{"id":610954,"date":"2026-04-28T09:07:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T09:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/610954\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T09:07:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T09:07:09","slug":"new-plant-discoveries-celebrated-during-native-plant-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/610954\/","title":{"rendered":"New Plant Discoveries Celebrated During Native Plant Month"},"content":{"rendered":"

(BIVN) \u2013 New plant discoveries, and rare rediscoveries, are detailed in the new Rare Plant Program 2025 Island Highlights report<\/a>, giving Hawaiian plant enthusiasts \u201ca great deal to celebrate during April\u2019s Native Plant Month observance,\u201d the Hawai\u02bbi Department of Land and Natural Resources says.<\/p>\n

The report was produced by the DLNR\u2019s Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) Rare Plant Program and the Plant Extinction Prevention Program (PEPP).<\/p>\n

PEPP is a collaboration of DLNR and the University of Hawai\u02bbi at M\u0101noa Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit.<\/p>\n

Hawai\u02bbi island is featured in the report, including the finding of individuals of two critically rare species \u2013 \u02bboha wai and makou, as well as the threats posed to native palm trees by the invasive coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

From the 2025 Rare Plant Program Highlights report by the Hawai\u02bbi DLNR<\/p>\n

From the Hawai\u02bbi DLNR news release:<\/p>\n

New Discoveries<\/p>\n

The five new plant species were discovered in recent years on Kaua\u02bbi during remote explorations by PEPP and the National Tropical Botanical Garden and were formally announced in 2025. These plants are found nowhere else on Earth. Some, like Lysimachia barcae, a delicate shrub with a stunning purple flower, have fewer than a dozen individuals known to exist.<\/p>\n

Rediscoveries<\/p>\n

Five species on L\u0101na\u02bbi have been rediscovered after decades with no sightings. Botanists had feared these plants might no longer be alive on L\u0101na\u02bbi.<\/p>\n

On O\u02bbahu, a species of ha\u02bbiwale was found for the first time since 1943.<\/p>\n

On Hawai\u02bbi Island, individuals of two critically rare species of \u02bboha wai and makou have been found. Previously, botanists were aware of just one remaining individual of this species of \u02bboha wai in the wild, and no remaining wild individuals of this species of makou.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe celebrate Native Plant Month every year in April, but this year is special,\u201d said DLNR DOFAW Botanist Matt Keir. \u201cDiscovering new species and expanding what we know about Hawaiian plants means that there is literally more to celebrate.\u201d<\/p>\n

The annual report also highlights many of the challenges native plants in Hawai\u02bbi are facing, including the presence of hoofed animals and infestations of coconut rhinoceros beetles on multiple species of loulu (native fan palms).<\/p>\n

DOFAW, PEPP and partner groups are deploying new tools to advance plant conservation work, including drones that can be used both for remote monitoring and the collection of plant specimens.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(BIVN) \u2013 New plant discoveries, and rare rediscoveries, are detailed in the new Rare Plant Program 2025 Island…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":610955,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[192,79],"class_list":{"0":"post-610954","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-environment","9":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=610954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/610955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=610954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=610954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=610954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}