Flora of the Hawaiian Islands
Monocotyledon Literature for Astelia menziesiana
Wagner et al., 1990, 1999.
   Asteliaceae Bibliography
      Astelia menziesiana

Common name(s): pa`iniu, kaluaha, pua`akuhinia
General Information
DistributionIn the Hawaiian Islands, endemic to Kaua`i, O`ahu, Moloka`i, Lana`i, Maui, Hawai`i.
















Click here for detailed USGS map by Jonathan Price
Habit
Terrestrial or epiphytic, subacaulescent, rhizomatous perennial herbs.
Leaves
Leaves 30-160 cm long, 1-5(-7) cm wide, parallel veins conspicuous, both surfaces with scales, those of upper surface connate and peeling off in skin-like pieces, often completely absent in old leaves, lower surface densely covered with closely appressed scales, ± densely woolly pubescent beneath scales, both scales and hairs tending to fall off with age, occasionally both surfaces essentially glabrous, densely white to brownish shaggy pubescent toward base.
Flowers
Scapes (10-)20-120 cm long, usually densely shaggy pubescent; staminate flowers in racemes 3-20 cm long, pedicels 3-10 mm long, bracts 4-11 mm long, tepals green, greenish brown to yellow, rose, dark brownish maroon, or occasionally white, densely pubescent or glabrous, outer ones 4.5-8.5 mm long, inner ones 3.5-7 mm long, anthers 1-4.2 mm long, filaments (1.5-)2.2-4 mm long, pistillode 2-6 mm long; pistillate flowers in racemes 3-18 cm long, pedicels 2-5 mm long, bracts 4-9 mm long, tepals same range of colors as in staminate flowers, densely pubescent or glabrous, outer ones 3.5-7 mm long, inner ones 3.5-6 mm long, anthers not fertile, 0.4-1.3 mm long, filaments 1-2.8 mm long, ovary 4-6 mm long, style 0.5-2 mm long.
Fruit
Berries orange, subglobose to ellipsoid, 5-9 mm long, 4-6 mm in diameter.
Seeds
Seeds 4-14, black, irregularly ovoid to fusiform, 2.1-4.6 mm long.
Chromosomes
2n = 60*