Abutilon pitcairnense

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Abutilon pitcairnense
Abutilon pitcairnense in INBG Glasnevin Dublin 05.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
Genus: Abutilon
Species:
A. pitcairnense
Binomial name
Abutilon pitcairnense
Abutilon pitcairnense
Distribution [2]
     Extinct

Abutilon pitcairnense, the yellow fatu [1] or yellow fautu, is a critically endangered perennial plant that is native to Pitcairn Island. It was once considered extinct, until a single plant was discovered on the island in 2003. At that time, cuttings and seed were used to propagate several plants at a nursery on the island and botanical gardens in Ireland and England. The last wild surviving plant died in a landslide in 2005, making the plant extinct in the wild. [3]

Contents

Description

Abutilon pitcairnense is a spreading shrub, growing 1 m (3.3 ft) tall with nodding bell-shaped yellow flowers that have 3 cm (1.2 in) long petals. The alternate leaves are 13 cm (5.1 in) by 9 cm (3.5 in). The plant is native to unstable slopes, flowering from July to August. [4]

Conservation and habitat

Specimen at National Botanic Garden, Ireland

The plant is native to tiny Pitcairn Island (3 by 2 km (1.9 by 1.2 mi)), a remote island between New Zealand and South America which is mostly known for being settled by the mutineers from HMS Bounty. After being considered extinct for twenty years, a single plant was found growing in native forest of Homalium taypau and Metrosideros collina in 2003. Vegetative propagation, along with seed from the plant, were used to establish a small population on the island's nursery, with some propagation material also being sent to Trinity College Botanic Gardens, Dublin. A landslide killed the only wild plant in 2005, making the plant extinct in the wild. Cuttings from the Trinity College collection were taken to the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland, Glasnevin in 2007, and later to the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew. [3] [5]

The forest where the plant is native is threatened by invasive species, with the Homalium taypau trees under competition from Syzygium jambos and Lantana camara . Chemical control of the invasive plants, along with reintroduction of native species, have had some success. In 2011, there were plans to attempt the reintroduction of Abutilon pitcairnense to the island. There are also plans for a more thorough search of the island for surviving native plants during July and August, the flowering season of Abutilon pitcairnense. [5] In 2018, it was reported that the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew had stored seeds in the Millennium Seed Bank at Wakehurst and were working on propagating the plant. [6]

Taxonomy

Abutilon pitcairnense was discovered in 1934 by two American botanists, Harold St. John and Francis Raymond Fosberg, and named after the island. [7]

Related Research Articles

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Ochrosia is a genus of flowering plants, first described in 1789. It is in the family Apocynaceae, native to Southeast Asia, Australia, and various islands of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

