Delissea fallax Hillebr.

Genus: Delissea sect. Rhytidosperma

Status: Extinct. Last collected prior to 1872.

Etymology: fallax is from latin for deceiptful. Neither Hillebrand, Rock, Wimmer nor Lammers discuss the name. The material from Hillebrand, who named the species, shows that he was in doubt as to the specimen's identity - this could be the reason for the epithet.

Range: Hawai'i, Mauna Kea.

Growth form: Shrub.

This species is closely related to Delissea parviflora. In fact, Lammers (1990) has speculated that D. parviflora is simply the juvenile of this species.

How to identify:

Images:

Sources:

• Hillebrand, 1888;
• Rock, 1919;
• Wimmer, 1943;
• Wagner et al., 1990;
• Lammers, 2005.