Scaevola
Encyclopedia
Scaevola is a genus
of flowering plant
s in the Goodenia
family
, Goodeniaceae
. It consists of more than 130 tropical species, with the center of diversity being Australia
and Polynesia
, including Hawaii
.
Common names for Scaevola species include scaevolas, fan-flowers, half-flowers, and naupaka, the plant's Hawaiian
name. The flower
s are shaped as if they have been cut in half. Consequently, the generic name means "left-handed
" in Latin
. Many legend
s have been told to explain the formation of the naupaka's unique half flowers. In one version a woman tears the flower in half after a quarrel with her lover. The Gods, angered, turn all naupaka flowers into half flowers and the two lovers remained separated while the man is destined to search in vain for another whole flower.
Scaevola is the only Goodeniaceae
genus that is widespread outside of Australia
. In at least six separate dispersals, about 40 species have spread throughout the Pacific Basin, with a few reaching the tropical coasts of the Atlantic
and Indian Ocean
s.
The Hawaiian Islands
are home to ten Scaevola species, nine of which are endemic. Eight of the indigenous
species are the result of a single colonization event. Scaevola glabra
and Scaevola taccada
arrived separately to produce a total of three colonizations of Hawaii by Scaevola. Some of the endemic species are of hybrid origin.
Beach Naupaka (Scaevola taccada
synonym S. sericea) occurs throughout the Pacific
and Indian Ocean
s and is considered an invasive species
in Florida, USA, and in some islands of the Caribbean
including the Cayman Islands
and the Bahamas
. Beachberry or Inkberry (Scaevola plumieri) is widespread along the Atlantic coast of the tropical Americas and Africa
; however, it is becoming rarer in areas where S. taccada is displacing native coastal plants.
Most Australian Scaevola have dry fruit
s and sprawling, herbaceous
to shrub
by habits. By contrast, nearly all species outside Australia have shrub habits with fleshy fruit making dispersal by frugivore
s easy.
The plant pathogenic sac fungus Mycosphaerella scaevolae was discovered on a Scaevola fan-flower.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s in the Goodenia
Goodenia
Goodenia is a genus consisting of 179 species of flowering plants. The name was published in 1793 by James Edward Smith in honour of the Bishop of Carlisle Samuel Goodenough.Goodenough was also a botanist and member of the Linnean Society....
family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
, Goodeniaceae
Goodeniaceae
Goodeniaceae are a family of flowering plants in the order Asterales. It contains about 404 species in twelve genera. The family is distributed mostly in Australia, except for the genus Scaevola, which is pantropical...
. It consists of more than 130 tropical species, with the center of diversity being Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and Polynesia
Polynesia
Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...
, including Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
.
Common names for Scaevola species include scaevolas, fan-flowers, half-flowers, and naupaka, the plant's Hawaiian
Hawaiian language
The Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the state of Hawaii...
name. The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are shaped as if they have been cut in half. Consequently, the generic name means "left-handed
Left-handed
Left-handedness is the preference for the left hand over the right for everyday activities such as writing. In ancient times it was seen as a sign of the devil, and was abhorred in many cultures...
" in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
. Many legend
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
s have been told to explain the formation of the naupaka's unique half flowers. In one version a woman tears the flower in half after a quarrel with her lover. The Gods, angered, turn all naupaka flowers into half flowers and the two lovers remained separated while the man is destined to search in vain for another whole flower.
Scaevola is the only Goodeniaceae
Goodeniaceae
Goodeniaceae are a family of flowering plants in the order Asterales. It contains about 404 species in twelve genera. The family is distributed mostly in Australia, except for the genus Scaevola, which is pantropical...
genus that is widespread outside of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. In at least six separate dispersals, about 40 species have spread throughout the Pacific Basin, with a few reaching the tropical coasts of the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
and Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
s.
The Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
are home to ten Scaevola species, nine of which are endemic. Eight of the indigenous
Indigenous (ecology)
In biogeography, a species is defined as native to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention. Every natural organism has its own natural range of distribution in which it is regarded as native...
species are the result of a single colonization event. Scaevola glabra
Scaevola glabra
Scaevola glabra is a shrub in the family Goodeniaceae. The flowers are yellow.The plant is endemic to Hawaii, and naturally found on Oahu and Kaua'i....
and Scaevola taccada
Scaevola taccada
Scaevola taccada, also known as Beach Cabbage, Sea Lettuce, Beach Naupaka, Naupaka kahakai , Merambong and Ngahu is a flowering plant in the family Goodeniaceae found in open coastal locations of the tropical areas of the Indo-Pacific...
arrived separately to produce a total of three colonizations of Hawaii by Scaevola. Some of the endemic species are of hybrid origin.
