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Wikstroemia monticola
Wikstroemia monticola Skottsb.
Montane False Ohelo
Thymelaeaceae (Mezereum family)
Synonym(s):
USDA Symbol: WIMO
USDA Native Status: HI (N)
"Small trees up to 3 m tall; young branches appressed pubescent." (bibref:1798).
"In the Hawaiian Islands, endemic to Maui." (webref: 49).
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Plant Characteristics
Duration: PerennialHabit: Shrub , Tree
Leaf Arrangement: Opposite
Leaf Complexity: Simple
Leaf Margin: Entire
Breeding System: Flowers Unisexual
Inflorescence: Axillary , Terminal
Fruit Type: Drupe
Size Notes: Up to about 3 meters tall.
Leaf: "Leaves membranous or coriaceous, ovate or narrowly to broadly elliptic, 2-5.5 cm long, 0.6-2.8 cm wide, glabrous, apex and base acute or rounded, often more or less tapering toward base, petioles 2-3 mm long, glabrous or puberulent." (bibref:1798).
Flower: "Flowers unisexual, greenish yellow, puberulent, becoming glabrate, peduncles very short, hirsute, rachis clavate, 2-11 mm long, hirsute, pedicels 0.8-3 mm long; calyx tube of staminate flowers 4-8.5 mm long, outer lobes 1.7-3.5 mm long, 1.3-3.5 mm wide, inner lobes 1.5-3.2 mm long, 1-3.4 mm wide; calyx tube of pistillate flowers 4-5.5 mm long, outer lobes 2-3.5 mm long, 1.5-3.4 mm wide, inner lobes 1.6-3 mm long, 1.4-3.4 mm wide." (bibref:1798).
Fruit: "Fruit dark red, elliptic, 7-13 mm long, 4-10 mm in diameter." (bibref:1798).
Bloom Information
Bloom Color: Yellow , GreenBloom Time: Jan , Feb , Mar , Apr , May , Jun , Jul , Aug , Sep , Oct , Nov , Dec
Distribution
USA: HINative Distribution: Endemic to the eastern side of the Hawaiian island of Maui.
Native Habitat: "Rather common on 'a'a lava and in pastures, often in association with Lantana camara and other alien vegetation, (250-)450-1,220 m, East Maui." (bibref: 1798). This taxon grows "on ‘a‘a lava flows, pastures, often with alien vegetation such as lantana (250–) 450–1220 m". (webref: 47).
Growing Conditions
Water Use: Low , MediumLight Requirement: Sun
Soil Moisture: Dry , Moist
Bibliography
Bibref 1798 - Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawaii, Revised Edition (1999) Wagner, W.L.; Herbst, D.R.; Sohmer, S.H.Search More Titles in Bibliography
Web Reference
Webref 49 - Flora of the Hawaiian Islands (2020) Smithsonian National Museum of Natural HistoryWebref 47 - Hawaiian Ethnobotany Online Database (2020) Bishop Museum
Webref 31 - Native Plants Hawai’i (2018) University of Hawaii
Webref 28 - NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life (2018) NatureServe
Additional resources
USDA: Find Wikstroemia monticola in USDA PlantsFNA: Find Wikstroemia monticola in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Wikstroemia monticola
Metadata
Record Modified: 2020-11-02Research By: Joseph A. Marcus