Cyanea copelandii
Genus: Cyanea
Status: Extinct / Endangered. The big-island subsp. copelandii has been collected only twice, once in 1918 and again in 1957, and is presumed extinct. The Haleakala subsp. haleakalensis is extant, but endangered (Hank Oppenheimer, pers. comm.).
From Rock, 1919, showing Cy. copelandii growing epiphytically on a fern-covered tree trunk.
Range: Hawai'i (subsp. copelandii) and Maui (subsp. haleakalaensis), wet forests, 660-1,600 m.
Growth form: Epiphytic treelet, 30-40 cm tall or liana-like shrub, up to 2.0 m long.
How to identify:
Description: In habit, one of the subherbaceous species, typically growing epiphytically, unbranched, 30 to 40 cm tall. Or it rarely roots in the soil, but then grows liana-like ascending moss covered tree trunks, rooting from nodes for up to 2 m. Leaves dark green, membranous, elliptic, apex acuminate, base narrowing then slightly rounded, subsp. haleakalensis has shorter blades from 10 to 19 cm long whereas subsp. copelandii has longer blades, 22.5 to 27 cm. long, Both are 5 to 8 cm wide, petioles 4.5 to 5.5 cm long, margin unevenly wavy, minutely and closely denticulate, denticulations mucronulate, glabrate above, slightly pubescent below and on the petiole with minute reddish brown hairlets, midrib and veins prominent adaxially with more pubescence than the rest of the leaf undersurface, veins impressed above.
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