scent has been compared to honeysuckle. Petals are fused into a tube {{convert|7|to|14|cm|in|frac=2|abbr=on}} long. The fruit is a capsule {{convert|13|to|19|mm|in|frac=32|abbr=on}} long containing numerous seeds.{{cite web |url=http://www.centerforplantconservation.org/Collection/CPC_ViewProfile.asp?CPCNum=630 |title=Brighamia insignis |work=CPC National Collection Plant Profiles |publisher=Center for Plant Conservation |date=22 July 2008 |access-date=15 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101028210131/http://centerforplantconservation.org/Collection/CPC_ViewProfile.asp?CPCNum=630 |archive-date=28 October 2010 }}
Distribution and habitat
Brighamia insignis was found at elevations from sea level to {{convert|480|m|ft|abbr=on}} in mesic shrublands and dry forests that receive less than {{convert|170|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} of annual rainfall. It grew on rocky ledges with little soil and steep sea cliffs. Associated plants include {{okina}}āhinahina (Artemisia spp.) {{okina}}akoko (Euphorbia celastroides), alahe{{okina}}e (Psydrax odorata), kāwelu (Eragrostis variabilis), pili (Heteropogon contortus), koki{{okina}}o {{okina}}ula (Hibiscus kokio), {{okina}}ānaunau (Lepidium serra), nehe (Lipochaeta succulenta), pokulakalaka (Munroidendron racemosum), and {{okina}}ilima (Sida fallax).
B. insignis is now extinct in the wild, having been in decline for many years. In 1994, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service reported five populations totaling 45 to 65 individuals, and listed the plant as an endangered species. The last single individual was recorded in the wild in August 2012, and drone surveys in June 2019 and May 2020 found that it, too, had disappeared.
Endangered status
According to the U.S. Botanic Garden, its only pollinator was a certain type of now-extinct hawk moth. This has made it all but impossible for B. insignis to reproduce on its own.{{cite web |url=http://www.state.hi.us/dlnr/dofaw/cwcs/files/Flora%20fact%20sheets/Bri_ins%20plant%20NTBG_OK.pdf |title=Alula, Olulu |work=Hawaii's Species of Greatest Conservation Need: Process and SGCN Fact Sheets |publisher=Hawaii Department of Fish and Wildlife |access-date=10 December 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926234552/http://www.state.hi.us/dlnr/dofaw/cwcs/files/Flora%20fact%20sheets/Bri_ins%20plant%20NTBG_OK.pdf |archive-date=26 September 2007 }} Therefore, individuals only produce seed when artificially pollinated by humans.{{cite web|author=James Wong|author-link=James Wong (ethnobotanist)|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/jan/10/gardens-all-hail-the-vulcan-palm |title=Gardens: all hail the vulcan palm | James Wong | Life and style |work=The Guardian |date=16 January 2016 |access-date=11 January 2016}}
Other threats to the species have included exotic plant species, feral goats and pigs, slugs, rats, fire, and infestations of carmine spider mites (Tetranychus cinnabarinus).{{Cite web |url=http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Brighamia+insignis |title=The Nature Conservancy |access-date=2011-01-22 |archive-date=2008-05-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080531105722/http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Brighamia+insignis |url-status=dead }}USFWS. [http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/five_year_review/doc1767.pdf Brighamia insignis Five Year Review.] January 18, 2008. There is also a hiking trail near one of the populations. The plant grows on steep, exposed cliffs and has been damaged by hurricanes and landslides; in 1992, the remaining populations on the southeastern coast of Kaua{{okina}}i were wiped out by Hurricane Iniki, leaving only the populations on the island's north coast (which themselves continued to decline thereafter).
== Cultivation ==
Despite its rarity in the wild it is not hard to cultivate in a nursery, and it has come into use as a novel ornamental plant.[https://web.archive.org/web/20060927183829/http://www.ntbg.org/plants/plant_details.php?rid=122&plantid=1923 National Tropical Botanical Garden]
Gallery
Image:Brighamia insignis - flowers.JPG|Flowers of the Brighamia insignis
File:Flower HawaiianPalm.JPG|Closeup of a flower
Image:alula.jpg|An alula plant at Limahuli Garden and Preserve, Kaua{{okina}}i.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Brighamia insignis}}
- {{cite web |url=http://www2.hawaii.edu/~eherring/hawnprop/bri-insi.htm |title=Brighamia insignis |work=Hawaiian Native Plant Propagation Database |publisher=University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa }}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1934110}}
Category:Plants extinct in the wild