Family: ARECACEAE
Genus: Pritchardia
Species: munroi
Species Author: Rock
Vernacular: Loulu
Kamalo pritchardia reaches up to 4-5 m in height with a single trunk that is usually about 20 cm in diameter. The leaves of this plant are fan-shaped and are up to 88 cm from the base to the tip of the leaf blade. The tips of the leaves are drooping unlike those of Pritchardia lowreyana, which is also found on Moloka’i, which has leaf tips that are erect. The stalks supporting the leaves of this species are covered in long, silky, brown or silver hairs. The flowers are borne in clusters that are inserted within the foliage, although are often visible drooping beneath the leaves. The fruits of this species are small and round reaching only 2.5 cm in length, and are black when fully ripe.
(Wagner, W. L., Herbs, D. R., and S. H. Sohmer. 1999. Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai‘i. Revised Edition. Volume 2. Bishop Museum Special Publication 97. University of Hawai‘i Press, Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, Hawai‘i.)
When endangered species are represented by cultivated individuals in botanical gardens these plants are known as ex-situ collections. Following the extinction of that species in the wild these ex-situ collections preserve the genetic diversity of the species and provide a source of seed for re-introduction of this species back into natural habitat.
(Gemmill, C. 1998. Pritchardia munroi. In: IUCN 2006. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. . Downloaded on 09 June 2007.)
(USFWS, 2002. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Revised Determinations of Prudency and Proposed Designations of Critical Habitat for Plant Species From the Island of Moloka‘i, Hawai‘i. Federal Register 67(66)16491-16579.)
Pritchardia munroi is one of the endemic Hawaiian species that has a very narrow geographic distribution. This species is found in mesic forest at 610 m elevation in a single location on Moloka‘i. Only two individuals remain in the wild in leeward Moloka‘i near Puako’olau. This species was historically recorded from multiple populations above Kamalo in leeward East Moloka’i.
(Chapin, M.H., K.R. Wood, S.P. Perlman, and M. Maunder. 2004. A review of the conservation status of the endemic Pritchardia palms of Hawai‘i. Oryx 38(3): 273-281.)
(Wagner, W. L., Herbst, D. R., and S. H. Sohmer. 1999. Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai‘i. Revised Edition. Volume 2. Bishop Museum Special Publication 97. University of Hawai‘i Press, Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, Hawai‘i.)
When only a single individual of a species remains many factors threaten the survival of that individual and species. The sole remaining Munro pritchardia plant
is vulnerable to natural disturbance including rock falls, earthquakes, or fires, that could damage the plant or destroy the habitat in which it is found. The only surviving individual of Munro pritchardia is contained within a fenced exclosure to prevent herbivory and seed damage by introduced mammals including rats, goats, and pigs.
(Gemmill, C. 1998. Pritchardia munroi. In: IUCN 2006. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. . Downloaded on 09 June 2007.)
(USFWS, 2002. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Revised Determinations of Prudency and Proposed Designations of Critical Habitat for Plant Species From the Island of Moloka‘i, Hawai‘i. Federal Register 67(66)16491-16579.)
Pritchardia munroi was described in the scientific literature by Joseph Rock in 1920 from observation of this plant in the wild and the study of material collected from individuals from Moloka‘i. The second part of the scientific name, munroi, ( the specific epithet) is a reference to the manager of the Moloka‘i Ranch during the time of these first collections, James Munro.
Pritchardia munroi is currently listed as endangered under the US Endangered Species Act. Only two individuals survive in the wild and 22 individuals are in cultivation in botanical gardens around the world. These plants were cultivated from seeds collected in 1975 from the sole remaining wild individual that were sent to botanical institutions for cultivation in efforts to prevent the extinction of this species.
(Gemmill, C. 1998. Pritchardia munroi. In: IUCN 2006. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. . Downloaded on 09 June 2007.)
(USFWS, 2002. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Revised Determinations of Prudency and Proposed Designations of Critical Habitat for Plant Species From the Island of Moloka‘i, Hawai‘i. Federal Register 67(66)16491-16579.)
We currently have 10 herbarium specimens for Pritchardia munroi in our collection. Click on any specimen below to view the herbarium sheet data.
- Unassigned - collected by K. R. Wood in 1991
- Unassigned - collected by K. R. Wood in 1997
- Unassigned - collected by K. R. Wood in 1998
- Unassigned - collected by K. R. Wood in 1998
- Unassigned - collected by Steve Perlman in 1999
- 038875 - collected by Steve Perlman in 2002
- 054785 - collected by J. Horn in 2007
- 054786 - collected by J. Horn in 2007
- 046947 - collected by Steve Perlman in 2007
- 046948 - collected by Steve Perlman in 2007
