Mamane
Encyclopedia
Sophora chrysophylla, known as Māmane in Hawaiian
, is a species of flowering plant
in the pea
and bean
family, Fabaceae
, that is endemic to Hawaii
. It is highly polymorphic
, growing as a shrub
or tree
, and able to reach a height of 15 m (49.2 ft) in tree form. Yellow flower
s are produced in winter and spring.
S. chrysophylla has ridged golden brown branches. The tree has pinnately compound
leaves
with 6 to 10 pairs of leaflet
s. Each leaflet is 0.7 to 5 cm (0.275590551181102 to 2 in) long and 0.3 to 2.3 cm (0.118110236220472 to 0.905511811023622 in) wide. Leaves are smooth, or with gray or yellow hair
s on the underside. The specific name is derived from the Greek
words χρυσός (chrysós), meaning "gold
," and φυλλον (phyllos), meaning "leaf." Flowers are found at the bases of leaves or the ends of branches in clusters
- that is, they occur in axillary or terminal raceme
s. The corolla is yellow. The petal
size ranges from 11.5 to 21 mm (0.452755905511811 to 0.826771653543307 in) long, and 8 to 20 mm (0.31496062992126 to 0.78740157480315 in) wide.
The tree blooms in winter and spring. The height of the flowering season is in mid-spring. Māmane wood is dense, hard and durable. Seedpods are persistent, and remain on the tree for most of the year. They are twisted, brown to brownish-gray, have four wings and are 2 to 16 cm (0.78740157480315 to 6.3 in) long and usually 1.5 cm (0.590551181102362 in) wide. Seedpods are tightly constricted around the yellow-orange or brown to grayish-black seed
s, which are 6.35 mm (0.25 in) long. Untreated, the seeds have germination
rates of less than 5%. The tree is perennial
and highly polymorphic
.
and Kahoolawe
. It inhabits low shrublands
, high shrublands
, dry forests
, mixed mesic forests, and, rarely, wet forests. It can grow at elevations of 30–2900 m (98.4–9,514.4 ft), being limited by the tree line. Māmane is most common and grows the tallest in montane dry forests at elevations of 1220 –. Māmane and naio (Myoporum sandwicense
) define a dry woodland ecotone
on the subalpine
areas of East Maui
(Haleakalā
) and the Island of Hawaii
.
The hard, durable wood
of māmane was used by the Native Hawaiians
for pou (house posts) and kaola (beams) up to 5 cm (2 in) in diameter, ōō (digging stick
s), spear
s, kope (spade
s), papa hōlua
(sled
) runners, papa olonā (Touchardia latifolia
scrapers), au koi (adze
handles), and wahie (firewood
). Cattle
ranch
ers used it as fence
posts.
In medicine
, the flower
s are used as an astringent
. The wood was also used in religious
ritual
s to ward off evil. A kahuna nui
(high priest) would wrap a piece of māmane wood in a dark kapa
cloth and hold it up to symbolize authority.
(Loxioides bailleui), which feeds almost exclusively on the plants' immature seed
s when these are in season. It also nests in the māmane branches. Caterpillar
s of Cydia moths also eat the māmanes seeds, and in turn are being eaten by the palila. Both the bird and the larvae utilize the embryo
only, leaving the seed coat untouched.
To other animals, māmane seeds are highly poisonous. House Finch
es die within minutes after eating the seeds. The māmane employs a two-layered biochemical defence system: The seed coats contain some 4% phenol
ic compounds, which give them a vile taste. They are also somewhat toxic
and have a high fibre
content. Seed predator
s trying to eat the seeds will probably not be killed but at least have a nasty experience. Should a predator be able to penetrate the seed coat, the embryo contains deadly quantities (>4% of dry weight
) of quinolizidine
alkaloid
s.
The palila and the moths, however, have evolved
the ability to deal with the poisonous compounds. The palila, for example, can deal with dozens of times the dose of cytisine
that would kill a laboratory mouse. Both seed predators seem to be able to recognize and avoid the most poisonous trees, which would be natural selection
in action. Cydia caterpillars are able to break up the toxic compounds. They do not sequester the alkaloids for their own use, but are found to contain about as much phenolic compounds as the seed coats do. This seems not to be sufficient to deter predators however as they are also cryptically
colored. The palila is apparently impervious to the phenolic aroma (as they eat Cydia caterpillars which would smell and taste like the plant), discarding the seed coats due to their low nutritional value. How the palila deals with the toxins is not known.(Banko et al. 2002)
Feral goat
s and sheep
voraciously eat the seedpods of the plant, negatively impacting the tree's population
. Toxicity of the leaves is unknown; it is notable that Uresiphita
polygonalis virescens
caterpillars which feed on the leaves have aposematic
coloration. Clearly, this issue requires further study. Ranch cattle
can kill trees through stomping on the root
s. Wildfire
has also destroyed some of the trees, though it is generally resistant to fire, and can grow quickly after one occurs. As regards diseases, the canker
ascomycete
Botryosphaeria
mamane causes witch's broom
disease, which kills heavily-infected trees (Gardner 1997). Māmane grows well in areas where there are no sheep or goats, and cattle populations are limited. The plant is being reforested
in order to increase the population of both the tree itself and the palila, and revive the indigenous ecosystem.