Beach Naupaka (Scaevola taccada
Scaevola taccada
Scaevola taccada, also known as Beach Cabbage, Sea Lettuce, Beach Naupaka, Naupaka kahakai , Merambong and Ngahu is a flowering plant in the family Goodeniaceae found in open coastal locations of the tropical areas of the Indo-Pacific...
synonym S. sericea) occurs throughout the Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
and Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
s and is considered an invasive species
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
in Florida, USA, and in some islands of the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
including the Cayman Islands
Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands is a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union located in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, located south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica...
and the Bahamas
The Bahamas
The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...
. Beachberry or Inkberry (Scaevola plumieri) is widespread along the Atlantic coast of the tropical Americas and Africa
Tropical Africa
Although tropical Africa is most familiar in the West as depicted by its rain forests, this region of Africa is far more diverse. While the tropics are thought of as regions with warm to hot moist climates caused by latitude and the tropical rain belt, the geology of areas, particularly mountain...
; however, it is becoming rarer in areas where S. taccada is displacing native coastal plants.
Most Australian Scaevola have dry fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
s and sprawling, herbaceous
Herbaceous plant
A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...
to shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
by habits. By contrast, nearly all species outside Australia have shrub habits with fleshy fruit making dispersal by frugivore
Frugivore
A frugivore is a fruit eater. It can be any type of herbivore or omnivore where fruit is a preferred food type. Because approximately 20% of all mammalian herbivores also eat fruit, frugivory is considered to be common among mammals. Since frugivores eat a lot of fruit they are highly dependent...
s easy.
The plant pathogenic sac fungus Mycosphaerella scaevolae was discovered on a Scaevola fan-flower.
Selected species
- Scaevola aemulaScaevola aemulaScaevola aemula is a small shrub in the family Goodeniaceae, native to southern Australia. It grows to 50 cm in height and produces white or blue flowers in spikes up to 24 cm long from August to March in its native range...
R.Br. – Fairy Fan-flower or Common Fan-flower (Southern AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
) - Scaevola albidaScaevola albidaKnown by the common name of White Fan-flower, Scaevola albida is a prostrate shrub native to Southern Australia. Unlike most other species of Scaevola which grow into a bush, Scaevola albida is a ground cover, forming a mat on the ground around 30-40 centimetres across. Its leaves are bright green,...
R.Br. – White Fan-flower (Southern AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
) - Scaevola amblyanthera F.Muell.
- Scaevola brookeana F.Muell.
- Scaevola chamissoniana Gaudich. Naupaka kuahiwi (HawaiiHawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
) - Scaevola chaniiScaevola chaniiScaevola chanii is a species of plant in the Goodeniaceae family. It is endemic to Malaysia.-Source:* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. . . Downloaded on 23 August 2007....
K.M.Wong (Malaysia) - Scaevola collaris F.Muell.
- Scaevola coriaceaScaevola coriaceaScaevola coriacea, the Dwarf Naupaka, is a species of flowering plant in the Goodenia family, Goodeniaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii.-Description:...
Nutt.Thomas NuttallThomas Nuttall was an English botanist and zoologist, who lived and worked in America from 1808 until 1841....
– Dwarf Naupaka (Hawaii) - Scaevola crassifoliaScaevola crassifoliaScaevola crassifolia is a shrub in the family Goodeniaceae, native to Western Australia and South Australia. Common names include Cushion Fanflower, Thick-leaved Fanflower and Thick-leaved Scaevola...
Labill. – Thick-leaved Fan-flower (Australia) - Scaevola enantophylla F.Muell.
- Scaevola floribundaScaevola floribundaScaevola floribunda is a species of plant in the Goodeniaceae family. It is endemic to Fiji.-References:* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. . Downloaded on 23 August 2007....
A.GrayAsa Gray-References:*Asa Gray. Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928–1936.*Asa Gray. Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed. 17 Vols. Gale Research, 1998.*Asa Gray. Plant Sciences. 4 vols. Macmillan Reference USA, 2001....
(FijiFijiFiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
) - Scaevola gaudichaudiana Cham. – Mountain Naupaka, Naupaka kuahiwi (OahuOahuOahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
and KauaiKauaiKauai or Kauai, known as Tauai in the ancient Kaua'i dialect, is geologically the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle",...
in Hawaii) - Scaevola gaudichaudii Hook. & Arn. – Ridgetop Naupaka (HawaiiHawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
) - Scaevola gracilis
- Scaevola hookeriScaevola hookeriScaevola hookeri is a prostrate perennial herb in the family Goodeniaceae. It is native to eastern Australia. Leaves are 6 to 50 mm long and 2 to 15 mm wide. Flowers are white or blue with a yellowish throat and appear between December and March in the species native range. The species was first...
(de Vriese) F.Muell. ex Hook.f. – Creeping Fan-flower or Alpine Fan-flower - Scaevola kilaueae O.Deg. – Huahekili uka (island of HawaiiHawaii (island)The Island of Hawaii, also called the Big Island or Hawaii Island , is a volcanic island in the North Pacific Ocean...
) - Scaevola muluensisScaevola muluensisScaevola muluensis is a species of plant in the Goodeniaceae family. It is endemic to Malaysia.-Source:* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. . Downloaded on 23 August 2007....
K.M.Wong (Malaysia) - Scaevola macrophylla
- Scaevola oldfieldii F.Muell.
- Scaevola oxyclona F.Muell.
- Scaevola parvifolia F.Muell. ex Benth.George BenthamGeorge Bentham CMG FRS was an English botanist, characterized by Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century".- Formative years :...
- Scaevola phlebopetala F.Muell.
- Scaevola plumieri (L.) Vahl – Beachberry, Waxy Bush, "inkberry" (Pantropical)
- Scaevola porocarya F.Muell.
- Scaevola procera Hillebr.William HillebrandWilliam Hillebrand was a German physician. He traveled the world, including over 20 years in the Hawaiian islands. In 1850, Hillebrand lived at what is now Foster Botanical Garden in Honolulu. He also became known as a botanist.-Life and career:...
– Forest Naupaka, Naupaka kuahiwi (MolokaiMolokaiMolokai or Molokai is an island in the Hawaiian archipelago. It is 38 by 10 miles in size with a land area of , making it the fifth largest of the main Hawaiian Islands and the 27th largest island in the United States. It lies east of Oahu across the 25-mile wide Kaiwi Channel and north of...
and Kauai in Hawaii) - Scaevola ramosissimaScaevola ramosissimaScaevola ramosissima known as the is a small shrub or climber in the family Goodeniaceae, native to south eastern Australia. The habitat is often near the sea, on poor sandy soils frequented by fire...
(Sm.James Edward SmithSir James Edward Smith was an English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society.Smith was born in Norwich in 1759, the son of a wealthy wool merchant. He displayed a precocious interest in the natural world...
) K.Krause - Scaevola socotraensisScaevola socotraensisScaevola socotraensis is a species of plant in the Goodeniaceae family. It is endemic to Yemen. Its natural habitat is rocky areas. It is threatened by habitat loss.-Source:* Miller, A. 2004. . Downloaded on 23 August 2007....
H.St.John (YemenYemenThe Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
) - Scaevola taccadaScaevola taccadaScaevola taccada, also known as Beach Cabbage, Sea Lettuce, Beach Naupaka, Naupaka kahakai , Merambong and Ngahu is a flowering plant in the family Goodeniaceae found in open coastal locations of the tropical areas of the Indo-Pacific...
(Gaertn.) Roxb. – Beach Naupaka, Naupaka kahakai (Hawaiian); ngahu (TonganTongan languageTongan is an Austronesian language spoken in Tonga. It has around 200,000 speakers and is a national language of Tonga. It is a VSO language.-Related languages:...
) (Pantropical) - Scaevola verticillataScaevola verticillataScaevola verticillata is a species of plant in the Goodeniaceae family. It is endemic to Malaysia.-Source:* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. . Downloaded on 23 August 2007....
Leenh. (Malaysia)
External links
- Hawaiian Native Plant Propagation Database
- "Beach Naupaka: Opera by the Sea" Article by Shannon Wianecki in Maui No Ka 'Oi MagazineMaui No Ka 'Oi MagazineMaui Nō Ka Oi Magazine is a bi-monthly regional magazine published by the Haynes Publishing Group in Wailuku, Hawaii.The phrase Maui nō ka ʻoi means "Maui is unparallel" in the Hawaiian language. Maui Nō Ka Oi Magazine features stories relating to the culture, art, dining, environmental issues,...
, Vol.15 No. 5 July 2011.