Cyanea crispa
An endangered Hawaiian lobelioid in Campanulaceae native to Oʻahu's Koʻolau Range, growing as a shrub up to about 5 feet tall with pale magenta-purple flowers and darker stripes, flowering year‑round in mesic to wet forests, with only about 30–50 individuals remaining across a few populations and ongoing ex situ propagation and conservation actions.
Common Names
Koolau Range Rollandia, Crimped Rollandia, Haha
Summary
This Hawaiian lobelioid shrub is unbranched with succulent stems and leaves clustered at shoot tips. Leaves are broad oval, 12–30 inches long and 3.5–6 inches wide; inflorescences bear 3–8 fuzzy flowers on stalks, with fused petals 4.1–6.1 cm long, pale magenta with darker longitudinal stripes; fruits are spherical berries about 1 cm in diameter. Endemic to Oʻahu's Koolau Mountains, it grows in open mesic to moist forest habitats at elevations of 183–732 m (600–2,400 ft).
Conservation-focused cultivation and propagation are pursued through ex-situ efforts at Lyon Arboretum and the National Tropical Botanical Garden, with seeds collected for conservation and possible reintroduction; federally endangered status has been noted, and threats include habitat alteration, predation by rats and slugs, and competition from invasive plants and feral pigs.
Lifecycle
Perennial
Height
5 feet
Sunlight Requirements
Ideally partial shade.
Bloom Color
Pale magenta
Bloom Time
Year-round
Growth Rate
No growth
Seasons of Interest
Spring, Summer, Fall
Propagation Methods
Seeds, Cuttings, Division (suckers), Micropropagation
Taxonomy
- Taxonomic Rank
- Species
- Author
- (Gaudich.) Lammers, Givnish & Sytsma
- Publication
- Novon 3: 439 (1993)
Superior Taxa
- Kingdom
- Plantae
- Subkingdom
- Pteridobiotina
- Phylum
- Angiosperms
- Order
- Asterales
- Family
- Campanulaceae
- Genus
- Cyanea
Synonyms
Lobelia crispa Rollandia crispa Rollandia crispa var. muricata Cyanea rollandia