Hawaiian language
The Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the state of Hawaii...
, is a species of flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
in the pea
Pea
A pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the pod fruit Pisum sativum. Each pod contains several peas. Peapods are botanically a fruit, since they contain seeds developed from the ovary of a flower. However, peas are considered to be a vegetable in cooking...
and bean
Bean
Bean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of the family Fabaceae used for human food or animal feed....
family, Fabaceae
Fabaceae
The Fabaceae or Leguminosae, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, is a large and economically important family of flowering plants. The group is the third largest land plant family, behind only the Orchidaceae and Asteraceae, with 730 genera and over 19,400 species...
, that is endemic to Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. It is highly polymorphic
Polymorphism (biology)
Polymorphism in biology occurs when two or more clearly different phenotypes exist in the same population of a species — in other words, the occurrence of more than one form or morph...
, growing as a shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
or tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
, and able to reach a height of 15 m (49.2 ft) in tree form. Yellow flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are produced in winter and spring.
Biology
Pinnate
Pinnate is a term used to describe feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis in plant or animal structures, and comes from the Latin word pinna meaning "feather", "wing", or "fin". A similar term is pectinate, which refers to a comb-like arrangement of parts...
leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
with 6 to 10 pairs of leaflet
Leaflet
A leaflet in botany is a part of a compound leaf. A leaflet may resemble an entire leaf, but it is not borne on a stem as a leaf is, but rather on a vein of the whole leaf. Compound leaves are common in many plant families...
s. Each leaflet is 0.7 to 5 cm (0.275590551181102 to 2 in) long and 0.3 to 2.3 cm (0.118110236220472 to 0.905511811023622 in) wide. Leaves are smooth, or with gray or yellow hair
Trichome
Trichomes are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants and certain protists. These are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae.- Algal trichomes :...
s on the underside. The specific name is derived from the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
words χρυσός (chrysós), meaning "gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
," and φυλλον (phyllos), meaning "leaf." Flowers are found at the bases of leaves or the ends of branches in clusters
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
- that is, they occur in axillary or terminal raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
s. The corolla is yellow. The petal
Petal
Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They often are brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. Together, all of the petals of a flower are called a corolla. Petals are usually accompanied by another set of special leaves called sepals lying...
size ranges from 11.5 to 21 mm (0.452755905511811 to 0.826771653543307 in) long, and 8 to 20 mm (0.31496062992126 to 0.78740157480315 in) wide.
The tree blooms in winter and spring. The height of the flowering season is in mid-spring. Māmane wood is dense, hard and durable. Seedpods are persistent, and remain on the tree for most of the year. They are twisted, brown to brownish-gray, have four wings and are 2 to 16 cm (0.78740157480315 to 6.3 in) long and usually 1.5 cm (0.590551181102362 in) wide. Seedpods are tightly constricted around the yellow-orange or brown to grayish-black seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s, which are 6.35 mm (0.25 in) long. Untreated, the seeds have germination
Germination
Germination is the process in which a plant or fungus emerges from a seed or spore, respectively, and begins growth. The most common example of germination is the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm. However the growth of a sporeling from a spore, for example the...
rates of less than 5%. The tree is perennial
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
and highly polymorphic
Polymorphism (biology)
Polymorphism in biology occurs when two or more clearly different phenotypes exist in the same population of a species — in other words, the occurrence of more than one form or morph...
.
Habitat
Māmane is an endemic species of Hawaii, and can be found on all main islands except NiihauNiihau
Niihau or Niihau is the seventh largest of the inhabited Hawaiian Islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii, having an area of . Niihau lies southwest of Kauai across the Kaulakahi Channel. Several intermittent playa lakes provide wetland habitats for the Hawaiian Coot, the Black-winged Stilt, and the...
and Kahoolawe
Kahoolawe
Kahoolawe is the smallest of the eight main volcanic islands in the Hawaiian Islands. Kahoolawe is located about seven miles southwest of Maui and also southeast of Lanai, and it is long by wide, with a total land area of . The highest point on Kahoolawe is the crater of Lua Makika at the...
