Penatia baylisiana Facts
- The somewhat hard to pronounce term of Pennantia baylisiana actually represents the purely scientific name for this incredible plant. Its most frequently employed common name, though, remains the equally unusual, but at least pronounceable, Three Kings kaikomako.
- Whichever name one chooses to use for it, however, makes absolutely no difference where one specific fact is concerned. That’s the situation that, quite sadly, this remarkably distinctive flora further forms the single rarest known variety of tree on earth, at least in the wild.
- Given that its native location appears to have never been inhabited by man, its very existence remained completely unknown until its accidental discovery in 1945. Since that time, ongoing efforts to propagate it in greenhouses has met with some, if highly limited, success.
- In its native habitat, to date, only a single surviving specimen has been found. For that reason, the IUCN quite understandably presently lists this wonder of Nature as Critically Endangered. This truly lamentable status appears on the organization’s Red List of Threatened Species.
- Evidence indicates that very severe storms in modern times destroyed the remaing numbers of its mature population. Roving herds of wild goats sharing the habitat of the Pennantia baylisiana appear to have subsequently consumed all the seedlings then existing at that time.
- Since only the single individual tree exists in the wild, potential habitat loss obviously poses a severe threat to its continued existenceas a species. Now, however, it also faces the same danger that all other species share today, that of the effects of ongoing climate change.
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Pennantia baylisiana Physical Description
Although it stands out from other trees due to its terrible situation, physically, this wonder of evolution appears much like many of its related species. Most unfortunately, it currently remains undetermined if the single survivor in the wild represents an average example of the flora.
For what it’s worth, this specific individual specimen, which botanists believe to be fully mature, displays a height measuring roughly 26 ft (8 m). It also possesses a comparatively moderate-sized crown, since this feature currently has a width that measures approximately 13 ft (4 m) across.
The lonely but amazing tree also manages to impress us in ways other than sheer height. For one, the wonder of evolution produces multiple trunks, each of which remains relatively thin. The bark of these trunks further has a unique quality, displaying an unusual grayish shade in color.
Its leaves also develop as a deep, dark green in color, and appear in large numbers, as well. The flowers of the Pennantia baylisiana, meanwhile, also possess their own distinctiveness. These remain quite small, but appear in large clusters, and present either a bright green or white coloring.
Its fruit further distinguishes the Angiosperm from many related types of trees, at least in terms of its basic appearance. This forms as extremely elongated in shape, and averages about 0.4 in (1 cm) in length. Each of these also has a bright purple coloring, and produces a single, quite tiny seed.
- Kingdom: Plantae
- Phylum: Tracheophyta
- Class: Magnoliopsida
- Order: Apiales
- Family: Pennantiaceae
- Genus: Pennantia
- Species: P. baylisiana
Pennantia baylisiana Distribution, Habitat, and Ecology
Obviously, the terribly rare Pennantia baylisiana possesses an unbelievably limited zone of habitation, since only one plant remains in the wild. This area happens to consist of the location known as Great Island. That represents part of what man now calls the Three Kings Group.
This formation itself currently constitutes part of the beautiful country of New Zealand, situated near the continent of Australia. Each of these 13 uninhabited islands in turn remains quite tiny, providing the plant with extremely limited options for spreading, even under optimal conditions.
Even though the surviving individual of the species evolved as female in nature, its location makes natural propagation virtually impossible. Amazingly, the specimen resides on a rugged scree slope, sitting on the north face of the primarily rocky island, which only measures 1.5 sq mi (4 sq km).
Scientific research, which remains ongoing, seems to indicate that the true natural habitat of the species actually consisted of a decidedly different environment. It’s presently believed by researchers that the species in general inhabited the thin coastal forest present on the tiny island.
Practical and ongoing efforts to protect the remaining specimen do exist, quite thankfully. In various locations, mainly in New Zealand, work also continues, albeit painstakingly, on increasing its numbers. This process occurs primarily via cuttings, since viable fruit still remains quite rare.
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