Lobelia grayana E. Wimm.

Genus: Lobelia section Revolutella.

Range: Maui, Haleakalā, 1,700-2,300 m.

Growth form: Treelet, 1-2 m tall.

Photo from Maui Magazine, Behold the Lobelia, by Shannon Wianecki.

Exceedingly close to L. yuccoides of Ka'ala on Maui, the difference being that in L. grayana everything is smaller and stouter: the leaves (18m vs 30cm), the inflorescence (30 cm vs. 80 cm) and the flowers themselves (3 cm vs 4 cm).

This species was named Lobelia neriifolia by Gray in 1861 apparently unaware that this binomial was used by Moris in Mem. Acad. Turn. XXXVIII in 1833 in describing what was eventually a synonym for L. excelsa, a plant from Chile and Bolivia. It was only Wimmers, in 1953 that corrected this mistake.

Note that Hillebrand's L. neriifolia is not this species, but rather was a new species now named L. hillebrandii.

How to identify: One of three Revolutella occuring on Maui. L. grayana is from Haleakalā 1,700 to 2,300 m. L. hillebrandii and L. hypoleuca are from 450 to 1,500 m. Also note that both L. hillebrandii and L. hypoleuca are described as leafy on the upper 1/2 of the stem, whereas L. grayana is described with leaves densely clustered at the stem apex.

Sources:

• Gray, 1861 (as Lobelia neriifolia);
• Mann, 1868 (as Lobelia neriifolia);
• Wawra, 1873 (as Lobelia neriifolia);
• not Hillebrand, 1888 (which is Lobelia hillebrandii);
• Rock, 1919 (as Lobelia neriifolia, specimen from Kaua'i is L. hypoleuca?);
• Wimmer, 1953;
• Wimmer, 1968;
• Wagner et al., 1990.