Cyanea is a genus of flowering plants in the family Campanulaceae that are endemic to Hawaii. The name Cyanea in Hawaiian is hāhā.Oppenheimer, H. and D. H. Lorence. (2012). A new species of Cyanea (Campanulaceae, Lobelioideae) from Maui, Hawaiian Islands. PhytoKeys (13), 15-23.
Ecology These Hawaiian lobelioids are endemic to Hawaii with over 90% of Cyanea species are found only on one island in the Hawaiian chain.Givnish, T. J., et al. (2009). Origin, adaptive radiation and diversification of the Hawaiian lobeliads (Asterales: Campanulaceae). Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 276(1656), 407-16. They grow in moist and wet forest habitatLammers, T. G. (2004). Five new species of the endemic Hawaiian genus Cyanea (Campanulaceae: Lobelioideae). Novon 14(1) 84-101. and are largely pollinated by birds such as the Hawaiian honeycreepers, and the seeds are dispersed by birds that take the fruits.
Description Most Cyanea are trees with few branches or none. The inflorescence is a raceme of 4 to 45 flowers which grows from the leaf axils. The fruit is a fleshy berry.
Evolutionary anachronism There have been several theories regarding the evolution of large prickles on these plants that are endemic to islands that lack any mammalian or reptilian herbivores. One such theory suggests that the prickles are a defense against herbivory by the moa-nalo, a few taxa of flightless ducks that went extinct on the islands within the last 1600 years, an example of evolutionary anachronism.Givnish, T. J., et al. (1994). Thorn-like prickles and heterophylly in Cyanea: adaptations to extinct avian browsers on Hawaii? Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 91(7), 2810-14.
Species
81 species are accepted. Cyanea aculeatiflora – Haleakala cyanea Cyanea acuminata – Honolulu cyanea Cyanea angustifolia – hāhā, aku, Cyanea arborea – palmtree cyanea Cyanea asarifolia – gingerleaf cyanea Cyanea aspleniifolia – spleenwort cyanea Cyanea calycina – Waianae Range rollandia, Oahu cyanea Cyanea comata – Maui cyanea Cyanea copelandii – treetrunk cyanea Cyanea coriacea – leatherleaf cyanea Cyanea crispa – Koolau Range rollandia Cyanea cylindrocalyx – Splitleaf cyanea Cyanea dolichopoda – long-foot cyanea Cyanea dunbariae – ravine cyanea Cyanea duvalliorum Cyanea eleeleensis – eleele cyanea Cyanea elliptica – ellipticleaf cyanea Cyanea fissa – Kauai cyanea Cyanea floribunda – Degener's cyanea Cyanea gibsonii Cyanea giffardii – Kilauea Mauna cyanea Cyanea glabra – smooth cyanea Cyanea grimesiana – splitleaf cyanea Cyanea habenata – stream-bed cyanea Cyanea hamatiflora – wetforest cyanea Cyanea hardyi – Oahu cyanea Cyanea heluensis Cyanea hirtella – rustyleaf cyanea Cyanea horrida – prickly cyanea, Cyanea humboldtiana – Oahu rollandia Cyanea kahiliensis – spoonleaf cyanea Cyanea kauaulaensis Cyanea kolekoleensis – kolekole cyanea Cyanea konahuanuiensis – Hāhā miliohu Cyanea koolauensis – Palolo Valley rollandia Cyanea kuhihewa – Limahuli Valley cyanea Cyanea kunthiana – Kunth's cyanea Cyanea lanceolata – lanceleaf cyanea Cyanea leptostegia – giant kokee cyanea Cyanea linearifolia – linearleaf cyanea Cyanea lobata – Waihee Valley cyanea Cyanea longiflora – ridge rollandia Cyanea longissima – streambank cyanea Cyanea macrostegia – purple cyanea Cyanea magnicalyx Cyanea mannii – Mann's cyanea Cyanea maritae Cyanea marksii – Marks' cyanea Cyanea mauiensis – Maui cyanea Cyanea mceldowneyi – McEldowney's cyanea Cyanea membranacea – papery cyanea Cyanea minutiflora Cyanea munroi – Munro's cyanea Cyanea obtusa – bluntlobe cyanea Cyanea parvifolia – Waioli Valley rollandia Cyanea pilosa – hairy cyanea Cyanea pinnatifida – sharktail cyanea Cyanea platyphylla – puna cyanea Cyanea pohaku – pohaku cyanea Cyanea procera – Molokai cyanea Cyanea profuga – Mapulehu Valley cyanea Cyanea pseudofauriei – hāhā Cyanea purpurellifolia – Panaluu Mountain rollandia Cyanea pycnocarpa – manyfruit cyanea Cyanea quercifolia – oakleaf cyanea Cyanea recta – Kealia cyanea Cyanea remyi – Remy's cyanea Cyanea rivularis – plateau cyanea Cyanea salicina – willow cyanea Cyanea scabra – harsh cyanea Cyanea sessilifolia – sessileleaf cyanea Cyanea shipmanii – Shipman's cyanea Cyanea solanacea – popolo Cyanea solenocalyx – pua kala, molokai Cyanea spathulata – spoonleaf cyanea Cyanea st.-johnii – St. John's rollandia Cyanea stictophylla – Kaiholena cyanea Cyanea superba – Mt. Kaala cyanea Cyanea tritomantha – aku aku, aku Cyanea truncata – Punaluu cyanea Cyanea undulata – leechleaf cyanea
References