Kenneth R. Wood

Kenneth R. Wood
The National Tropical Botanical Garden · Science and Conservation

Conservation of Pacific Island floras

About

170
Publications
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Introduction
Research Biologist at the National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG) focusing on the conservation of Pacific Island floras; organizing and conducting botanical field surveys; inventorying rough terrain habitats; mapping the distribution and abundance of rare Pacific island plants; collecting herbarium specimens; DNA material for genetic sequencing; seeds, spores, and propagules for conservation; publishing conservation status data and new species descriptions.
Additional affiliations
January 1983 - present
Independent Researcher
Independent Researcher
Position
  • Research Biologist

Publications

Publications (170)
Article
Full-text available
Athyrium haleakalae K.R. Wood & W.L. Wagner (Athyriaceae), a small lithophytic fern from East Maui, Hawaiian Islands, is described and illustrated. Notes on its distribution, ecology, and conservation status are also presented. The new species appears to be an obligate rheophyte, preferring sites of fast moving water along concave walls of streams...
Article
Full-text available
Melicope stonei K.R. Wood, Appelhans & W.L. Wagner (section Pelea, Rutaceae), a new endemic tree species from Kaua'i, Hawaiian Islands, is described and illustrated with notes on its distribution, ecology, conservation status, and phylogenetic placement. The new species differs from its Hawaiian congeners by its unique combination of distinct carpe...
Article
Premise of research. The explosive diversification of Hawaiian Bidens is considered one of the premier examples of plant adaptive radiation in the native Hawaiian flora. Botanical exploration, especially in remote areas, continues and sometimes results in the discovery of new species. Most of these new discoveries are narrowly distributed endemics,...
Article
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Cyrtandra obliquifolia K.R. Wood & W.L. Wagner (Gesneriaceae), a new shrub species known only from Kaua'i, Hawaiian Islands, is described and illustrated with notes on its distribution, ecology, and conservation status. The new species is morphologically most similar to Cyrtandra wawrae C.B. Clarke but differs by its unique combination of oblique,...
Article
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A newly-discovered endemic tree species of Melicope from Kaua‘i, Hawaiian Islands, is described and illustrated with notes on its distribution, ecology, conservation status and phylogenetic placement. A modification to the existing key to Hawaiian Melicope is also provided. Melicope iolensissp. nov. is a member of Stone’s Megacarpa group having car...
Article
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Eurya degeneri Kobuski (Pentaphylacaceae), a dioecious shrub endemic to Kaua‘i, is resurrected from synonymy with E. sandwicensis A. Gray. Eurya degeneri is distributed in montane mesic to wet forests in central and northwestern Kaua‘i. It can be distinguished from E. sandwicensis by its glabrous young stems, leaves and pedicels, linear-elliptic to...
Article
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During a survey by the National Tropical Botanical Garden drone team, an enigmatic Schiedea was observed in December 2021on steep, rocky cliff faces of the Waiahulu Valley in the Waimea Canyon of Kaua'i. Subsequently, another survey was conducted in March 2022 and, by use of a remotely controlled cutting device suspended below the drone, the first...
Article
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The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)'s Red List of Threatened Species is regarded as the primary source of global extinction risk for species. Despite this importance, the IUCN has assessed less than 20% of the world′s estimated 400,000 flowering plants due to issues like insufficient data or a lack of experts. Thousands of con...
Article
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Dubautia haupuensis is newly described from windswept ridgelines near the summit of H aʻupu, in an isolated range noted for floristic endemism on Kauaʻi, in the Hawaiian Islands, where only two clusters of plants are currently known. Based on molecular phyloge-netic data, this highly endangered shrub of the Hawaiian silversword alliance belongs to...
Article
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Myrsine cirrhosa Lorence & K.R.Wood (Primulaceae), a new single-island endemic shrub species from Kaua‘i, Hawaiian Islands, is described and illustrated. Notes on its distribution, ecology and conservation status are included. The new species is known from an area with ca. 45 individuals, where it is restricted to the remote central windward region...
