View original imageThis is an original generative reconstruction, not a photograph or scientific plate.
159 / Recently extinct
Wailupe Valley Treecotton
Kokia lanceolata
Narrow leaves and hibiscus-like red flowers were confined to southeastern Oʻahu and vanished within decades of discovery.
Structured expansion · editorial review pending
- Time range
- Prehistory–late 19th century
- Final stage
- 19th century
- Geographic range
- Southeastern Oʻahu dry-to-mesic forest, Hawaiʻi
01 / ANSWER FIRST
What was Wailupe Valley Treecotton?
This archive records Wailupe Valley Treecotton under the scientific name Kokia lanceolata, with an age of Prehistory–late 19th century and a range of Southeastern Oʻahu dry-to-mesic forest, Hawaiʻi. Narrow leaves and hibiscus-like red flowers were confined to southeastern Oʻahu and vanished within decades of discovery.
Kokia lanceolata was a small Hawaiian tree related to cotton. It grew around Koko Head, Makapuʻu and Wailupe Valley, where native nectar-feeding birds may have visited its flowers.
02 / QUICK FACTS
Wailupe Valley Treecotton at a glance
- Scientific name
- Kokia lanceolata
- Age
- Prehistory–late 19th century
- Last recorded stage
- 19th century
- Known range
- Southeastern Oʻahu dry-to-mesic forest, Hawaiʻi
- Broad group
- plant
- Archive era
- Recently extinct
- Habitat signals
- Forest
- Documented regions
- Southeastern Oʻahu dry-to-mesic forest, Hawaiʻi
03 / ANATOMY
How was Wailupe Valley Treecotton built?
Overall body plan
Narrow leaves and hibiscus-like red flowers were confined to southeastern Oʻahu and vanished within decades of discovery.
Growth architecture
The available record is interpreted through preserved proportions, attachment surfaces, wear and comparison with related organisms. For Wailupe Valley Treecotton, those observations must be separated from features added only for visual reconstruction.
Reproductive structures
Kokia lanceolata was a small Hawaiian tree related to cotton. It grew around Koko Head, Makapuʻu and Wailupe Valley, where native nectar-feeding birds may have visited its flowers.
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 Wailupe Valley Treecotton.
04 / DIET & BEHAVIOUR
How did Wailupe Valley Treecotton live?
Kokia lanceolata was a small Hawaiian tree related to cotton. It grew around Koko Head, Makapuʻu and Wailupe Valley, where native nectar-feeding birds may have visited its flowers. 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 Wailupe Valley Treecotton live?
This archive currently lists Prehistory–late 19th century; Southeastern Oʻahu dry-to-mesic forest, 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
Southeastern Oʻahu dry-to-mesic forest, Hawaiʻi. This boundary can change when specimens are reidentified or new localities are published.
Time window
Prehistory–late 19th century, with the final recorded stage listed as 19th 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 Wailupe Valley Treecotton?
Primary record
Nineteenth-century material, Harvard and Bishop Museum type sheets, early descriptions and living relatives guide reconstruction.
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 Wailupe Valley Treecotton within Prehistory–late 19th century and Southeastern Oʻahu dry-to-mesic forest, 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 Wailupe Valley Treecotton disappear?
Grazing, lowland development, invasive plants and possible pollinator loss destroyed its extremely narrow range.
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
Wailupe Valley Treecotton FAQ
What was Wailupe Valley Treecotton?
This archive records Wailupe Valley Treecotton under the scientific name Kokia lanceolata, with an age of Prehistory–late 19th century. Narrow leaves and hibiscus-like red flowers were confined to southeastern Oʻahu and vanished within decades of discovery.
When did Wailupe Valley Treecotton live?
The current archive range is Prehistory–late 19th century; its youngest recorded stage is 19th century.
Where was Wailupe Valley Treecotton found?
The archive currently lists Southeastern Oʻahu dry-to-mesic forest, Hawaiʻi. Species-level locality assignments and the full geographic range still require source-specific review.
How do scientists know about Wailupe Valley Treecotton?
Nineteenth-century material, Harvard and Bishop Museum type sheets, early descriptions and living relatives guide reconstruction.
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