The summer of 2022 started off with a bright solemnisation at our Conservation Nursery on Kauai as three dissimilar critically jeopardise industrial plant taxon collected by the Mamba drone arm typeset antecedent from cuttings – laukahi ( Plantago princeps var . anomala ) , akoko ( Euphorbia eleanoriae ) , and Lysimachia iniki .
Our scientists and Outreach Robotics developed a robotlike trailer weapon called Mamba to compile rare plants from otherwise unaccessible place . Mamba also allow for a much quick retrieval time . What used to take minute of hike and rope down to collect works material now takes min with the Mamba . This result is freshman plant material arriving at our Conservation Nursery and an addition in the likeliness of successful extension .
tonic Lysimachia iniki snub being processed in NTBG ’s Conservation Nursery on Kauai
Think of it like rescue an imperiled person from a outside place . If you hike to pass the mortal and behave them to safety on a stretcher , the chance that they are under additional stress is much high than rapidly lift them . The rather we can get the affected role ( works ) back to the emergency room ( our Conservation Nursery ) , the greater chance of survival .
While assay to fix root from cuttings in both Lysimachia iniki and akoko has occurred before , it was the first cognize attempt to do so with laukahi due to its rarity . That all three sprouted root are an inspiring skill for the Mamba field appeal and nursery squad , providing further substantiation of how novel technology can advance rarified plant life preservation .
Laukahi ( Plantago princeps var . anomala)Laukahi ( Plantago princeps var . anomala ) is a small erect or ascend woody bush that grows on steep slope and drop-off in wet woods in the Upper Hanapepe and Kalalau valleys on the Hawaiian island of Kauai . Curiously , laukahi is one of more than 250 species in the genus Plantago , mostly temperate in distribution but also come at high altitudes in tropic areas and on oceanic islands like Hawaii . While some consider Plantago species like Plantago major to be encroaching or ‘ boney , ’ Kauai ’s Plantago princeps is Critically Endangered , with less than 50 somebody get it on to occur in the natural state .
Laukahi ( Plantago princeps var . anomala ) with bloom stem turn growing in NTBG ’s Conservation Nursery on Kauai
Further theater collection trips with Mamba could have a handsome impact on the future of critically endangered plants like laukahi . The original cutting is doing well at the glasshouse and even late developed a flower shank . A flower means seed , and semen intend increased promise for future restoration in the plant ’s natural habitat .
Lysimachia inikiPast samples of Lysimachia iniki brought to the Conservation Nursery were fragment of plants that had fall from the sheer cliffs below Kauai ’s summit after storms . Incidentally , this is how the species got its name . Lysimachia iniki‘s discovery occurred after Hurricane Iniki ’s devastating winds dislodged the native plant from its steep habitat . No past plant fragment brought back to our greenhouse had ever exist . That is until now .
Two Lysimachia iniki propagules are thriving under the maintenance of our staff in the Conservation Nursery . There is only one known population of Lysimachia iniki , underlining the grandness of this major breakthrough in the preservation of this Critically Endangered Kauai indigenous flora .
Kadua st - johnii grow in NTBG ’s Conservation Nursery on Kauai
Additional achiever for uncommon plantsThe Mamba has bring extra success beyond laukahi and Lysimachia iniki . A rare Rubiaceae , Kadua st - johnii , grew from a seed collected off of a cutting , and a less rare Lysimachia hillebrandii also took stem . Lysimachia , a member of the Primrose kin , is often difficult to grow from cuttings . The successful rooting of Lysimachia hillebrandii in our Conservation Nursery reinforce that the amphetamine with which Mamba retrieve plant material straight pretend survivorship in the greenhouse .
There have been some setbacks . Akoko ( Euphorbia eleanoriae ) survived for four months after setting roots . While this specimen did not make it to adulthood , it is the first time the coinage set roots in finish . The squad at the Conservation Nursery plans to build on the cognition gain from the first attempt to stress again with future field appeal .
Ultimately , the Mamba allows us to arrive at rare plant that are otherwise unapproachable . For some of these cliff - dwelling metal money or any plant that grow in hard - to - grasp areas , these developments in drone technology may be the best promise for their continued survival . “ The use of drones also let a truehearted turnabout for processing cuttings and placing them in our mist - house or in a temperature - ensure locating for protection , ” says NTBG Nursery Manager Rhian Campbell . “ As we continue to acquire protocol for the handling of these press clipping and larn everything we can about disperse these extremely rarified species , we are also potential to become more successful with them over time . ”
For more information : National Tropical Botanical Gardenwww.ntbg.org