Article
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1. A high percentage of island floras are at risk of extinction and have been reduced to relic populations, often in remote hard-to-reach areas. Uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS aka drones) are now being utilized to assist in the survey and collection of rare plants in inaccessible areas or vertical cliff habitats. 2.Here, we test the application of...
Article
Premise of research. Dichanthelium extends from Canada to Argentina and is most species rich in eastern NorthAmerica. TheseC3 panicoid grasses, which are mixedmating and flower two or three times per year, displaying different vegetative growth forms over that time, are renowned for their taxonomic complexity. Thus, there are drastically differing...
Article
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We report the rediscovery of two species previously thought extinct, having no known individuals in the wild, namely Adenophorus periens (Polypodiaceae) and Hibiscadelphus woodii (Malvaceae). Other notable plant finds on Kaua‘i include Gouania meyenii (Rhamnaceae), still extant on O‘ahu and rediscovered on Kaua‘i; Isodendrion pyrifolium (Violaceae)...
Technical Report
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This report summarizes botanical collections made by the NTBG botanical collections team during surveys conducted in June—July 2022 in the Republic of Palau, in conjunction with a National Geographic Society (NGS) exploration grant and support from National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG), in collaboration with the Belau National Museum (BNM) and...
Article
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Societal Impact Statement Trees are an important part of many ecosystems. The Global Tree Assessment data can be used to focus conservation and restoration efforts for the circa 30% of tree species that are threatened worldwide. The conservation status for the tree flora of Limahuli Valley on Kaua'i Island and a restoration plan for 11 endangered t...
Article
The Hawaiian Islands are an emblematic field to study evolution, with their very high rates of endemism and spectacular cases of insular speciation. Nevertheless, many Hawaiian lineages still deserve investigation, such as in the fern lineage. In this study, we address the question of the origin of the fern genus Ctenitis, which is present in the a...
Article
The Hawaiian Islands are an emblematic field to study evolution, with their very high rates of endemism and spectacular cases of insular speciation. Nevertheless, many Hawaiian lineages still deserve investigation, such as in the fern lineage. In this study, we address the question of the origin of the fern genus Ctenitis, which is present in the a...
Article
Full-text available
The International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN Red List) is the world's most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of species. Governmental agencies and conservation organizations increasingly rely on IUCN Red List assessments to develop conservation policies and priorities. Fu...
Article
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Menisciopsis wailele (Thelypteridaceae) is a single-island endemic fern species restricted to the Hawaiian island of Kauai. All observations indicate it is an obligate rheophyte, preferring sites of fast-moving water along concave walls of remote streams and waterfall edges. This paper presents data on its morphology, evolution, taxonomy, distribut...
Article
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We report the rediscovery of two Kaua‘i single-island endemic flowering plant taxa previously thought to be extinct, Euphorbia remyi var. hanaleiensis (Euphorbiaceae) and Melicope nealae (Rutaceae); and two new Kaua‘i island records for endemic pteridophyte taxa, Hymenophyllum obtusum (Hymenophyllaceae) and Athyrium haleakalae (Athyri - aceae). The...
Article
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Botanists and enthusiasts of the Hawaiian flora may recognize the genus Geniostoma by its older name, Labordia, or by its melodic Hawaiian name kāmakahala. The genus includes Geniostoma helleri, a divinely beautiful and Critically Endangered Kauaʻi endemic tree species in the Logania family. Long ago, the seed of the original founder was likely car...
Article
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Premise: Expanded phylogenetic analyses of the Hawaiian silversword alliance (Argyroxiphium, Dubautia, Wilkesia; Compositae) were undertaken to assess evolutionary and biogeographic informativeness of cytonuclear discordance and any biases in evolutionary directionality of ecological transitions within this prominent example of adaptive radiation....
