Schiedea kaalae

Wawra (1873)

This name is accepted

Kingdom: Viridiplantae Phylum: Magnoliophyta Class/Clade: Eudicot-CoreEudicot Order: Caryophyllales Family: Caryophyllaceae Genus: Schiedea

Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Coarse herb from a woody caudex.

Stems: Stems often swollen at the nodes, terete (cylindrical), 4–angled or –ridged, 0.2–1.2 (–5) dm long, thick and somewhat fleshy, purple, ± ascending, unbranched, tortuous, internodes greatly compressed, leaves tufted at apex, glabrous.

Roots: Fibrous root system.

Leaves: Leaves simple. Opposite. Blades usually somewhat irregular, either curved or concave, elliptic–oblanceolate to nearly spatulate, (8–)14–24 cm long, (1.5–) 2–5 (–6) cm wide. Apex acuminate, acute, or obtuse with a mucronate tip. Base leaf bases often connate around the stem, base long-attenuate. Surfaces glabrous; blades thick and coriaceous. Margins entire. Only the midvein evident, the midvein ± excentric. Petioles 0–3 cm long, purple, at least near the stem. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers in inflorescence terminal, with 20–300 flowers, 20–40 (–60) cm long, diffuse, erect, the tertiary and higher order internodes ascending or appressed; bracts subulate, purple, ciliate at least toward base, those of central axis 2-4 mm long, those of branches and flowers 1.5–3 mm long; pedicels 7–10 mm long, elongating to 15 mm long in fruit, conspicuously asymmetrically flattened. Flowers bisexual (perfect). Sepals 3.5–4.1 mm long, lanceolate, purple, opaque, completely reflexed, the proximal ½ convex, producing an elongate low bulge, the distal part concave to shallowly navicular, usually slightly twisted, abaxial side glabrous, margin scarious, sparsely ciliate, especially toward the apex, apex attenuate. Corolla (petals) absent. Stamens 10; filaments dimorphic, the antisepalous whorl 4.3-4.5 mm long, the alternate whorl 3.7–4 mm long; anthers 0.7-0.95 mm long, subequal, yellow. Ovary superior, 1-celled; ovule placentation free-central; styles 3 (–4).

Fruit: Capsules ca. 3.5–5 mm long; ca. 1.6–2.2 mm in diameter; narrowly ovoid. Seeds 1.0–1.1 mm long; orbicular–reniform; slightly compressed; transversely rugose; perisperm starchy; hard or rarely soft; true endosperm absent.

Ploidy: 2n = probably 60*

Habitat: Diverse mesic forest to perhaps wet forest on steep slopes in shaded sites.

Elevation Range: 410–730 m.

Historical Distribution

Uses and Culture

USES

Natural History

Statewide Status

Endemic

Island Status

O'ahu Endemic

Dispersal Agents


Pollinators

Notes

  • 450-700 m, Punalu'u and Kaipapa'u, Ko'olau Mountains, and Makaleha, Pahole Gulch, Mokul€'ia, Pu'uhdpapa, and Huliwai, Wai'anae Mountains, O'ahu
  • Description digitized by Mercedez
  • Description digitized from the Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawaii
  • Two varieties of Schiedea kaaloe were previously recognized: var. acutifolia, which differs in having acute leaf apices; and var. kaalae, which has rounded leaf apices with a mucronate tip. Several populations are now known where both forms are represented, and thus they are not given formal recognition here.

Bibliography

Name Published In: Beiträge zur Flora der Hawaischen Inseln. Flora 56: 175 (1873)

Other References

Wagner et al. 1990:515 (O); Wagner, Weller & Sakai 2005:84 (KEY, DESCR)

