A realigned taxonomy for the Schiedea kauaiensis – S. perlmanii species pair (Caryophyllaceae) based on recent collections and new analyses that require nomenclatural changes for both species
The Kaua‘i species Schiedea kauaiensis H. St. John was previously characterized by a geographical range including a number of Napali Coast valleys and the Limahuli, Wainiha, and Manoa valleys in the northern part of the island whereas the closely related S. perlmanii W. L. Wagner & Weller occurs in the Anahola area and on Ha‘upu on the windward (eastern) side of Kaua‘i. The primary characteristic distinguishing them is a subshrub habit for S. kauaiensis vs a vining habit in S. perlmanii. In several localities from northern Kaua‘i including Limahuli, Wainiha, and Manoa valleys, populations were known only from herbarium specimens but were included within S. kauaiensis in part because these localities were closest to the Napali Coast valleys, which encompasses the remainder of the range of the species. Recent field work resulting in discovery of new populations and cultivation of plants from Limahuli and Manoa has shown that plants from these three northern localities do not represent S. kauaiensis but rather fit with S. perlmanii. Two of the collections from this northern area are the types of S. wichmanii H. St. John and S. kauaiensis. Since these names were published earlier, we must adopt here the earliest name, S. kauaiensis, for the plants formerly known as S. perlmanii leaving the species from the Napali Coast valleys without a name and described here as a new species, S. napaliensis W. L. Wagner & Weller.
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