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Wikstroemia skottsbergiana

Wikstroemia skottsbergiana Sparre

Skottsberg's False Ohelo

Thymelaeaceae (Mezereum family)

Synonym(s):

USDA Symbol: WISK

USDA Native Status: HI (N)

"Shrubs or small trees; internodes 2-10 cm long, pubescent, becoming glabrate." (bibref: 1798). "The Lumahai trees of Wikstroemia skottsbergiana are erect, ca. 4�5 m in height, and have trunks that are 10�15 cm diameter near base. They are moderately branched with stems red-brown, and with older bark sometimes becoming almost black. The corolla is yellow-green and although the fruit has been described as red and ellipsoid, 15 mm long � 8 mm wide." (reslit: 2884).

"In the Hawaiian Islands, endemic to Kauai." (webref: 49).

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Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Shrub , Tree
Leaf Arrangement: Opposite
Leaf Complexity: Simple
Leaf Margin: Entire
Leaf Apex: Acuminate
Breeding System: Flowers Bisexual
Inflorescence: Axillary , Terminal
Fruit Type: Drupe
Leaf: "Leaves pale green, membranous, ovate to ovate-elliptic, (6-)8-9(-12) cm long, (2.5-)3.8-5.4(-6) cm wide, glabrous or lower surface with scattered hairs along the midrib, apex distinctly acuminate or caudate, 1-2.5 cm long, base subcordate, petioles 3-8 cm long, hirsute or with scattered hairs." (bibref: 1798). Leaves "subcordate at the base and have a recognizably long acuminate to caudate apex". (reslit: 2884).
Flower: "Flowers perfect, green, glabrous or with scattered hairs, peduncles usually 10-15(-25) mm long, filiform, pilose, often curved, rachis globose to conical, slender, 2-6 mm long, hirsute, pedicels minute, pilose; calyx tube 6-10 mm long, outer lobes 2.5-5 mm long, 1.5-3 mm wide, inner lobes 1.7-3 mm long, 1.5-2.8 mm wide." (bibref:1798). "The corolla is yellow-green." (reslit: 2884).
Fruit: "Fruit red, ellipsoid, ca. 15 mm long, ca. 8 mm in diameter." (bibref:1798). A drupe, the "fruit has been described as red and ellipsoid, 15 mm long x 8 mm wide." (reslit: 2884).

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: Yellow , Green
Bloom Time: Jan , Feb , Mar , Apr , May , Jun , Jul , Aug , Sep , Oct , Nov , Dec
Bloom Notes: "The corolla is yellow-green." (reslit: 2884).

Distribution

USA: HI
Native Distribution: Endemic to the Hawaiian island of Kauai.
Native Habitat: "Rare in wet and perhaps diverse mesic forest, Wahiawa Mountains, Hanalei Valley, and Kauhao Valley, Kauai." (bibref: 1798). This taxon grows in "wet to diverse mesic forest". (webref: 47). In 2015 the only known population of this taxon included about "30 trees located around the upper Lumahai forests ranging between 580 and 670 m elevation and with an extent of occurrence (EOO) of ca. 0.3 sq kilometers. This location lies to the west of Hanalei, to the northeast of Mahinakehau Ridge, and most closely to the southwest of Namolokama plateau." (reslit: 2884).

Growing Conditions

Water Use: Low , Medium
Light Requirement: Part Shade , Shade
Soil Moisture: Dry , Moist

Bibliography

Bibref 1798 - Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawaii, Revised Edition (1999) Wagner, W.L.; Herbst, D.R.; Sohmer, S.H.

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Web Reference

Webref 49 - Flora of the Hawaiian Islands (2020) Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Webref 47 - Hawaiian Ethnobotany Online Database (2020) Bishop Museum
Webref 31 - Native Plants Hawai�i (2018) University of Hawaii
Webref 28 - NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life (2018) NatureServe

Research Literature

Reslit 2884 - Wikstroemia skottsbergiana (Thymelaeaceae): with notes on its habitat in upper Lumah�i, Kaua'i, Hawai'i. (2015) Kenneth R. Wood

This information was provided by the Florida WIldflower Foundation.
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Additional resources

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

Metadata

Record Modified: 2020-11-02
Research By: Joseph A. Marcus

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