Plants of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Plants of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Scientific Name	Silene hawaiiensis Sherff
Family	Caryophyllaceae (Carnation family)

Other Names

Status

Endemic, Threatened

Distribution & Habitat

Locations in this Guide

South-West Rift Zone

General Appearance

Sprawling shrubs with stems that come from an enlarged, fleshy root (Wagner, et al. 1990: 523).

Leaves

The leaves are slender and recurved. The range in size from 6 to 15 mm long and 0.5 to 0.8 mm wide (Wagner, et al. 1990: 523).

Flowers & Fruits

The flowers occur in narrow paniculate cymes and have a purple or purple-tinged calyx, and are 11 to 14 mm long. The petals are greenish white above and maroon below. They are 4.5 to 5.5 mm long and often deeply cleft (Wagner, et al. 1990: 523).


The fruit capsule is oblong-ovoid and 6.5 to 8 mm long (Wagner, et al. 1990: 523).

Phenology

South West Rift Zone	No flowers or fruit.	5/6/01
South West Rift Zone	Many flowers developing, but just one open. Lots of new vegetative growth.	6/16/01
South West Rift Zone	All the plants have had very abundant flowering. Most have empty seed capsules. A few plants are just beginning to flower, although these plants may also have empty seed capsules, too.	8/4/01

Natural History

Conservation

Miscellaneous Photos

Someone had placed some rocks around this plant. They were enough to produce a seed trap. There were dozens of dried fruit inside. This area, the South-West Rift Zone, seems quite windy. You don't get the impression that there are a lot of fruits produced, but an inadvertent experiment like this indicates otherwise.
Look carefully at the base of this plant. You can see a stout root.
The root has been exposed, probably through erosion. A small tuft of shoots and leaves survive.
Prolonged drought, as was experienced in the late 1990s on the Strip Road, can lead to high mortalities. The two plants shown below are either dying or barely hanging on to life.

Other Notes

References	Wagner, Warren, Derral Herbst and S. H. Sohmer 1990. Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai`i. University of Hawaii Press.
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Last Updated: 08/05/03