From Plant Press, Vol. 20, No. 2, April 2017.
Kenneth Wood (National Tropical Botanical Garden) and Warren Wagner discovered a new fern species from East Maui which they named Athyrium haleakalae. Published in PhytoKeys (76: 115-124; 2017), this species appears to be an obligate rheophyte, preferring sites of fast moving water along concave walls of streams and waterfalls.
The fern is in the family Athyriaceae and the species is named after the only known location in Haleakalā, East Maui, a large, dormant shield volcano. The genus has a primary center of diversity in the Sino-Himalayan region (about 91 species) with secondary center of diversity in the Western Pacific islands (about 54 species). There are nine other athyrioid fern species endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
About 300 plants of Athyrium haleakalae have been observed on the mountain of Haleakalā. Wagner and Wood have assessed this species to be Critically Endangered due to its small population size and restricted distribution. A cultivation program has begun for this fern at the Olinda Rare Plant Facility on East Maui.
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