Hawai'i hawthorn (Osteomeles anthyllidifolia)

Jordan Takaba and Keone Mahi collecting Osteomeles anthyllidifolia. Photo Credit: Nate Kingsley

Global Rank: G4 - Apparently Secure
Legal Status: N/A
Family: Rosaceae
State: HI
Nature Serve ID: 133650
Lifeform: Shrub
Date Inducted in National Collection: 08/20/2021

Description:

Where is Hawai'i hawthorn (Osteomeles anthyllidifolia) located in the wild?

States & Provinces:

Hawai'i hawthorn can be found in Hawaii

Which CPC Partners conserve Hawai'i hawthorn (Osteomeles anthyllidifolia)?

Harold L. Lyon Arboretum

Not Sponsored

Conservation Actions

Assigned 08/20/21

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

Seed collections of Osteomeles anthyllidifolia by Nate Kingsley, Jordan Takaba, and Keone Mahi from Hawaii Loa Ridge in the southern Koʻolau Mountains on the island of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi. O. anthyllidifolia is a sprawling shrub with flexible, prostrate branches that can eventually develop into a large shrub up to 10 feet tall. The glossy green leaves are about 3 inches long and made of up of 15 to 25 small leaflets. It is indigenous to Hawai'i and also occurs in the Cook Islands and Tonga. In Hawai'i, it's found in a wide variety of habitats including coastal cliffs, lava fields, dry shrub land, and dry to moist forests, and grows at elevations ranging from 10 to 7,500 feet on all the main islands of Hawai'i except Ni'ihau and Kaho'olawe. (Wagner 1990) The seeds are fairly easy to propagate. They should be removed from the white outer pulp. This can be done by rubbing the fruits in a strainer under running water, or by manually crushing the fruits in a bowl of water to separate the seeds from the pulp. At this point they can be dried for planting or storing. Soaking the seeds in water for 1 or 2 days will enhance germination, and they should germinate in 2 to 6 months. For this accession, seeds were all mature when collected and initial viability was 52%. Seeds of this species are storable for 15+ years and stored at -18ºC.

Wagner, Warren L., Darrel R. Herbst, and S. H. Sohmer. 1990. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawai'i. 2 vols., Bishop Museum Special Publication 83. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press and Bishop Museum Press. p. 1104-1105.

Center for Plant Conservation

08/20/2021

In 2021, CPC contracted 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.