. It inhabits low shrublands
Hawaiian tropical low shrublands
The Hawaiian tropical low shrublands are a tropical savanna ecoregion in the Hawaiian Islands. These shrublands cover an area of in the leeward lowlands of the main islands and most of the smaller islands, including the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The ecoregion includes both grasslands and...
, high shrublands
Hawaiian tropical high shrublands
The Hawaiian tropical high shrublands are a tropical savanna ecoregion in the Hawaiian Islands. They cover an area of on the upper slopes of the volcanoes Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, Hualālai, and Haleakalā. It includes open shrublands, grasslands, and deserts...
, dry forests
Hawaiian tropical dry forests
The Hawaiian tropical dry forests are a tropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregion in the Hawaiian Islands. They cover an area of on the leeward side of the main islands and the summits of Niihau and Kahoolawe. These forests are either seasonal or sclerophyllous. Annual rainfall is less than and...
, mixed mesic forests, and, rarely, wet forests. It can grow at elevations of 30–2900 m (98.4–9,514.4 ft), being limited by the tree line. Māmane is most common and grows the tallest in montane dry forests at elevations of 1220 –. Māmane and naio (Myoporum sandwicense
Myoporum sandwicense
Myoporum sandwicense is a species of flowering tree in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae. Common names include Naio, bastard sandalwood or false sandalwood. It is native to Hawaii and Mangaia in the Cook Islands.-Description:...
) define a dry woodland ecotone
Ecotone
An ecotone is a transition area between two biomes but different patches of the landscape, such as forest and grassland. It may be narrow or wide, and it may be local or regional...
on the subalpine
Subalpine
The subalpine zone is the biotic zone immediately below tree line around the world. Species that occur in this zone depend on the location of the zone on the Earth, for example, Snow Gum in Australia, or Subalpine Larch, Mountain Hemlock and Subalpine Fir in western North America.Trees in the...
areas of East Maui
Maui
The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the state of Hawaii and is the largest of Maui County's four islands, bigger than Lānai, Kahoolawe, and Molokai. In 2010, Maui had a population of 144,444,...
(Haleakalā
Haleakala
Haleakalā , or the East Maui Volcano, is a massive shield volcano that forms more than 75% of the Hawaiian Island of Maui. The western 25% of the island is formed by the West Maui Mountains.- History :...
) and the Island of Hawaii
Hawaii (island)
The Island of Hawaii, also called the Big Island or Hawaii Island , is a volcanic island in the North Pacific Ocean...
.
Uses
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
of māmane was used by the Native Hawaiians
Native Hawaiians
Native Hawaiians refers to the indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands or their descendants. Native Hawaiians trace their ancestry back to the original Polynesian settlers of Hawaii.According to the U.S...
for pou (house posts) and kaola (beams) up to 5 cm (2 in) in diameter, ōō (digging stick
Digging stick
In archaeology and anthropology a digging stick is the term given to a variety of wooden implements used primarily by subsistence-based cultures to dig out underground food such as roots and tubers or burrowing animals and anthills...
s), spear
Spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head.The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as flint, obsidian, iron, steel or...
s, kope (spade
Spade
A spade is a tool designed primarily for the purpose of digging or removing earth. Early spades were made of riven wood. After the art of metalworking was discovered, spades were made with sharper tips of metal. Before the advent of metal spades manual labor was less efficient at moving earth,...
s), papa hōlua
Hawaiian lava sledding
Hawaiian lava sledding is a traditional sport of the Native Hawaiians. Similar to wave surfing, hee hōlua involves the use of a narrow wooden sled . The sled is used standing up, lying down, or kneeling, to ride down man-made or naturally occurring courses of rock, often reaching speeds of ...
(sled
Sled
A sled, sledge, or sleigh is a land vehicle with a smooth underside or possessing a separate body supported by two or more smooth, relatively narrow, longitudinal runners that travels by sliding across a surface. Most sleds are used on surfaces with low friction, such as snow or ice. In some cases,...
