A group of botanists has discovered a new species of plant called Cyanea heluensis on a remote hillside in Hawaii. The new plant is called Cyanea heluensis and features curved white flowers.
The newly discovered flower is so rare that there is only one plant of its kind.
Cyanea heluensis plant
The plant was discovered in the city of Lahaina by botanists Hank Oppenheimer and Jennifer Higashino , as noted in a press release from the Hawaii Department of Lands and Natural Resources. Scientists were studying the steep and rugged slopes of the area when they found the flower. The inaccessibility of the site and the difficulty of traversing the terrain probably contributed to the fact that this plant had not been found before.
The white flower has similarities to a native plant called hāhā , but its curved flowers are quite different. They are pollinated by birds and eventually produce orange fruits that are eaten by local fruit-eating birds while dispersing the seeds. Botanists have been scouring the area where the rare plant was found, trying to find more such seeds, but have yet to do so .
The plant has been added to the list of 250 species monitored by the University of Hawaii’s Plant Extinction Prevention Program (PEPP). Safeguards have been installed at the find site, especially against slugs, rats, pigs, and goats