Occurrences

SNo. Scientific Name Locality Habitat Basis of Record Recorded By Record Number Island Source Date
1 Schiedea kaalae Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details near gully floor up on a steep rock face; Delissea, seedling Pisonia, seedling Claoxylon; moist with year round water flow Preserved_Specimen Obata, J.K. 344 Oahu BISH 1978-02-26
2 Schiedea kaalae Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details On dense, shady wet cliff. Preserved_Specimen Forbes, C.N. 1771 Oahu BISH 1912-04-26
3 Schiedea kaalae Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details base of Kukui tree; near stream on bank Preserved_Specimen Perlman, S. 5419 Oahu BISH 1987-03-08
4 Schiedea kaalae Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Preserved_Specimen Wagner, W.L. 6804 Oahu BISH 1998-02-10
5 Schiedea kaalae Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Vegetation mixed mesic forest (moist). Growing in deep shade. Preserved_Specimen Warshauer, F.R. 1056 Oahu BISH 1977-02-21
6 Schiedea kaalae Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Preserved_Specimen Bush, W. 5966 Oahu BISH 1929-05-19
7 Schiedea kaalae Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Preserved_Specimen Degener, O. 4153 Oahu BISH 1932-03-27
8 Schiedea kaalae Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Preserved_Specimen Wagner, W.L. 6801 Oahu BISH 1998-02-09
9 Schiedea kaalae Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Preserved_Specimen Heintzman, S. 351 Oahu BISH 2014-01-01
10 Schiedea kaalae Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Preserved_Specimen Lau, J. 850 Oahu BISH 1983-05-18
11 Schiedea kaalae Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Preserved_Specimen Degener, O. 4153 Oahu BISH 1932-03-27
12 Schiedea kaalae Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Preserved_Specimen Takeuchi, W.N. 3442 Oahu BISH 1987-02-01
13 Schiedea kaalae Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Preserved_Specimen Swezey, O.H. Oahu BISH 1933-03-26
14 Schiedea kaalae Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Preserved_Specimen Russ, G.W. Oahu BISH 1933-05-08
15 Schiedea kaalae Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Preserved_Specimen Oahu BISH
16 Schiedea kaalae Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Preserved_Specimen Takeuchi, W.N. 3438 Oahu BISH 1987-02-01
17 Schiedea kaalae Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details rock face, shade; Athyrium cover Preserved_Specimen Takeuchi, W.N. 3417 Oahu BISH 1987-01-01
18 Schiedea kaalae Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details In Oahu diverse mesic forest with Alectryon, Elaeocarpus, Pouteria, Antidesma, Pisonia, Charpentiera, Melicope, Freycinetia, Claoxylon, Hibiscus, Pipturus, Passiflora suberosa, Labordia, Platydesma, Athyrium sandwichianum, Neraudia. Preserved_Specimen Perlman, S. 6107 Oahu BISH 1987-06-28
19 Schiedea kaalae Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details bare dirt banks; densely shaded; Xylosma, Pteris irregularis, P. excelsa, Diellia falcata Preserved_Specimen Takeuchi, W.N. 3574 Oahu BISH 1987-05-25
20 Schiedea kaalae Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details near gully floor up on a steep rock face; Delissea, seedling Pisonia, seedling Claoxylon; moist with year round water flow Preserved_Specimen Obata, J.K. 344 Oahu BISH 1978-02-26
21 Schiedea kaalae Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details in mesic forest, always in shade Preserved_Specimen Takeuchi, W.N. 3587 Oahu BISH 1987-06-08
22 Schiedea kaalae Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details clear of understory congestion Preserved_Specimen Takeuchi, W.N. 3575 Oahu BISH 1987-05-25
23 Schiedea kaalae Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details Densely shaded by multilayered canopy with atypically high contribution from Xylosma; shares ground interval w/ Pteris irregularis, P. excelsa, and Diellia falcata Preserved_Specimen Takeuchi, W.N. 3574 Oahu BISH 1987-05-25
24 Schiedea kaalae Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details back of gulch, N facing slope; Alectryon, Planchonella, Claoxylon, Kukui, Diospyros, Pisonia Preserved_Specimen Perlman, S. 5812 Oahu BISH 1987-05-07
25 Schiedea kaalae Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details under Pisonia, Psychotria Preserved_Specimen Takeuchi, W.N. 3438 Oahu BISH 1987-02-01
26 Schiedea kaalae Locality redacted. Contact Bishop Museum Botany Department for details On dense, shady wet cliff. Preserved_Specimen Forbes, C.N. 1771 Oahu BISH 1912-05-16