) runners, papa olonā (Touchardia latifolia
Touchardia latifolia
Touchardia latifolia, commonly known as Olonā in Hawaiian, is a species of flowering shrub in the nettle family, Urticaceae. T. latifolia is endemic to Hawaii and inhabits mesic valleys and wet forests at elevations of . Typical to many Hawaiian plants, the olonā does not have any stinging needles...
scrapers), au koi (adze
Adze
An adze is a tool used for smoothing or carving rough-cut wood in hand woodworking. Generally, the user stands astride a board or log and swings the adze downwards towards his feet, chipping off pieces of wood, moving backwards as they go and leaving a relatively smooth surface behind...
handles), and wahie (firewood
Firewood
Firewood is any wood-like material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not highly processed and is in some sort of recognizable log or branch form....
). Cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
ranch
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
ers used it as fence
Fence
A fence is a freestanding structure designed to restrict or prevent movement across a boundary. It is generally distinguished from a wall by the lightness of its construction: a wall is usually restricted to such barriers made from solid brick or concrete, blocking vision as well as passage .Fences...
posts.
In medicine
Herbalism
Herbalism is a traditional medicinal or folk medicine practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts. Herbalism is also known as botanical medicine, medical herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology, herblore, and phytotherapy...
, the flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are used as an astringent
Astringent
An astringent substance is a chemical compound that tends to shrink or constrict body tissues, usually locally after topical medicinal application. The word "astringent" derives from Latin adstringere, meaning "to bind fast"...
. The wood was also used in religious
Hawaiian religion
Hawaiian religion is the term used to describe the folk religious beliefs and practises of the Hawaiian people. It is unrelated to, though commonly confused with, the philosophy of Huna....
ritual
Ritual
A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers....
s to ward off evil. A kahuna nui
Kahuna
Kahuna is a Hawaiian word, defined in the as a "Priest, sorcerer, magician, wizard, minister, expert in any profession." Forty different types of kahuna are listed in the book, Tales from the Night Rainbow...
(high priest) would wrap a piece of māmane wood in a dark kapa
Kapa
Kapa is a fabric that was made by Native Hawaiians from the bast fibres of certain species of trees and shrubs in the orders Rosales and Malvales. It is similar to tapa found elsewhere in Polynesia but differs in the methods used in its creation...
cloth and hold it up to symbolize authority.
Ecology and conservation
Māmane is essential for the endangered palilaPalila
The Palila is a critically endangered finch-billed species of Hawaiian honeycreeper. It has a golden-yellow head and breast, with a light belly, gray back, and greenish wings and tail...
(Loxioides bailleui), which feeds almost exclusively on the plants' immature seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s when these are in season. It also nests in the māmane branches. Caterpillar
Caterpillar
Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...
s of Cydia moths also eat the māmanes seeds, and in turn are being eaten by the palila. Both the bird and the larvae utilize the embryo
Embryo
An embryo is a multicellular diploid eukaryote in its earliest stage of development, from the time of first cell division until birth, hatching, or germination...
only, leaving the seed coat untouched.
To other animals, māmane seeds are highly poisonous. House Finch
House Finch
The House Finch is a bird in the finch family Fringillidae, which is found in North America. This species and the other "American rosefinches" are usually placed in the rosefinch genus Carpodacus...
es die within minutes after eating the seeds. The māmane employs a two-layered biochemical defence system: The seed coats contain some 4% phenol
Natural phenol
Natural phenols, bioavailable phenols, plant phenolics, low molecular weight phenols or phenoloids are a class of natural products. They are small molecules containing one or more phenolic group. These molecules are smaller in size than polyphenols, containing less than 12 phenolic groups...
ic compounds, which give them a vile taste. They are also somewhat toxic
Toxicity
Toxicity is the degree to which a substance can damage a living or non-living organisms. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a substructure of the organism, such as a cell or an organ , such as the liver...
and have a high fibre
Dietary fiber
Dietary fiber, dietary fibre, or sometimes roughage is the indigestible portion of plant foods having two main components:* soluble fiber that is readily fermented in the colon into gases and physiologically active byproducts, and* insoluble fiber that is metabolically inert, absorbing water as it...
content. Seed predator
Seed predation
Seed predation, often referred to as granivory, is a type of plant-animal interaction in which granivores feed on the seeds of plants as a main or exclusive food source, in many cases leaving the seeds damaged and not viable...
s trying to eat the seeds will probably not be killed but at least have a nasty experience. Should a predator be able to penetrate the seed coat, the embryo contains deadly quantities (>4% of dry weight
Dry weight
Dry weight is the weight of a vehicle without any consumables, passengers, or cargo.It is one of the two common weight measurements included in road vehicle specifications, the other one being curb weight....
