From Plant Press, Vol. 23, No. 4, October 2020.
Lebronnecia kokioides, a genus and species endemic to the Marquesas Islands, was described in 1966 by Ray Fosberg. When planning a Hawaiian vacation to Kaua`i and O`ahu in 1978, Marie-Hélène Sachet mentioned to Alice Tangerini that she should visit the Pacific Tropical Botanical Garden (now National) and look for a “Brown cotton tree”. With Sachet’s verbal description of the plant, Tangerini was able to have the helpful staff show her that very tree while she was touring the garden. Tangerini took slides of the tree showing the brown cotton-like bolls on the branches. She illustrated the species from the slides, two specimens (Schäfer 5323 US and Sachet 2165 US, both Mohotani), and images of a cultivated living plant. The species is endangered, and current population estimates by Jean-François Butaud (pers. comm. 2007, 2013) report this species from Ua Huka (2 populations, ca. 50 plants), Hiva Oa, and Nuku Hiva (1 population of ca. 50 plants).
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