Native Plants

Plant Database

Search for native plants by scientific name, common name or family. If you are not sure what you are looking for, try the Combination Search or our Recommended Species lists.

Enter a Plant Name:
Or you can choose a plant family:

Isodendrion laurifolium

Isodendrion laurifolium A. Gray

Rockcliff Isodendrion

Violaceae (Violet family)

Synonym(s): Isodendrion forbesii, Isodendrion lydgatei, Isodendrion subsessilifolium, Isodendrion waianaeense

USDA Symbol: ISLA3

USDA Native Status: HI (N)

Rare. Short-lived perennial shrub; glabrous, erect, with a few short, ascending branchlets.

The major threats to this species are feral goat, pigs and competition with introduced plant species. (Bibref: 1789).

From the Image Gallery

No images of this plant

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Shrub
Leaf Arrangement: Alternate
Leaf Complexity: Simple
Leaf Shape: Elliptic , Lanceolate
Leaf Pubescence: Villose
Leaf Texture: Leathery
Breeding System: Flowers Bisexual
Inflorescence: Axillary
Fruit Type: Capsule
Size Notes: From 100 to 200 cm in height. (Webref: 28).
Leaf: Stipules glabrous or ciliate, 1.9 to 3 mm long, obliquely linear-lanceolate. Leaves glabrous, subcoriaceous, prominently reticulate-veined, linear-oblanceolate (Reslit: 2850). Blades 4 to 16 cm long, 1.5 to 5 cm wide (Bibref: 1789).
Flower: "Flowers solitary in axillary short shoots; corolla caducous, blue, weakly zygomorphic, petals prolonged into a "tube" with bottom petal slightly longer than others and weakly differentiated, scarcely saccate at base; filaments free, anthers dehiscing laterally". (Bibref: 1788). Sepals five, distinct, unequal, persistent, glabrous throughout. Petals five. Stamens 5, unequal or subequal, free on the receptacle ; filaments ligulate. (Reslit: 2850).
Fruit: Fruit is a capsule. (Bibref: 1786). Thick-walled. (Bibref: 1788). "Petals and stamens marcescent, persisting around the fruit." (Bibref: 1788).

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: White , Purple
Bloom Time: Jan , Feb , Mar , Apr , May , Jun , Jul , Aug , Sep , Oct , Nov , Dec
Bloom Notes: Corollas white with purple longitudinal stripes.

Distribution

USA: HI
Native Distribution: Endemic to the Hawaiian islands of Oahu and Kauai. (Webref: 28).
Native Habitat: Moist, or rarely wet forests on gulch slopes. (Webref: 28). "Usually found at elevations between 376 and 1,163 m (1,233 and 3,817 ft) in diverse mesic forest dominated by Metrosideros polymorpha, Acacia koa or Diospyros spp." (Bibref: 1789)

Propagation

Propagation Material: Seeds
Description: This is a federally listed species. US Fish and Wildlife Service guidelines should be followed for the propagation of lawfully possessed plants. Wild-growing plants may not be collected or propagated without federal permit.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Threatened & Endangered Status

USFWS Species Profile: Q108
Status: Endangered
Historic Range: U.S.A. (HI)
Critical Habitat: 17.96(a)
Special Rules: N/A
This information is derived from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Serrvice Environmental Conservation Online System.

Bibliography

Bibref 1789 - Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Determination of Endangered or Threatened Status for Fourteen Plant Taxa From the Hawaiian Islands (1996) Rogers, John G.
Bibref 1788 - The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants - Volume 11 (eBook) (2014) Kubitzki, K. (editor)

Search More Titles in Bibliography

Web Reference

Webref 6 - Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN) [Online Database] (2018) USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program, National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
Webref 28 - NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life (2018) NatureServe
Webref 27 - USDA Plants Database (2018) USDA, NRCS.

Additional resources

USDA: Find Isodendrion laurifolium in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Isodendrion laurifolium in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Isodendrion laurifolium

Metadata

Record Modified: 2021-01-01
Research By: Joseph A. Marcus

Go back