) of quinolizidine
Quinolizidine
Quinolizidine is a nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compound. Some alkaloids are derivatives of quinolizidine....
alkaloid
Alkaloid
Alkaloids are a group of naturally occurring chemical compounds that contain mostly basic nitrogen atoms. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Also some synthetic compounds of similar structure are attributed to alkaloids...
s.
The palila and the moths, however, have evolved
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
the ability to deal with the poisonous compounds. The palila, for example, can deal with dozens of times the dose of cytisine
Cytisine
Cytisine, also known as baphitoxine and sophorine, is a pyridine-like alkaloid. In medical use, it improves the rate of smoking cessation. It is less effective but much cheaper than similar products. Its structure is similar to nicotine and has similar pharmacological effects...
that would kill a laboratory mouse. Both seed predators seem to be able to recognize and avoid the most poisonous trees, which would be natural selection
Natural selection
Natural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....
in action. Cydia caterpillars are able to break up the toxic compounds. They do not sequester the alkaloids for their own use, but are found to contain about as much phenolic compounds as the seed coats do. This seems not to be sufficient to deter predators however as they are also cryptically
Crypsis
In ecology, crypsis is the ability of an organism to avoid observation or detection by other organisms. It may be either a predation strategy or an antipredator adaptation, and methods include camouflage, nocturnality, subterranean lifestyle, transparency, and mimicry...
colored. The palila is apparently impervious to the phenolic aroma (as they eat Cydia caterpillars which would smell and taste like the plant), discarding the seed coats due to their low nutritional value. How the palila deals with the toxins is not known.(Banko et al. 2002)
Feral goat
Feral goat
The feral goat is the domestic goat when it has become established in the wild. Feral goats occur in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Great Britain, Hawaii, the Galapagos and in many other parts of the world...
s and sheep
Domestic sheep
Sheep are quadrupedal, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Although the name "sheep" applies to many species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to Ovis aries...
voraciously eat the seedpods of the plant, negatively impacting the tree's population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
. Toxicity of the leaves is unknown; it is notable that Uresiphita
Uresiphita
Uresiphita is a genus of moths of the Crambidae family.-Species:*Uresiphita gilvata *Uresiphita insulicola *Uresiphita maorialis Uresiphita is a genus of moths of the Crambidae family.-Species:*Uresiphita gilvata (Fabricius, 1794)*Uresiphita insulicola *Uresiphita maorialis Uresiphita is a genus of...
polygonalis virescens
Uresiphita polygonalis
Uresiphita polygonalis is a moth of the Crambidae family. It is found in the Pacific, including Hawaii and New Zealand.The wingspan is about 27 mm. Adults range in color from green to red....
caterpillars which feed on the leaves have aposematic
Aposematism
Aposematism , perhaps most commonly known in the context of warning colouration, describes a family of antipredator adaptations where a warning signal is associated with the unprofitability of a prey item to potential predators...
coloration. Clearly, this issue requires further study. Ranch cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
can kill trees through stomping on the root
Root
In vascular plants, the root is the organ of a plant that typically lies below the surface of the soil. This is not always the case, however, since a root can also be aerial or aerating . Furthermore, a stem normally occurring below ground is not exceptional either...
s. Wildfire
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
has also destroyed some of the trees, though it is generally resistant to fire, and can grow quickly after one occurs. As regards diseases, the canker
Canker
Canker and anthracnose are general terms for a large number of different plant diseases, characterised by broadly similar symptoms including the appearance of small areas of dead tissue, which grow slowly, often over a period of years. Some are of only minor consequence, but others are ultimately...
ascomycete
Ascomycota
The Ascomycota are a Division/Phylum of the kingdom Fungi, and subkingdom Dikarya. Its members are commonly known as the Sac fungi. They are the largest phylum of Fungi, with over 64,000 species...
Botryosphaeria
Botryosphaeria
Botryosphaeria is a genus of fungi in the family Botryosphaeriaceae. There are 193 species.-Species:*Botryosphaeria abietina*Botryosphaeria abrupta*Botryosphaeria abuensis*Botryosphaeria acaciae*Botryosphaeria agaves...
mamane causes witch's broom
Witch's broom
A Witch's broom is a disease or deformity in a woody plant, typically a tree, where the natural structure of the plant is changed. A dense mass of shoots grows from a single point, with the resulting structure resembling a broom or a bird's nest....
disease, which kills heavily-infected trees (Gardner 1997). Māmane grows well in areas where there are no sheep or goats, and cattle populations are limited. The plant is being reforested
Reforestation
Reforestation is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands that have been depleted, usually through deforestation....
in order to increase the population of both the tree itself and the palila, and revive the indigenous ecosystem.