RECOVERY PLAN FOR - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

I. INTRODUCTION
BRIEF OVERVIEW
RECOVERY PLAN FOR
LiDochaeta venosa AND Isodendrion hosakae
Lioochaeta venosa was listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service) as endangered in 1979 (44 Federal Register 62469).
Isodendrion hosakae was listed as endangered in 1991 (56 Federal
Register 1457). Critical habitat was not designated for either
species.
The ranges of these species are limited to the South Kohala
District on the island of Hawaii. Populations of Lipochaeta
venosa occur at six sites; Isodendrion hosakae occurs on two of
these and at one additional site. One of the populations of L.
venosa, with numbers estimated at over 100 plants, was discovered
on Hawaiian Home Lands in June 1993 (Jon Giffin, Division of
Forestry and Wildlife, personal communication 1993). The
remaining populations all occur on the Parker Ranch. Population
size for the Parker Ranch populations, based on a 1982 survey and
subsequent observations, are estimated at only a few dozen I.
hosakae and over 3,000 remaining L. venosa plants (Cuddihy ~
1983; C. Corn, Division of Forestry and Wildlife, pers. comm.
1992).
The native vegetation of most of this area was long ago converted
to pasture. The steep slopes of the Parker Ranch cinder cones are
interpreted as refuges that have allowed these and other native
plants to escape from domestic and feral herbivores. The
population on Hawaiian Home Lands occurs on a gentle slope,
although it faces similar threats. In addition to habitat
destruction and browsing by domestic cattle and feral animals,
threats to these species include fire, cinder mining and
competition from introduced species. The six cinder cones on the
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