SPECIES INFORMATION: Cyanea procera, a member of the bellflower family, is a
palmlike tree 10 to 30 ft (3 to 9 m) tall with stalkless, lance‐shaped leaves
24 to 30 in (60 to 75 cm) long and 3.9 to 6.7 in (10 to 17 cm) wide with tiny hardened
teeth along the margins. Each flower cluster has a stalk 1 to 1.6 in (25 to 40 mm) long
and comprises 10 to 20 flowers, each on a stalk 0.2 to 0.4 in (6 to 10 mm) long. Each
flower has a hypanthium, 0.6 to 0.8 in (15 to 20 mm) in length and 0.3 to 0.5 in (8 to 13
mm) in width, topped by shallow triangular calyx lobes 0.1 to 0.2 in (3 to 4 mm) long
and about 0.2 in (4 to 5 mm) wide. The purplish corolla forms a nearly upright or
slightly curved tube 2.4 to 3.1 in (60 to 80 mm) long and 0.2 to 0.4 in (6 to 11 mm) wide,
which ends in five downwardly curving lobes which make the flower appear onelipped.
The ellipse‐ or egg‐shaped berries are 1.2 to 1.8 in (3.0 to 4.5 cm) long and 0.8 to
1.1 in (2.0 to 2.8 cm) wide. This species can be distinguished from other species of the
genus and from C. mannii by its growth habit, its sessile leaves, and the single‐lipped
appearance of the corolla.
DISTRIBUTION: Historically, Cyanea procera was known only from an unspecified
site in the Kamalo region of eastern Moloka‘i until its discovery in 1987 at Pu‘u O Kaeha,
west of Kamalo on private land, at an elevation of 3,480 ft (1,060 m), and Waikolu Valley
at about 4,000 ft (1,220 m) elevation.
ABUNDANCE: Apparently, only one known plant now exists in the wild. Only one
individual was located in 2004 at Kawela Gulch. In 1991, two additional individuals
were discovered above a waterfall at Waikolu. The last individual at Hanalilolilo had
died as of June 2005.
LOCATION AND CONDITION OF KEY HABITAT: Moloka‘i, Kamakou Preserve ,
West Kawela Gulch; and Pu‘u ali‘i NAR. The last remaining plant grows on a steep rock
wall with thin soil on the southwest slope of a narrow gulch, in a MetrosiderosDicranopteris Wet Forest. Associated native plant species include various species of
Asplenium, Coprosma ochracea (pilo), Pipturus albidus (mamaki), Touchardia latifolia (olona),
Sadleria sp., Urera glabra, Cheirodendron sp., Cibotium sp., Machaerina sp., Cyanea
sonenocalyx, Clermontia arborescens, Cyrtandra sp., and Diplazium sp..
THREATS:
Landslides, which in this area are likely to be caused by goats ranging above the
steep gulch where the plant exists;
Rats;
Slugs;
Competition from alien plant species;
Vulnerable to extinction from stochastic events;
Reduced reproductive vigor due to low number of individuals remaining.
CONSERVATION ACTIONS: The goals of conservation actions are not only to protect
current populations, but also to establish further populations to reduce the risk of
extinction. The USFWS has developed a recovery plan that details specific tasks needed
to recover this species. In addition to common statewide and island conservation
actions, specific actions include: Spot fence immediate area above plant to prevent landslides caused by goats
currently ranging directly above the steep gulch where the last plant exists;
Survey historic range for surviving populations;
Establish secure ex‐situ stocks with complete representation of remaining
individuals.
Augment wild population and establish new populations in safe harbors.
MONITORING:
Survey for populations and distribution in known and likely habitats;
Monitor plants for insect damage and plant diseases.
RESEARCH PRIORITIES:
Develop proper horticultural protocols and pest management;
Survey ex‐situ holdings and conduct molecular fingerprinting;
Conduct pollination biology and seed dispersal studies;
Map genetic diversity in the surviving population to guide future re‐introduction
and augmentation efforts.
References:
Hawai‘i Natural Heritage Program, 2005. Hawaii Natural Heritage Program Search,
www.hinhp.org/printpage.asp?spp=PDMAL0H0A0 [August 2005].
International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, 2004, IUCN Red List of
Threatened Species: Data Base Search,
www.redlist.org/search/search‐basic.html.
NTBG, 2002. Herbarium database specimen. Perlman 18,277, collected on 11/7/2002.
NTBG, 2004. Perlman, Steve. Field Data Booklet #51, SP 19311. Unpublished data.
NTBG, 2005. Perlman, Steve. Field Data Booklet #53, SP 19614. Unpublished data.
USFWS, 1992. Final rule: Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Determination of
Endangered or Threatened Status for 16 Plants from the Island of Molokai, Hawaii. Federal
Register, 57 FR 46325 (08‐OCT‐92); 2070 lines.
Wagner, W.L., Herbst, D.R., and Sohmer, S.H., 1999. Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawaiʹi‐‐
Revised Edition. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press and Bishop Museum Press. 1853p.
