Posted on 03/17/2009 8:59:14 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A rare Hawaii vine has been added to the endangered species list, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Tuesday. It's the second species to be classified as endangered by the Obama administration. The first was the reticulated flatwoods salamander, an amphibian native to south Georgia, north Florida and coastal South Carolina. It was put on the list last month.
The Hawaii plant is found only in the wet forests on the island of Molokai, 2,300 to 4,200 feet above sea level. The green vine's loosely spreading branches often tangle in a large mass.
The vine doesn't have a common name, and is known only by its scientific name of Phyllostegia hispida.
"It is our hope that it will come to the forefront of public attention along with Hawaii's other numerous endangered plants," said Patrick Leonard, field supervisor for the agency's Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office.
Only 10 individual plants of the vine had been spotted between 1910 and 1996, the agency said.
It was thought to be extinct in 1997. But two seedlings were found at the Nature Conservancy's Kamakou Preserve in 2005.
Since 2007, 24 wild plants have been discovered. A total of 238 plants are known to currently exist.
The vine's low numbers put it at higher risk for being wiped out by natural disasters like hurricanes and disease outbreaks.
Feral pigs, an invasive species, and competition from nonnative plants also threaten the plant.
The Lyon Arboretum in Honolulu, Kalaupapa National Historical Park on Molokai, and other organization have been growing specimens that may be used to plant the vine in the wild, the agency said.
The state's Department of Natural Resources has put up fences in some areas to protect them from pigs and other feral animals.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Impressive, innit?
Wow. Let’s depopulate Molokai to save it.
Is this the one that is green, has red eyes, and grows to nearly 10 feet?
If so, someone has done sold O'Bama a bill of goods.
Summary of Comments and Recommendations
In the proposed rule published on February 19, 2008 (73 FR 9078), we requested that all interested parties submit written comments on the proposal by April 21, 2008. We also contacted appropriate Federal and State agencies, scientific experts and organizations, and other interested parties and invited them to comment on the proposal. Newspaper notices inviting general public comment were published in the Honolulu Advertiser and Molokai Advertiser News. We did not receive any requests for a public hearing.
During the comment period for the proposed rule, we received one written public comment in support of listing Phyllostegia hispida with endangered status. In addition, the commenter concurred with our assessment that feral pigs and invasive, nonnative plants are both important and immediate threats to Hawaii's native plants and to P. hispida in particular. No further additional information was offered beyond these statements of support; therefore we will not address this comment further here.
Peer Review
In accordance with our peer review policy published on July 1, 1994 (59 FR 34270), we solicited expert opinion from seven individuals with scientific expertise that included familiarity with Phyllostegia hispida and its habitat, biological needs, and threats. We received written comments from two experts, both of whom agreed with the assessment that P. hispida meets the definition of an endangered species. In addition, both experts pointed out that while the continuing invasion of alien plants and feral ungulates undoubtedly poses threats to the species and its habitat, the limited area currently occupied by P. hispida has not yet become highly modified by nonnative plants and feral pigs, due to ongoing management by TNCH. The remaining plants are found in a nativedominated plant community within TNCH's Kamakou Preserve where control efforts for both alien plants and feral ungulates are ongoing. Both experts also point out that they believe P. hispida may be dependent upon treefall openings in the canopy or similar disturbances that provide increased sunlight for germination. Information provided by the peer reviewers has been incorporated into this final rule.
It was imported from Kenya.
“Old”???
You *might* want to rephrase that.
*snicker*
Perhaps someone hadn’t figured out “indoor plumbing” yet and deposited a seed or two behind a shrub.
“Old” was a modifier for the word “mountain”, not the word “salamander.”
Give your elders some credit for tact here.
Nature's #1 law is adapt or die.
Kudzu does just fine without human coddling because it's a survivor.
Honest to God....has *everyone* lost their freaking minds?....LOL!
“Various descriptions of the second entity exist.
Most agree that it was at least 10 feet tall and that it had a red face which appeared to glow from within, and a green body.
Witnesses described the creature’s head as having bulging, non-human eyes and as either being shaped like a heart/an Ace of Spades, or as having a large heart/Ace of Spades shaped cowling behind it.
The creature’s body was described as being man-shaped and clad in a dark pleated skirt; later described as being green.
Some accounts record that the creature had no visible arms, while others describe it as having short stubby arms; ending in long claw-like fingers, which protruded from the front of its body”
Okay.
Fine.
I admit it.
It was me.
Happy now?!?
[damn. a girl can’t keep one lousy secret to herself these days]
Nice try.
[you’ll pay for that. you won’t know where and you won’t know when but when you least expect it, expect it]
Old Battle Ax ‘Mander
Getting rid of the goats is easy.
Ship ‘em to the ME as mail order brides...
:-D
Hypersensitivity and vengefulness are the first signs of encroaching ol.......
never mind
Don’t bother running.
You’ll only....
:-P
I'm so glad I finally found you!
I crawled through those woods for days, calling...calling...calling for you...you...YOOO-hoooo! Chloe...Chloe...CHLOOOOEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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