Vicia menziesii: taxon details and analytics
- Domain
- Kingdom
- Plantae
- Phylum
- Tracheophyta
- Class
- Magnoliopsida
- Order
- Fabales
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Genus
- Vicia
- Species
- Vicia menziesii
- Scientific Name
- Vicia menziesii
Summary description from Wikipedia:
Vicia menziesii
Vicia menziesii is a rare species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name Hawaiian vetch. It is endemic to Hawaii, where it is known only from the island of Hawaii. It is threatened by habitat loss and exotic plants. It has been federally listed as an endangered species of the United States since 1978. It was the first Hawaiian plant to be placed on the Endangered Species List.
This plant is a liana which climbs into the surrounding trees, reaching a maximum length of 20 meters. A study found the average length of the vine to be 2.6 meters, with a maximum of 12.5 meters in the sample. The vine also branches and climbs in different directions. It may spread along the ground or over detritus for a few meters before climbing upward, but plants were observed climbing 8 meters up into the canopy. The leaves are 10 to 13 centimeters long and are made up of several pairs of leaflets each measuring up to 7 centimeters long by 3 wide. The leaves have tendrils at their tips. The plant produces inflorescences of 6 to 9 flowers with curving corollas up to 3 centimeters long. The flowers are yellowish white turning rose-pink with maturity and then purplish with age. The fruit is a black legume pod 9 or 10 centimeters long containing spherical black seeds.
The flowers are visited by the ʻiʻiwi (Vestiaria coccinea) and the ʻamakihi (Loxops virens virens), two species of Hawaiian honeycreepers. The shape and color of the flowers suggest they may be pollinated by birds.
This plant was first collected in 1794 by Archibald Menzies on Mauna Loa. It has also been collected from Mauna Kea, but it does not appear to occur there anymore. As of 1980 the total global population was made up of three colonies in an area one kilometer long on Mauna Loa. There are only 15 to 50 individuals in total.
This species was depicted on a U.S. commemorative stamp issued on June 7, 1979.
...Vicia menziesii in languages:
- English
- Hawaiian vetch
Parent Taxon
Sibling Taxa
- Ervum
- Vicia abbreviata
- Vicia acutifolia
- Vicia aintabensis
- Vicia alpestris
- Vicia altissima
- Vicia americana
- Vicia amoena
- Vicia amurensis
- Vicia anatolica
- Vicia andicola
- Vicia anguste-pinnata
- Vicia aphylla
- Vicia araucana
- Vicia argentea
- Vicia articulata
- Vicia assyriaca
- Vicia augustifolia
- Vicia bakeri
- Vicia balansae
- Vicia barbazitae
- Vicia basaltica
- Vicia benghalensis
- Vicia biebersteinii
- Vicia biennis
- Vicia bifolia
- Vicia bifoliolata
- Vicia bijuga
- Vicia bithynica
- Vicia bungei
- Vicia caesarea
- Vicia canescens
- Vicia cappadocica
- Vicia capreolata
- Vicia caroliniana
- Vicia cassia
- Vicia cassubica
- Vicia cedretorum
- Vicia chaetocalyx
- Vicia chinensis
- Vicia chosenensis
- Vicia ciceroidea
- Vicia ciliatula
- Vicia costae
- Vicia costata
- Vicia cracca
- Vicia cretica
- Vicia crocea
- Vicia cusnae
- Vicia cuspidata
- Vicia cypria
- Vicia dennesiana
- Vicia disperma
- Vicia dumetorum
- Vicia epetiolaris
- Vicia eriocarpa
- Vicia eristalioides
- Vicia ervilia
- Vicia erzurumica
- Vicia esdraelonensis
- Vicia faba
- Vicia fairchildiana
- Vicia fauriei
- Vicia ferreirensis
- Vicia filicaulis
- Vicia floridana
- Vicia fulgens
- Vicia galeata
- Vicia geminiflora
- Vicia gigantea
- Vicia glauca
- Vicia graminea
- Vicia grandiflora
- Vicia hassei
- Vicia hirsuta
- Vicia hirticalycina
- Vicia hololasia
- Vicia hulensis
- Vicia humilis
- Vicia hyaeniscyamus
- Vicia hybrida
- Vicia hyrcanica
- Vicia incana
- Vicia iranica
- Vicia japonica
- Vicia kalakhensis
- Vicia koeieana
- Vicia kokanica
- Vicia kulingana
- Vicia larissae
- Vicia lathyroides
- Vicia latibracteolata
- Vicia lecomtei
- Vicia lens
- Vicia lenticula
- Vicia lentoides
- Vicia leucantha
- Vicia leucophaea
- Vicia leyboldii
- Vicia lilacina
- Vicia linearifolia
- Vicia loiseleurii
- Vicia lomensis
- Vicia ludoviciana
- Vicia lunata
- Vicia lutea
- Vicia macrantha
- Vicia magellanica
- Vicia megalotropis
- Vicia melanops
- Vicia menziesii
- Vicia michauxii
- Vicia minutiflora
- Vicia mollis
- Vicia monantha
- Vicia monardii
- Vicia montbretii
- Vicia mulleriana
- Vicia multicaulis
- Vicia murbeckii
- Vicia nana
- Vicia narbonensis
- Vicia nataliae
- Vicia nervata
- Vicia nigricans
- Vicia nipponica
- Vicia noeana
- Vicia ocalensis
- Vicia ochroleuca
- Vicia ohwiana
- Vicia olchonensis
- Vicia onobrychioides
- Vicia orientalis
- Vicia oroboides
- Vicia orobus
- Vicia palaestina
- Vicia pampicola
- Vicia pannonica
- Vicia peregrina
- Vicia peruviana
- Vicia pinetorum
- Vicia pisiformis
- Vicia popovii
- Vicia pseudo-orobus
- Vicia pulchella
- Vicia pyrenaica
- Vicia quadrijuga
- Vicia ramuliflora
- Vicia sativa
- Vicia scandens
- Vicia semenovii
- Vicia semiglabra
- Vicia sepium
- Vicia sericocarpa
- Vicia sessei
- Vicia setifolia
- Vicia sibthorpii
- Vicia sicula
- Vicia sinaica
- Vicia singarensis
- Vicia sinogigantea
- Vicia sosnowskyi
- Vicia sparsiflora
- Vicia subrotunda
- Vicia subvillosa
- Vicia sylvatica
- Vicia tenuifolia
- Vicia tigridis
- Vicia tsydenii
- Vicia unijuga
- Vicia uralensis
- Vicia venosa
- Vicia vicina
- Vicia vicioides
- Vicia villosa
- Vicia woroschilovii