`Aku (Cyanea angustifolia)

Gideon and Olivia processing Cyanea angustifolia. Photo Credit: Nate Kingsley

Global Rank: G2 - Imperiled
Legal Status: N/A
Family: Campanulaceae
State: HI
Nature Serve ID: 150810
Lifeform: Shrub
Date Inducted in National Collection: 08/18/2021

Description:

Where is `Aku (Cyanea angustifolia) located in the wild?

States & Provinces:

`Aku can be found in Hawaii

Which CPC Partners conserve `Aku (Cyanea angustifolia)?

Harold L. Lyon Arboretum

Not Sponsored

Conservation Actions

Assigned 08/18/21

CPC's Plant Sponsorship Program provides long term stewardship of rare plants in our National Collection. We are so grateful for all our donors who have made the Plant Sponsorship Program so successful. We are in the process of acknowledging all our wonderful plant sponsorship donors on our website. This is a work in progress and will be updated regularly.

Conservation Actions

Nathaniel Kingsley

11/30/2021

Gideon Lee and Olivia Carrigan counting and sowing Cyanea angustifolia that was collected from Manoa Cliff Trail in the southern Koʻolau Mountains on the island of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi. C. angustifolia grows from arounnd 150 to about 2500 feet in mesic forests and valleys to wet forests. It is common in the Koʻolau Mountains, Oʻahu and on eastern Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, and northern West Maui. Additionally, C. angustifolia is part of the clade of Cyaneas that has purple fruit. The seeds can be extracted from the fruits by rubbing the fruits against a strainer into a bowl of water. They can then be pipetted out and placed on a coffee filter or paper towel to dry. The seeds usually germinate within 2 to 3 months. Only mature fruits/seeds were collected for this accession, and the initial viability of these seeds was 53%. Seeds of this species are storable for 10+ years and stored at 5ºC.

Center for Plant Conservation

08/18/2021

In 2021, CPC contracted the Harold L. Lyon Arboretum to recollect seed from a population currently held in long term orthodox seed storage as part of an IMLS-funded seed longevity experiment. The National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation will evaluate how germination tested viability and RNA Integrity of seed lots decline over time in storage.