Canavalia hawaiiensis

Canavalia hawaiiensis
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)
Vulnerable  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Subfamily:	Faboideae
Genus:	Canavalia
Species:	C. hawaiiensis
Binomial name
Canavalia hawaiiensis O.Deg., I.Deg. & J.D.Sauer
Synonyms
List Canavalia galeata var. hawaiiensis (O.Deg., I.Deg. & J.D.Sauer) Fosberg (1966) Canavalia iaoensis H.St.John (1970) Canavalia kauensis H.St.John (1972) Canavalia rockii H.St.John (1970) Canavalia sanguinea H.St.John (1970)

Canavalia hawaiiensis or Canavalia kauaiensis is a low growing vine of the sweet pea family (Papillionaceae) and endemic to Kauai, Hawai'i. It was discovered in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park when an area was fenced off to exclude feral goats. It is believed that the seeds lay dormant for over two hundred years.

Taxonomy

The scientific description and name of Canavalia hawaiiensis was published in 1962 by Otto Degener, Isa Degener, and Jonathan Deininger Sauer. In 1966 Francis Raymond Fosberg published a description of it as a variety of the Hawaiian species Canavalia galeata, but this classification is not generally accepted. In the 1970s Harold St. John described four new species that are now considered to be synonyms of C. hawaiiensis including Canavalia kauaiensis.

Names

In the Hawaiian language it is know as ‘āwikiwiki and puakauhi.

Range and habitat

The natural range of Canavalia hawaiiensis is three of the Hawaiian Islands, Lanai, Maui, and the big island of Hawaiʻi. It grows in forests and shrublands at elevations from 120 meters (390 ft) to 1,220 m (4,000 ft).

Conservation

Canavalia hawaiiensis is listed in the IUCN Red List as vulnerable since its evaluation in 2010. It has a severely fragmented population and its numbers are decreasing. Similarly NatureServe evaluated it in 2003 and also rated it vulnerable (G3).