| Lebronnecia kokioides | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Malvales |
| Family: | Malvaceae |
| Genus: | Lebronnecia |
| Species: | L. kokioides |
| Binomial name | |
| Lebronnecia kokioides Fosb & Sachet. |
|
Lebronnecia kokioides is a rare species of flowering shrub in the Malvaceae family. Only a few hundred specimens are known to exist. The plant was first described in 1966, after a single tree with a few seedlings was discovered on Tahuata, an island in the Marquesas group of French Polynesia that had been severely deforested by livestock: cattle, goats, horses, and pigs. Further specimens were later found on the nearby island of Mohotani, uninhabited by humans, but similarly deforested by sheep, who fortunately seem to avoid eating the plant.[1] It is now being cultivated in Hawaii.[2]