| Schiedea verticillata | |
|---|---|
| Artist's rendition of Nihoa Carnation; note triangular-shaped leaves | |
| Conservation status | |
|
Imperiled (NatureServe) |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Core eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Caryophyllaceae |
| Genus: | Schiedea |
| Species: | S. verticillata |
| Binomial name | |
| Schiedea verticillata F.Br.[1] |
|
Schiedea verticillata, known as the Nihoa Carnation, is an endangered species of carnation, endemic to the island of Nihoa in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, where it was discovered in 1923 by the Tanager Expedition. It has been listed as endangered since 1996.
It has stems 40–60 cm (16–24 in) long, erect or sometimes trailing, and fleshy mint-colored leaves as long as 15 cm. The flowers are petal-less, have ten stamens and 4-5 styles. The plant estivates, dying back to the fleshy perennial roots during the dry season. Less than 400 individual plants survive in two of Nihoa's rocky valleys, but the population has remained stable. How this plant is pollinated is not known. Even though there are very few individuals surviving, the carnation can avoid inbreeding, a problem that threatens fellow Nihoan plant Amaranthus brownii, because this carnation has the highest genetic diversity of its genus.