Hairy wikstroemia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hairy wikstroemia |
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| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Malvales |
| Family: | Thymelaeaceae |
| Genus: | Wikstroemia |
| Species: |
W. villosa
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| Binomial name | |
| Wikstroemia villosa Hbd.
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The Wikstroemia villosa, also known as the hairy wikstroemia or hairy false ohelo, is a special kind of plant. It is a tropical plant that belongs to the Thymelaeaceae family. This plant is very rare and has an interesting story of survival!
Where This Plant Lives
The hairy wikstroemia is a plant that is endemic to the island of Maui in Hawaiʻi. This means it naturally grows only in this one place in the entire world. It cannot be found anywhere else!
It used to grow in the montane rainforests. These are forests high up in the mountains. You could find it on the windy side of the Haleakalā volcano on East Maui. It also grew on the ridges in Wailuku Valley on West Maui.
Saving the Hairy Wikstroemia
This plant is very special because it is "critically endangered". This means it is at a very high risk of disappearing forever. The IUCN has listed it this way since 2016.
For a while, people thought the hairy wikstroemia had become extinct. This means they believed it had completely died out. This happened because of habitat loss, which is when the places plants and animals live are destroyed. From 1998 to 2016, it was even listed as an extinct species.
But then, something amazing happened! In 2007, a single plant was found again. It was found on the windy side of Haleakalā, inside Haleakalā National Park. This was a huge discovery!
By 2010, there was one adult plant and one young seedling found in that same spot. To help the plant survive, three more plants were "outplanted." This means they were grown somewhere else and then carefully moved to the Waikamoi Preserve.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service wants to list this plant as an endangered species. This would give it more protection. In 2016, experts found 49 mature plants in five different small groups. This gives hope for the future of the hairy wikstroemia!
