View original imageThis is an original generative reconstruction, not a photograph or scientific plate.
158 / Recently extinct
Maui Hau Kuahiwi
Hibiscadelphus wilderianus
The only scientifically recorded tree bore curved yellow-green tubular flowers probably adapted to Hawaiian honeycreepers.
Structured expansion · editorial review pending
- Time range
- Prehistory–about 1912
- Final stage
- Early 20th century
- Geographic range
- Dry forest on Haleakalā's southern slope, Maui, Hawaiʻi
01 / ANSWER FIRST
What was Maui Hau Kuahiwi?
This archive records Maui Hau Kuahiwi under the scientific name Hibiscadelphus wilderianus, with an age of Prehistory–about 1912 and a range of Dry forest on Haleakalā's southern slope, Maui, Hawaiʻi. The only scientifically recorded tree bore curved yellow-green tubular flowers probably adapted to Hawaiian honeycreepers.
Hibiscadelphus wilderianus was a roughly five-meter mallow tree with heart-shaped leaves covered in stellate hairs. Its petals formed a bent tube around an extended style and red anthers.
02 / QUICK FACTS
Maui Hau Kuahiwi at a glance
- Scientific name
- Hibiscadelphus wilderianus
- Age
- Prehistory–about 1912
- Last recorded stage
- Early 20th century
- Known range
- Dry forest on Haleakalā's southern slope, Maui, Hawaiʻi
- Broad group
- plant
- Archive era
- Recently extinct
- Habitat signals
- Forest
- Documented regions
- Dry forest on Haleakalā's southern slope, Maui, Hawaiʻi
03 / ANATOMY
How was Maui Hau Kuahiwi built?
Overall body plan
The only scientifically recorded tree bore curved yellow-green tubular flowers probably adapted to Hawaiian honeycreepers.
Growth architecture
The available record is interpreted through preserved proportions, attachment surfaces, wear and comparison with related organisms. For Maui Hau Kuahiwi, those observations must be separated from features added only for visual reconstruction.
Reproductive structures
Hibiscadelphus wilderianus was a roughly five-meter mallow tree with heart-shaped leaves covered in stellate hairs. Its petals formed a bent tube around an extended style and red anthers.
Growth and individual variation
A single specimen does not define the whole species. Size, maturity, preservation and possible sex differences are considered before anatomical traits are treated as typical of Maui Hau Kuahiwi.
04 / DIET & BEHAVIOUR
How did Maui Hau Kuahiwi live?
Hibiscadelphus wilderianus was a roughly five-meter mallow tree with heart-shaped leaves covered in stellate hairs. Its petals formed a bent tube around an extended style and red anthers. This ecological reconstruction is strongest where anatomy, associated organisms and the depositional setting point in the same direction.
05 / DIET & BEHAVIOUR
What shaped its ecological limits?
Its populations depended on plant communities, soils, water availability and climate. Changes in any one factor did not necessarily cause immediate extinction, but interacting pressures could reduce range, recruitment and resilience.
06 / RANGE & HABITAT
Where and when did Maui Hau Kuahiwi live?
This archive currently lists Prehistory–about 1912; Dry forest on Haleakalā's southern slope, Maui, Hawaiʻi. Fossil or historical occurrence data describe where evidence has been found, not every place the taxon once occupied. Species-level age and range limits still require source-specific review.
Documented geographic range
Dry forest on Haleakalā's southern slope, Maui, Hawaiʻi. This boundary can change when specimens are reidentified or new localities are published.
Time window
Prehistory–about 1912, with the final recorded stage listed as Early 20th century. Rock units and dating uncertainty mean the true biological range may extend beyond the known record.
Environmental setting
The archive uses the broad habitat labels Forest. These labels help explore related records; a habitat reconstruction requires evidence from individual localities.
07 / FOSSIL EVIDENCE
What evidence supports reconstructions of Maui Hau Kuahiwi?
Primary record
The single tree found in 1910, a 1912 seed collection, the type sheet and botanical drawings provide all direct evidence.
Comparative anatomy
Preserved structures are compared with close and functionally similar organisms. The method can constrain posture and function, but analogy alone cannot prove colour, behaviour or soft tissue.
Age and locality
Stratigraphy and occurrence records place Maui Hau Kuahiwi within Prehistory–about 1912 and Dry forest on Haleakalā's southern slope, Maui, Hawaiʻi. Reworked fossils and uncertain provenance are treated cautiously.
Open entity records
Links below connect the archive to available taxonomic and occurrence records. A matching name does not verify every ecological claim, and related-taxon links provide comparison rather than an exact species match.
08 / DISAPPEARANCE & DEBATE
Why did Maui Hau Kuahiwi disappear?
Cattle, goats and pigs degraded dry forest; invasive grasses, fire and declining pollinator birds likely compounded the loss.
The last fossil or observation marks the youngest evidence currently known, not necessarily the death of the final individual. Explanations are strongest when timing, environmental change and population biology agree; otherwise the profile preserves uncertainty instead of assigning a single dramatic cause.
09 / FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Maui Hau Kuahiwi FAQ
What was Maui Hau Kuahiwi?
This archive records Maui Hau Kuahiwi under the scientific name Hibiscadelphus wilderianus, with an age of Prehistory–about 1912. The only scientifically recorded tree bore curved yellow-green tubular flowers probably adapted to Hawaiian honeycreepers.
When did Maui Hau Kuahiwi live?
The current archive range is Prehistory–about 1912; its youngest recorded stage is Early 20th century.
Where was Maui Hau Kuahiwi found?
The archive currently lists Dry forest on Haleakalā's southern slope, Maui, Hawaiʻi. Species-level locality assignments and the full geographic range still require source-specific review.
How do scientists know about Maui Hau Kuahiwi?
The single tree found in 1910, a 1912 seed collection, the type sheet and botanical drawings provide all direct evidence.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Completed an AI-assisted bilingual audit of the archive record, corrected identified issues and clarified evidence limits; independent editorial review is pending.
- Expanded into a structured bilingual profile with anatomy, ecology, range, evidence, debate and FAQs; independent editorial review is pending.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS