User:Viriditas/Amaranthus brownii/Notes

Tasks

• Update description:
  • C&C: --
  • USFWS: -- Appears to be taken from Wagner et al. 1990
  • Beecham: "...leafy upright or ascending stems that are 1-3 ft (0.3-0.9 m) long. The alternate leaves, 1.6-2.8 in (4-7 cm) long and 0.06-0.16 in (0.1-0.14 cm) wide, are long, narrow, slightly hairy, and more or less folded in half lengthwise. Flowers are either male or female, and flowers of both sexes are found on the same plant. The green flowers are subtended by two oval, bristle-tipped bracts about 0.04 in (1 mm) long and 0.03 in (0.7 mm) wide. Each flower has three bristle-tipped sepals. These are lance-shaped and 0.05 in (1 mm) long by 0.03 in (0.7 mm) wide in male flowers. Female flowers have spatula-shaped sepals that are about 0.03 in (0.7 mm) long by 0.01 in (0.2 mm) wide. Male flowers have three stamens; female flowers have two stigmas. The flattened oval fruit, approximately 0.03 in (0.7 mm) long and 0.02 in (0.5 mm) wide..."

• • Wagner: "Plants monoecious; stems erect or ascending, densely leafy, 3-10 dm long, conspicuously striate. Leaves linear, somewhat conduplicate, 4-7 cm long, 1.5-4 mm wide, most of the surface sparsely puberulent, usually more densely so toward base, the hairs multicellular, gradually tapering to a petiole, 5-13 mm long. Flowers green, bracts ovate, ca. 1 mm long, 0.7 mm wide, apex aristate; sepals 3, dimorphic, those of the staminate flowers lanceolate, 1.3 mm long, 0.8 mm wide, apex aristate, those of the pistillate flowers spatulate, 0.8-1 mm long, 0.2-0.5 mm wide, apex aristate; stamens 3; stigmas 2. Fruit ovoid, compressed, 0.8-1 mm long, 0.6-0.8 mm wide, indehiscent, the surface rugose, the apex with a short ring surrounding the stigmas. Seeds reddish black, shiny, lenticular. [2n = 34*.] Rare on Nihoa, 120-215m..."
    • Compare with C&C
• Merge Final Recovery Plan[1]
  • Describe coastal community (coastal dry shrubland)
• Merge Beecham and Christophersen from further reading into body (In progress)
• Merge Manual of the flowering plants of Hawai'i into body with reference and content update
  • Upload b&w drawing? Likely copyrighted. Can't read botanical illustration initials: YWR? (p.73) Would be interesting if it turns out to be the original line drawing from 1923 Tanager Exp., as that might be clear for free use, however, line drawing does not appear in C&C 1931.
    • Appears in USFWS but sourced to Wagner et al.1990 (MoFPoH)
      • Could upload as non-free fair use. Convert to PNG.
        • Done, but no hurry to upload. Might post request at WP:MCQ first, and/or complete non-free use media rationale.
          • Currently reviewing archival discussions in project space for insight.
            • Need to check The Manual one last time for any information on the botanical illustrator (YWR?) and date. Since it is also published in the USFWS report, it should be ok to use as nfu.
  • W. Gagné was the last person to survey the species, counting less than a dozen plants in 1983.
    • Hmmm, it looks like S. Conant did this work? Does Gagné get the credit because she was an associate?
      • Gagné was the entomologist and Conant Research Associate in Zoology (G&C July 1983)

• Listed as a "wild plant food" in UH Botany presentation, (Pakai) used for its leaves; [2]
  • Seems to correlate with archaeological research by Emory (1928) who estimated that 7.7 percent of the island was used for terraced dry-land crop production (12 out of 156 acres) and could have supported 100 people. Emory identified 66 archaeological sites, but to date 86 sites have been found. (Rauzon 2001:12)
• Track down Herbst 1977; May not be important
• List of plants on Nihoa article from (C&C 1931) could be linked here. Done. New article created.
• Check description from Federal Register pubs. Expand?
• Add overall picture/context of isolated ecosystem (In progress)
  • Plants of Nihoa Island could be expanded. Merge current footnote into body and expand
  • Expand habitat
  • 3 endangered plants, 72 insects, 2 endangered land birds. Only remaining example of a Hawaiian coastal scrub community left on the planet. 200 Nihoa Millerbirds, 1000 Nihoa Finches, and Nihoa fan palm protected by NWR. (Flint & Brainard 17 in J Maragos and D Gulko (eds). 2002. Coral Reef Ecosystems of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands)[3]
  • Merge Latchininsky grasshopper study
• Add Kay 1995:381 (added to further reading)
  • Merge into research history:
    • C. Christensen visited Nihoa in 1980 to evaluate endemic species last observed on the 1923 Tanager Expedition.
    • S. Conant and W. C. Gagne visited in 1983.
• "Eight of the nine species of Amaranthus recorded in Hawaii" needs to be compared to other sources
  • In progress
  • Discrepancy in multiple sources seems to be attributed to unknowns and guesswork
  • Found one missing: Achyranthes aspera var. aspera, Prickly achyranthes
  • Why isn't Chenopodium oahuense (ʻĀheahea) mentioned, but A. viridis is, and why do they share the same Hawaiian name?
• Discuss chromosome evolution?
• (C&C 1931:4) thank a Mr. F. J. Rae for helping compare A. brownii with "certain material" at the National Herbarium of Victoria
  • Determine if this specimen was stored at the Bernice P. Bishop Museum herbarium.
    • Nihoa: fl, fr, June 17 1923, E. L. Caum No. 73. Type, B. P. Biship Mus.; fl, fr, June 20, 1923, C. S. Judd No. 2
  • Similar to Amaranthus lineatus? (Australian amaranth) but different leaves...
  • Only 3 segments of the female perianth?
• Add endangered species candidacy history from [4]
• At least one known sample in database of Hawaiian plant specimens at the U.S. National Herbarium collected by Herbst, D.R.; Takeuchi, W. No. 6545; Collection Date: 27 Jul 1980; Hawaiian Islands, Nihoa, Middle Valley. Alt. 91 m.; Barcode: 00453038 USNM No.: 02921853[5]
  • Note, this database entry seems to contradict the USFWS, who claims that it does not exist.
    • Perhaps they mean, a living specimen

Peer review

Amaranthus brownii

Kingdon's Comments:

• The article looks good. The one thing I'd expand on a bit is more of a description of the plant: how does it differ from other Amaranthus species? Probably a bit of "like other Amaranths, it blah blah blah" too. Does it reproduce vegetatively or by seed (if known)? If there's anything else such as medicinal uses or ornamental uses or anything, they'd go here too (although I suppose that's unlikely for a plant with such a small range). Kingdon (talk) 05:16, 19 August 2008 (UTC)

• In progress... Viriditas (talk) 10:32, 24 August 2008 (UTC)
  • This information is in (C&C 1931:27). Formatting... Viriditas (talk) 14:02, 4 October 2008 (UTC)

Ruhrfisch comments: Very briefly, here are some suggestions for improvement. If you want more comments, please ask here.

• The lead should be expanded per WP:LEAD to at least two paragraphs. My rule of thumb is to include every header in the lead in some way.
  • Saving this for after the expansion, in other words, for last. Viriditas (talk) 14:02, 4 October 2008 (UTC)
• I owuld try to be more specific (use a date) than "more recently" in More recently, the invasive Schistocerca nitens, a nonnative grasshopper, has presented an even larger threat to A. brownii. In five years it will not be as recent.
  • Done, but the prose is too choppy. I will attempt to iron it out in the coming days. Viriditas (talk) 14:04, 3 September 2008 (UTC)
• This needs a ref: The plant is sometimes referred to as Brown's Amaranth, Brown's Pigweed, or Browns Amaranth, although it is unclear which, if any, common name is in use. Also the whole Nomenclature section is only two sentences - could it be combined with another section? "Nomenclature and morphology" perhaps?
  • Partly done. USDA and UH botany dept. cited. I've deleted the latter part. I'll see what I can do about expanding or merging the section. Viriditas (talk) 05:15, 4 September 2008 (UTC)
• Any chance of adding a map so the location of the island is clearer?
  • Two maps added; one of the NWHI showing Nihoa in the southeast, and a map of Nihoa showing the two areas where the plant colonies are found. Viriditas (talk) 14:31, 3 October 2008 (UTC)

Hope this helps. If my comments are useful, please consider peer reviewing an article, especially one at Wikipedia:Peer review/backlog (which is how I found this article). Yours, Ruhrfisch _><>°^° 01:59, 24 August 2008 (UTC)

• In progress... Viriditas (talk) 10:32, 24 August 2008 (UTC)
• I've added refs for the common names. --MPerel 17:12, 24 August 2008 (UTC)

Maps and images

See also: Project Mapmaking Wiki Standards

• Conant 1985:143
• CCMA Maps
  • Map of plant colonies could be useful. See Figure 3. Two major plant populations: Miller's Ridge (500') and around the west ridge of Middle Valley (300')

• 
• 
• 
  Cliffs of Tanager Peak, looking east from Miller Peak. Nioha has an area of 0.65 square kilometers (0.25 square miles). In 1983, Amaranthus brownii was found on ridges in shallow soil on rocky, exposed outcrops at elevations between 30 to 242 meters (100 to 800) feet.

Tables

Amaranthus

Three missing entries

• A. graecizans;
• A. retroflexus
• Unknown species (either extinct or reclassified)

Flowering Plants of Hawaii - Amaranthus

Genus	Species	Common name	Status	Range
Amaranthus	A. brownii	Brown's amaranth	Critically Endangered	Nihoa (end)
	A. dubius	Spleen amaranth	n/a	Kauai, Oahu, Lanai, Hawaii
	A. hybridus	Green amaranth	n/a	Oahu, Maui
	A. lividus	Purple amaranth	n/a	Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Hawaii
	A. spinosus	Spiny amaranth (pakai kuku)	n/a	Kure Atoll, Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Hawaii
	A. viridis	Slender amaranth (pakai, ʻaheahea, pakaikai, pakapakai)	n/a	Kure Atoll, Kaʻula, Kauai, Oahu, Lanai, Maui, Kahoolawe, Hawaii

Note: Before 1871, Amaranthus cruentus and Amaranthus tricolor were cultivated, but did not become naturalized. (Why not?) and Source: Wagner & Herbst 1999

Amaranthaceae

• See also:Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Plants#Conservation_status_update

Endemic Flowering Plants of Hawaii - Amaranthaceae

Genus	Species	Status	Range
Achyranthes	A. atollensis	Extinct	Kure Atoll, Midway Atoll, Pearl and Hermes Atoll, Laysan (ex.)
	A. mutica	Critically Endangered	Kauai (ex), Hawaii (island)
	A. splendens	Vulnerable	Oahu, Molokai (ex.), Lanai, Maui
Amaranthus	A. brownii	Critically Endangered	Nihoa
Charpentiera	C. densiflora	Critically Endangered	Kauai
	C. elliptica		Kauai
	C. obovata		Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Maui, Hawaii (island)
	C. ovata		Oahu, Molokai, Maui, Hawaii (island)
	C. tomentosa		Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Maui, Hawaii (island)
Nototrichium	N. divaricatum		Kauai
	N. humile	Endangered	Oahu, East Maui
	N. sandwicense		All eight southeastern Hawaiian Islands

Source: Lilleeng-Rosenberger 2005

Assessment

Good Article Checklist for Amaranthus brownii

Assess	Criteria
	1. well written
	(a) clear prose, correct spelling and grammar
	(b) complies with Manual of Style:
	lead
x	layout
x	jargon
x	words to avoid
n/a	fiction
x	list incorporation
	2. factually accurate and verifiable
x	(a) references for all sources; dedicated attribution section according to guideline
x	(b) in-line citations from reliable sources for direct quotes, statistics, public opinion, challengeable statements
x	(c) no original research
	3. broad in coverage
x	(a) addresses main aspects of topic
x	(b) stays focused without unnecessary detail
	4. neutral
	5. stable (no edit wars)
	6. images
x	(a) tagged with copyright status, valid fair use rationale for non-free content
x	(b) relevant to topic with suitable captions

Sources

• Christophersen, E. 1931. Vascular plants of the Leeward Islands, Hawaii. Bernice P. Bishop Museum Bulletin; No. 81; Tanager Expedition publication; No. 7. Honolulu, Hawaii: Bishop Museum Press.
• Conant, Sheila. 1985. Recent observations on the plants of Nihoa Island, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Pacific Science 39: 135-149.
• Evenhuis, Neal L. (ed.). 2004. Natural History of Nihoa and Necker Islands. Bishop Museum Bulletin in Cultural and Environmental Studies; No. 1. Honolulu, Hawaii: Bishop Museum Press.
• Service, United States Fish and Wildlife. 1996a. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Determination of Endangered Status for Three Plants from the Island of Nihoa, Hawaii. Federal Register 61, no. 163: 43178-43184.
  • ---. 1996b. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Determination of Endangered Status for Three Plants from the Island of Nihoa, Hawaii. Federal Register 61, no. 163: 43178-43184.
  • ---. 2003a. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for Five Plant Species From the Northwestern Hawawiian Islands, Hawai. Federal Register 68, no. 99 (May 22): 28054-28075.
• Wagner, W.L. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawai'i. Revised. Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press.