Many meters above the sea, on a rock of the island of Kauai in Hawaii, a strange and very unique plant is developing. Its gray trunk is thick at the base to store water, and at the top, a rosette of shiny green leaves grows. "It looks like cabbage on a bowling ball," says Steve Perlman, the botanist who has repeatedly risked his life to save this plant from extinction.
The plant is called Brighamia insignis and is a species with many problems. It is not found anywhere else in the world and like hundreds of other species, it is threatened with extinction. Perlman decided not to allow its eradication as happened with over 100 other plants of Hawaii.
Hawaii is a special place. For millions of years, its species evolved in isolation, far from the distorting influence of humans. Everything changed about 1500 years ago, when the first settlers arrived.
These authentic Hawaiians found a small pharmacy in Brighamia...
They ate the leaves raw to treat tuberculosis or mixed crushed leaves with salt to heal infected cuts. They may have even cultivated this plant for its medicinal properties as they did with the related species Brighamia rockii on the island of Molokai.
But this human arrival caused problems for the plant.
They ate the leaves raw to treat tuberculosis or mixed crushed leaves with salt to heal infected cuts. They may have even cultivated this plant for its medicinal properties as they did with the related species Brighamia rockii on the island of Molokai.
But this human arrival caused problems for the plant.
Both the first settlers and even more so the Europeans who arrived in 1700 disrupted the local ecology by introducing new species that competed with the existing ones. Wild goats, rats, and aggressive weeds; all played their part. Many species suffered from this aggression, but Brighamia lost a very important friend: the insect it relied on to pollinate its fragrant flowers.
Each flower consists of five petals arranged in such a way that they form a long trumpet that opens to create a five-pointed star. The nectar of the flower is so far from the opening that only the long proboscis of a specific butterfly could reach it.
Perlman believes that this natural pollinator is a moth called 'Tinostoma smaragditis' (fabulous green sphinx of Kauai). This species is so rare that until 1998 it was thought to be extinct, as no one had seen it for decades. Without the pollination of the plant by this insect, seeds cannot be produced, so new generations of plants that would replenish those that die each year cannot be created. 'That's when I started to do the pollination,' Perlman will say.
In the 1970s, he began his efforts to save this species. However, the rarity of the plant required extreme measures. To find the Brighamia insignis, Perlman first had to reach there by sea, battling wild waves and with only a red canoe, he managed to reach the most inaccessible parts of the rugged coastline. And it was just the beginning.
He had to climb the huge and steep rocks without even being able to use a rope. Videos from this climb take your breath away, as large pieces of rock fell while he tried to support himself on them. 'It was dangerous and thrilling,' he will say, 'but that’s where the plants were.'
Only when he reached the top of the rock, about 900 meters high, was he able to tie himself with a rope. Now his scientific endeavor could begin. Perlman started to descend the rock, bouncing with his body, searching for Brighamia plants. With patience, he hand-pollinated from plant to plant to ensure that these plants would produce seeds. He would return months later to collect these seeds so they could be grown under controlled conditions.
Back in the 1970s, when Perlman started with Brighamia, there were a few hundred such plants on the island of Kauai. However, two hurricanes that struck the island wiped out these plants. 'As far as we know, only one plant remains on Kauai,' says Perlman. The species no longer exists on the island of Ni’ihau where it once thrived.
But thanks to the bravery and dedication of Perlman, there are now hundreds of Brighamia plants in cultivation, particularly in Europe, where they are now popular houseplants. Perlman and his colleagues at 'Hawaii’s Plant Extinction Prevention Program' have also planted hundreds of plants back into the wild.
'We will not lose these species,' says Perlman. In the rescue of Brighamia insignis, he greatly improved his climbing skills, which helped him in the rescue of other plants threatened with extinction. But of all the plants he has worked with in his 44 years as a botanist, Brighamia insignis and its related species Brighamia rockii are his favorites.
‘I love working with them on the rocks they grow on,’ she says. ‘I like their shape, their thick, swollen base, and the large fragrant flowers. They thrive in incredible places in Hawaii and it’s exciting for me that I helped in their rescue from extinction.’
For Perlman, it is a personal matter. He has experienced the extinction of 20 species, something he has described as the loss of a family member. The main reason for his effort to save Brighamia is simply that it exists and deserves to continue existing.
This strange plant, therefore, may have lost its natural pollinator, but at least it found a new good friend.