Article
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The dichloromethane extract from leaves of Melicope barbigera (Rutaceae), endemic to the Hawaiian island of Kaua’i, yielded four new and three previously known acetophenones and 2H-chromenes, all found for the first time in M. barbigera. The structures of the new compounds obtained from the dichloromethane extract after purification by chromatograp...
Article
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While undertaking a botanical survey of the Andersen Air Force Base on Guam (Mariana Islands) in 1994, botanists from the National Tropical Botanical Garden collected an unusual suffrutescent, non-aromatic member of the Lamiaceae family growing on limestone cliffs in the northeastern part of the island. Based on morphology and molecular data (trnLF...
Article
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The genus Bidens (Compositae) comprises c. 230 species distributed across five continents, with the 41 Polynesian species displaying the greatest eco‐morphological variation in the group. However, the genus has had a long and complicated taxonomic history, and its phylogenetic and biogeographic history are poorly understood. In order to resolve the...
Article
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The Hawaiian radiation of Myrsine (primrose family, Primulaceae) is the only one among the ten most species‐rich Hawaiian plant lineages that has never been included in a phylogenetic analysis. Our study is based on a RADseq dataset of nearly all Hawaiian Myrsine species and a Sanger sequencing dataset based on a worldwide sampling of Myrsine and r...
Article
Kahanu Garden and Preserve, located in Hana on the Hawaiian Island of Maui, is part of the National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG). The remote Kahanu Garden and Preserve focuses on conservation of Polynesian-introduced and native Hawaiian plant species, including Pritchardia arecina Becc., a species of the only palm genus native to the Hawaiian I...
Article
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This study reports, based on molecular phylogenetic analyses and a morphological assessment, the second species of Pacifigeron, an endemic genus of Rapa Island in French Polynesia. Detailed morphological and ecological descriptions, illustrations, IUCN Red List assessment, and a distributional map are provided. Our results support the exclusion of...
Article
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Cyanea kuhihewa is a Hawaiian plant thought to be extinct but recently rediscovered. Oceanic island plants are uniquely adapted to their environment. Globally, many island species are now threatened needing extensive conservation management to survive. We highlight this global conservation challenge and provide an example from Hawai'i of how we may...
Article
A taxonomic study of the Hymenasplenium unilaterale subclade (Aspleniaceae) is presented based on morphological and molecular evidence. Twelve species are recognized, nine of which are described as new. The nine new species include H. kinabaluense, H. solomonense, H. madagascariense, H. nigricostatum, H. neocaledonicum, H. oligosorum, H. queensland...
Article
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Hawaiian Melicope are one of the major adaptive radiations of the Hawaiian Islands comprising 54 endemic species. The lineage is monophyletic with an estimated crown age predating the rise of the current high islands. Phylogenetic inference based on Sanger sequencing has not been sufficient to resolve species or deeper level relationships. Here, we...
Technical Report
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The authors present a checklist of 134 endemic vascular plant taxa from the Hawaiian Islands that are currently considered possibly extinct in the wild.
Article
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Cintractiella is an unusual genus of smut fungi containing two described species that produce sori as adventitious gall-like spikelets on members of tribe Hypolytreae (subfam. Mapanioideae, Cyperaceae). In September 200, during a botanical expedition on the volcanic island of Kosrae located in the eastern Caroline Islands and within the Federated S...
Technical Report
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On 23–24 August 2004 and more recently on 4 October 2018 the author visited the intriguing Nā Pali coast valley of Awa`awapuhi and presents a checklist of vascular plant species and a general outline of vegetation zones observed during those visits. During the October 2018 research, a new location was documented for a federally listed as endangered...
Article
Oceanic islands are unique in their species composition, which is defined by arrival of colonizers via long distance dispersal followed by establishment of species followed in some cases by adaptive radiation. Evolutionary biologists identified traits facilitating successful colonization of islands as including polyploidy, self‐compatibility, herba...
