Tag Archives: Waltheria

Waltheria pyrolifolia A. Gray

Maui Sleepy Morning (Waltheria pyrolifolia)

This species was described in 1854, it is apparently only known from the island of Maui, Hawaiian Islands, where it was found growing in sympatry with the very widespread Sleepy Morning (Waltheria indica L.) (see depiction below).

The Maui Sleepy Morning was later synonymized with that species but was subsequently resurrected in 2011; it may, however, indeed be nothing but an aberrant form of the common Sleepy Morning. [1]

If it, however, indeed was a distinct species, it is now definetly extinct.

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References:

[1] Janice Saunders: Resurrection of the Maui endemic Waltheria pyrolifolia (Sterculiaceae, Hermannieae). Darwinia 49(1): 76-85. 2011

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Sleepy Morning (Waltheria indica)

Depiction from: ‘Francis Sinclair: Indigenous flowers of the Hawaiian Islands. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, and Rivington 1885’

(public domain)

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edited: 26.04.2021