{"id":613143,"date":"2026-04-29T11:11:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T11:11:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/613143\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T11:11:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T11:11:22","slug":"several-hawaiian-plant-species-newly-discovered-rediscovered-during-native-plant-month-big-island-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/613143\/","title":{"rendered":"Several Hawaiian plant species newly discovered, rediscovered during Native Plant Month : Big Island Now"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\n\"\"A single flower of Hibiscadelphus stellatus from Mauna Kahalawai, Maui. (Courtesy Photo: Hank Oppenheimer, Maui Plant Extinction Prevention Program\/Hawai\u02bbi Department of Land and Natural Resources)<\/p>\n

Discovery of five new plant species and rediscovery of several other species previously thought to be lost are detailed in the new\u00a0\u201cRare Plant Program 2025 Island Highlights\u201d\u00a0report<\/a>, giving Hawaiian plant enthusiasts a lot to celebrate during April\u2019s Native Plant Month observance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The report was produced by Hawai\u02bbi Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife Rare Plant Program<\/a> and Plant Extinction Prevention Program<\/a>, a collaboration of the state Land Department and University of Hawai\u02bbi at M\u0101noa Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit.<\/p>\n

New Discoveries<\/p>\n

\"\"Lysimachia barcae, a new plant species found on Kaua\u02bbi. (Courtesy Photo: Ken Wood\/Hawai\u02bbi Department of Land and Natural Resources)<\/p>\n

The five new species were discovered on Kaua\u02bbi during remote explorations by Plant Extinction Prevention Program and National Tropical Botanical Garden.<\/p>\n

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They were formally announced in 2025.<\/p>\n

These plants are found nowhere else on Earth. Some, such as Lysimachia barcae a delicate shrub with a stunning purple flower, have fewer than a dozen individuals known to exist.<\/p>\n

Rediscoveries<\/p>\n

\"\"A species of Ha\u02bbiwale on O\u02bbahu rediscovered after not having been seen since 1943. (Courtesy Photo: Hawai\u02bbi Department of Land and Natural Resources)<\/p>\n

Five species on L\u0101na\u02bbi<\/a> were rediscovered after decades with no sightings, and botanists feared these plants might no longer be alive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

Individuals of two critically rare species of \u02bboha wai and makou were found on the Big Island. Botanists were previously aware of just one remaining individual of this species of \u02bboha wai in the wild, and no remaining wild individuals of the rediscovered species of makou.<\/p>\n

\"\"A staff member with Plant Extinction Prevention Program on O\u02bbahu works with Phlegmariurus nutans. (Courtesy Photo: Susan Ching\/O\u02bbahu Division of Forestry and Wildlife\/Hawai\u02bbi Department of Land and Natural Resources)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe celebrate Native Plant Month every year in April, but this year is special,\u201d said Hawai\u02bbi Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife Botanist Matt Keir in a release about the discoveries and rediscoveries. \u201cDiscovering new species and expanding what we know about Hawaiian plants means that there is literally more to celebrate.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The annual report also highlights many of the challenges faced by Hawai\u02bbi native plants, including presence of hoofed animals and infestations of coconut rhinoceros beetles on multiple species of loulu.<\/p>\n

Division of Forestry and Wildlife, Plant Extinction Prevention Program and partner groups are deploying new tools, including drones that can be used for remote monitoring, to advance plant conservation work and the collection of plant specimens.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A single flower of Hibiscadelphus stellatus from Mauna Kahalawai, Maui. (Courtesy Photo: Hank Oppenheimer, Maui Plant Extinction Prevention…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":613144,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[266208,6484,192,266209,266210,266211,266212,200549,266213,266214,266215,266216,263684,266217,79],"class_list":["post-613143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-5-new-species-discovered","tag-april","tag-environment","tag-haiwale","tag-hibiscadelphus-stellatus","tag-lysimachia-barcae","tag-mauna-kahalawai","tag-native-plant","tag-native-plant-hawaii","tag-native-plant-month","tag-phlegmariurus-nutans","tag-plant-extinction-prevention-program","tag-rare-plant","tag-rare-plant-program","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613143","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=613143"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613143\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/613144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=613143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=613143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=613143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}