  1. Ochrosia ackeringae(Teijsm. & Binn.) Miq. – Indonesia, Philippines, Papuasia, Christmas Island
  2. Ochrosia acuminataTrimen ex Valeton – Sulawesi
  3. Ochrosia alyxioidesGuillaumin – Vanuatu
  4. Ochrosia apoensisElmer – Luzon, Mindanao
  5. Ochrosia balansae(Guillaumin) Baill. ex Guillaumin – New Caledonia
  6. Ochrosia basistaminaHendrian – Sulawesi
  7. Ochrosia bodenheimarumGuillaumin – Vallée de la Toutouta in New Caledonia
  8. Ochrosia borbonicaJ.F.Gmel. – Mauritius + Réunion; naturalized in Guangdong
  9. Ochrosia brevitubaBoiteau – New Caledonia
  10. Ochrosia brownii(Fosberg & Sachet) Lorence & Butaud – Nuku Hiva in Marquesas
  11. Ochrosia citrodoraK.Schum. & Lauterb. – New Guinea
  12. Ochrosia coccinea(Teijsm. & Binn.) Miq. – Maluku, Sulawesi, New Guinea, Solomon Islands; naturalized in Guangdong
  13. Ochrosia comptaK.Schum., Hōlei – Hawaii
  14. Ochrosia ellipticaLabill. – Lord Howe Island, Queensland, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Nauru; naturalized in Guangdong + Taiwan
  15. Ochrosia fatuhivensisFosberg & Sachet – Fatu Hiva in Marquesas but extinct
  16. Ochrosia ficifolia(S.Moore) Markgr. – New Guinea
  17. Ochrosia glomerata(Blume) F.Muell. – Borneo, Sulawesi, Philippines, Maluku, New Guinea, Solomon Islands
  18. Ochrosia grandifloraBoit. – New Caledonia
  19. Ochrosia haleakalaeH.St.John, Hōlei – Maui + island of Hawaiʻi in Hawaiian Islands
  20. Ochrosia hexandraKoidz. – Kazan-retto
  21. Ochrosia inventorumL.Allorge – New Caledonia
  22. Ochrosia iwasakiana(Koidz.) Koidz. ex Masam.
  23. Ochrosia kauaiensisH.St.John, Hōlei – Kauaʻi in Hawaiian Islands
  24. †Ochrosia kilaueaensisH.St.John, Hōlei – island of Hawaiʻi in Hawaiian Islands, but extinct
  25. Ochrosia kilneriF.Muell. – Queensland
  26. Ochrosia lifuanaGuillaumin – Loyalty Islands + Isle of Pines in New Caledonia
  27. Ochrosia mariannensisA.DC. – Mariana Islands
  28. Ochrosia mianaBaill. ex Guillaumin – New Caledonia
  29. Ochrosia minima(Markgr.) Fosberg & Boiteau – Queensland, Papua New Guinea
  30. Ochrosia moorei(F.Muell.) F.Muell. ex Benth. – Queensland, New South Wales
  31. Ochrosia mulsantiiMontrouz. – New Caledonia
  32. Ochrosia nakaiana(Koidz.) Koidz. ex H.Hara – Ogasawara-shoto
  33. Ochrosia newellianaF.M.Bailey – Queensland
  34. Ochrosia novocaledonicaDäniker – New Caledonia
  35. Ochrosia oppositifolia(Lam.) K.Schum. – Seychelles, Chagos Islands, Sri Lanka, Maldive Islands, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Thailand, Vietnam, W Malaysia, Indonesia, Papuasia, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis & Futuna, French Polynesia, Line Islands, Micronesia
  36. Ochrosia poweriF.M.Bailey – Queensland, New South Wales
  37. Ochrosia sciadophyllaMarkgr – Bismarck Archipelago, Solomon Islands
  38. Ochrosia sevenetiiBoiteau – New Guinea
  39. Ochrosia silvaticaDäniker – New Caledonia
  40. Ochrosia solomonensis(Merr. & L.M.Perry) Fosberg & Boiteau – Solomon Islands
  41. Ochrosia syncarpaMarkgr. – Bali, Lombok, Timor, Flores
  42. Ochrosia tahitensisLaness. ex Pichon – Tahiti
  43. Ochrosia tenimberensisMarkgr. – Tanimbar Islands
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  2. Ochrosia sandwicensisA.DC. = Rauvolfia sandwicensisA.DC.
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Crocus flavus, known as yellow crocus, Dutch yellow crocus or snow crocus, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Crocus of the family Iridaceae. It grows wild on the slopes of Greece, former Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Romania and northwestern Turkey, with fragrant bright orange-yellow flowers. It is a small crocus (5–6 cm, despite the names of some cultivars, compared to the giant Dutch crocuses. Its cultivars are used as ornamental plants.

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<i>Boucerosia frerei</i> Plant native to Indian subcontinent

Boucerosia frerei is a plant in the genus Boucerosia which contains several species many of which are native to the Indian subcontinent and one species, Boucerosia crenulata, native to Myanmar. B. frerei, is a small succulent endemic to the forest area in the Western Ghats and Deccan plateau in Maharashtra state in India. It is also grown as a greenhouse plant by succulent plant enthusiasts. At one time, it was on the IUCN list of twelve most endangered species on earth, but conservation efforts have brought it back from the brink of extinction.

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<i>Eucommia</i> Genus of trees

Eucommia is a genus of small trees now native to China, with a fossil record that shows a much wider distribution. The single living species, Eucommia ulmoides, is near threatened in the wild, but is widely cultivated in China for its bark, and is highly valued in herbology such as traditional Chinese medicine.

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References

  1. 1 2 Bárrios, S.; Smyth, N. (2018). "Abutilon pitcairnense". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T122926206A122926208. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-1.RLTS.T122926206A122926208.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ↑ "Abutilon pitcairnense Fosberg | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  3. 1 2 Corcoran, Marcela (2011-04-13). "Pitcairn plant flowers at Kew". Kew Blogs. Kew Royal Botanical Gardens. Archived from the original on 2011-04-16. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  4. ↑ "Yellow Fautu" . Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  5. 1 2 "Conservation of Abutilon Pitcairnense". National Botanic Gardens (Ireland). 2011-01-10. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  6. ↑ Briggs, Helen (2018-07-06). "Lord of the Rings toad on brink of extinction". BBC News. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  7. ↑ "Endangered endemic flower of Pitcairn on stamp". IUCN. 2011-02-21. Retrieved 15 April 2011.[ permanent dead link ]

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