General Information

Habitat Requirements

The species occurs in wet to mesic forests of Metrosideros polymorpha (ohia)-Acacia koa (koa) in the Keauhou-Kilauea area. The elevation range for this species is 1,570 to 1,720 meters (5,150 to 5,640 feet). Native plant species associated with Vicia menziesii include Metrosideros polymorpha, Acacia koa, and species of fern such as Diplazium sp. (pohole), Cibotium sp. (hapuu), and Pseudophegopteris keraudreniana (waimakanui)

Movement / Home Range

Historically, Vicia menziesii occurred on both Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa at about 7,000 to 8,000 feet altitude on the island of Hawaii. Currently, it occurs on the island of Hawaii in the Keauhou-Kilauea area.

Reproductive Strategy

This species has been observed to sprawl over ferns and flowered from April to August. Mature pods have formed by July and may last into October or beyond. The species can flower prolifically but does not flower until 2 or 3 years old. The large flowers are reddish, which turn rose-purple on maturation, are atypical for the genus, and its seed size is the largest in the genus. The honeycreepers iiwi (Vestiaria coccinea) and amakihi (Loxops virens) have been observed feeding at Vicia menziesii, and given their downcurved bills, may pollinate the species.

Other

This Hawaii endemic was first described by Smith as V. grandiflora (Wagner et al. 1999). However, that name had been used previously, so it was described with its current name by Sprengel in 1826 (Warshauer and Jacobi 1982). The first specimen was collected in 1794 during an ascent of Mauna Loa by Archibald Menzies, the surgeon and botanist on Captain George Vancouver’s ship. The species has been collected on Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea volcanoes, but during the past 150 years it had been known only from the northeastern slope of Mauna Kea (Warshauer and Jacobi 1982). Until its rediscovery in 1974, the species had been considered extinct, having not been seen since 1915 (Lassetter and Gunn 1979; Warshauer and Jacobi 1982). To determine whether Vicia menziesii was self-compatible, Dave Hopper (University of Hawaii at Manoa, pers. comm., 2001) hand pollinated a total of 10 flowers across 3 different individuals. Hopper reported that most (approximately 60 percent) papilionaceous legumes that were studied are self-compatible to some degree. Therefore, given the low number of individuals and populations, Hopper (pers. comm., 2001) concluded that production of seed was unlikely in the absence of hand pollination.