Lebronnecia

Lebronnecia
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 2.3) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Malvales
Family:	Malvaceae
Subfamily:	Malvoideae
Tribe:	Gossypieae
Genus:	Lebronnecia Fosberg & Sachet (1966) [2]
Species:	L. kokioides
Binomial name
Lebronnecia kokioides Fosberg & Sachet (1966) [3]

Lebronnecia is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Malvaceae. ^[4] The sole species is Lebronnecia kokioides, a very rare flowering shrub.

Distribution

Only a few hundred specimens are known to exist. The plant was first described in 1966, after a single tree with a few seedlings was discovered on Tahuata, an island in the Marquesas group of French Polynesia that had been severely deforested by livestock: cattle, goats, horses, and pigs.

Further specimens were later found on the nearby island of Mohotani, uninhabited by humans, but similarly deforested by sheep, who seem to avoid eating the plant. ^[5]

It is now being cultivated in Hawaii. ^[6]

References

1. Florence, J. (1998). "Lebronnecia kokioides". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 1998: e.T30398A9537122. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.1998.RLTS.T30398A9537122.en . Retrieved 17 November 2021.
2. "genus Lebronnecia". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) online database. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
3. "Lebronnecia kokioides". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 30 April 2017– via The Plant List. Note that this website has been superseded by World Flora Online
4. Wendel, J. F., Brubaker, C. L., & Seelanan, T. (2010). The origin and evolution of Gossypium. In: Physiology of Cotton (pp. 1-18). Springer Netherlands.
5. "Hibiscus & Malvaceae: Cultivation, Conservation, Education: Lebronnecia kokioides". 11 May 2009. Retrieved 2011-01-23.
6. Keoki & Yuko Stender. "MarinelifePhotography.com: Plants: Malvaceae" . Retrieved 2011-01-23.