Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is calling the rescue of two native Hawaiian plants from near extinction “herculean feats.”
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is calling the rescue of two native Hawaiian plants from near extinction “herculean feats.”
Biologists reintroduced endangered Ka‘u silversword plants (Argyroxiphium kauense) and Pele lobeliad (Clermontia peleana) on the slopes of Mauna Loa and Kilauea.
“The Ka‘u silversword has now produced offspring of its own — a key factor for long-term recovery,” park officials announced.
The 20-year effort is described in the journal Biological Conservation.
Only five “remnant” Pele lobeliads are thought to exist in the wild naturally, but more than 1,000 have been reintroduced into protected park areas. More than 21,000 silverswords have been reintroduced.
Biologists took “cuttings from Pele lobeliads in the rainforest canopy, flew by helicopter to remote volcanic slopes to rescue Ka‘u silverswords, and worked long hours in the field and greenhouses to save them.”