Presentation
Full-text available
Population divergence due to the presence of unique alleles in insular settings
Article
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Isolated and with no permanent residents, the island of Kaho'olawe is veiled in a deep, penetrating stillness that floats out toward the vast blue horizons of day and star-spinning heavens of night.
Article
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Platydesma, an endemic genus to the Hawaiian Islands containing four species, has long been considered of obscure origin. Recent molecular phylogenetic studies have unequivocally placed Platydesma within the widespread genus Melicope as sister to the rest of the Hawaiian species of Melicope. This makes submerging Platydesma into Melicope necessary....
Article
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Melicope stonei K.R. Wood, Appelhans & W.L. Wagner (section Pelea, Rutaceae), a new endemic tree species from Kaua‘i, Hawaiian Islands, is described and illustrated with notes on its distribution, ecology, conservation status, and phylogenetic placement. The new species differs from its Hawaiian congeners by its unique combination of distinct carpe...
Article
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Abstract Molecular phylogenetic analyses of nuclear and chloroplast DNA sequences indicate that the rediscovered Apostates, known only from Rapa in the Austral Islands of southeastern Polynesia, represents an example of extreme long-distance dispersal (> 6500 km) from southwestern North America and one of at least four disjunctions of comparable ma...
Article
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Melicope oppenheimeri K.R. Wood, Appelhans & W.L. Wagner (section Pelea (A. Gray) Hook. f., Rutaceae), a rare endemic tree from West Maui, Hawaiian Islands, is described and illustrated with notes on its ecology, conservation, and phylogenetic placement. The new species differs from Hawaiian congeners by its carpels basally connate 1/5, narrowed in...
Chapter
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Les Marquises (Polynésie française) sont un archipel volcanique formé d'une douzaine d'îles isolées dans le Pacifique Sud, situé à environ 5 000 km du continent le plus proche. Malgré ce fort isole-ment géographique, un âge géologique relativement récent (entre 1,1 et 5,5 Ma) et une faible surface (1 050 km²) et hauteur des îles (plus haut sommet à...
Article
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Coprosma kawaikiniensis K.R. Wood, Lorence & Kiehn (Rubiaceae), a rare endemic tree from Kaua'i, Hawaiian Islands, is described and illustrated along with a previously undescribed endemic plant community, the Dubautia-Sadleria shrubland-fernland (DSSF). The new species differs from Hawai'i congeners by its combination of opposite, long, elliptic to...
Article
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Entering the sacred realm of Kawaikini, the crowning summit of Kaua‘i, can be both a physical and an inner sojourn, a journey that calls for all your strength to ascend her weathered rugged steepness and an odyssey that awakens your spirit to the magical secrets of an ancient volcano in the middle of the sea. Inevitably, a traveler’s senses will be...
Technical Report
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Wikstroemia skottsbergiana Sparre, a tree in the Thymelaeaceae family, is currently known from one small population in the upper wet forests of Lumaha`i Valley, Kaua`i, Hawai`i. Notes on its distribution, abundance, ecology, and current threats are presented to assist the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in the endangered species listing proce...
Technical Report
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Although Santalum involutum was historically known to have a broader distribution which includes several sites around the northern, southern, and western regions of Kaua`i, it is currently restricted to steep slopes along the western Na Pali coast valleys and ridges of Kaua`i. Notes on its distribution, abundance, ecology, and current threats are p...
Technical Report
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Little is known about the Hawaiian endemic pteridophyte, Dryopteris glabra var. pusilla. In order to assist the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in the listing process of this rare taxon, the National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG) presents the following technical report which includes data on its distribution and abundance along with ecolog...
Article
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Of the estimated 1191 native flowering plant and fern species in Hawai'i, ca. 10% have not been documented for many years and are presumed to be extinct. two possible new plant extinctions on Kaua'i are reported here, Delissea rhytidosperma H. Mann (Campan ul aceae) and Phyllostegia kahiliensis H. St. John (Lamiaceae), bringing the total number of...
