Tag Archives: Lepidium bidentatum var. remyi (Drake) Fosberg

Lepidium remyi Drake

Remy’s Scurvy Grass (Lepidium remyi)

Remy’s Scurvy Grass or Remy’s Pepperweed was described in 1890, it was endemic to the island of Hawai’i, the largest of the Hawaiian Islands, were it apparently was only ever known from a single site somewhere on the slopes of the Hualalai volcano. It was collected sometimes between 1851 and 1855, another collection from the year 1949 is thought to possibly also represent this species.

The species was given the status of a variety of Lepidium bidentatum Montin in 1969, and the photo below shows a variety of that species that is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, the Hawaiian Scurvy Grass (Lepidium bidentatum var. o-waihiense (Cham. & Schltdl.) Fosberg). 

Remy’s Scurvy Grass might have been nothing but a extreme form of another Hawaiian Scurvy Grass species, or it might have been an extremely rare endemic species, whatever case, it is now most likely extinct.

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[1] F. R. Fosberg: Miscellaneous notes on Hawaiian plants – 5. Bishops Museum Occasional Papers 24(2): 1-24. 1869

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Hawaiian Scurvy Grass (Lepidium bidentatum var. o-waihiense (Cham. & Schltdl.) Fosberg)

Photo: Kim Starr & Forest Starr; by courtesy of Kim Starr & Forest Starr 
http://www.starrenvironmental.com 

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edited: 16.09.2019