Technical Report
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Plant and animal endemics from isolated oceanic islands are more often critically endangered, being particularly vulnerable and sensitive to invasive introductions of foreign plants and animals. To help address this issue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has been following several conservation priority guidelines by supporting biotic surv...
Technical Report
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG) entered into a grant agreement (FWS Agreement No. F12AC00737) which specifically focused on conducting field surveys searching for eight possibly extinct plant species on Kaua`i (i.e., Cyanea dolichopoda, Cyanea eleeleensis, Cyanea, kuhihewa, Dubautia kenwo...
Article
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Bidens meyeri (Asteraceae/Compositae) is described and illustrated from Rapa, Austral Islands, (French Polynesia). This new species is presumed to be most closely related to Bidens saint-johniana from nearby Marotiri Island. Bidens meyeri may be distinguished from B. saint-johniana based on the length of the peduncle (3 cm versus 10 cm), apex of th...
Article
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Melicope balgooyi, a new species of Melicope (Rutaceae) is described. It is known only from the Austral Islands in the South Pacific (French Polynesia). However, it is not closely related to the other two species previously known from the Austral Islands, which are part of Melicope section Vitiflorae. The new species belongs to Melicope section Mel...
Technical Report
Full-text available
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG) have entered into a grant agreement (FWS Agreement No. 12200-B-G010) to facilitate a botanical survey along the windward slopes of central to southeastern Kaua`i, extending from the Kawaikini Summit (highest point on Kaua`i) to Wahiawa (see Map 1). This bot...
Article
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Although several previously funded surveys by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National tropical Botanical garden (NtBg) between 1993 and pres-ent had failed to relocate any living individuals of the Kaua'i endemic Melicope quad-rangularis (Rutaceae), a recent USFWS-funded survey has brought about its rediscovery and is reported h...
Article
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Of the estimated 1191 native flowering plant and fern species in Hawai`i, there are currently 110 that have not been seen for many years and are presumed to be extinct. There is an even higher percentage of extinction for Hawaiian birds
Article
Melicope (Rutaceae) is one of the largest plant genera on the Hawaiian Islands. We present here a detailed molecular phylogenetic analysis of the Hawaiian species of this genus and compare the results with the other genera of Hawaiian Rutaceae, Platydesma and Zanthoxylum. Four nuclear and two plastid markers were sequenced, with the goals of untang...
Article
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In a recent Oryx publication, Fisher & Ineich (2012) report the extinction of Emoia impar (azure-tailed skink) in the Hawaiian Islands, we report its rediscovery on Moloka‘i where it has not been documented since the late 1800’s.
Article
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Morphological variation of three Kaua’i species of Asplenium in the Diellia alliance is evaluated based on recent field observations and herbarium specimens. Their taxonomy, nomenclature, and synonymy are discussed, and a lectotype is selected for Lindsaya knudsenii. Asplenium diellaciniatum is interpreted as having extremely variable frond morphol...
Technical Report
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Botanical surveys were conducted along the corridors of proposed Fence Line 2, Halehaha Conservation Unit and Fence Line 3, Drinking Glass Conservation Unit Alakài, Kauài, Hawaìi. These surveys were subsequent to a previous survey for Fence Line 1, Koaìe Headwater Conservation Unit, which was conducted in 2012 with a report submitted in January 201...
Article
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During a 2012 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service funded survey, and 101 years after any living plants had been documented, ca. 30 plants of L. venosa were rediscovered on Kaua‘i’s windward slopes just below the summit peak of Kawaikini.
Technical Report
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A botanical survey was conducted along proposed Fence Line 1, Koai`e Headwater Conservation Unit. The main objective of this plant survey was to document any federally listed plant species that might occur along this route in order to prevent any disturbance to them during future fence construction.