Achyranthes splendens atollensis (H.St.John) Govaerts (1994:6)
Hawai`i chaff-flower
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Synonym/s: Achyranthes atollensis H.St.John in Pacific Sci. 33: 334 (1979 publ. 1980)
Conservation Status
Missing (Wood et al., 2019; NatureServe, 2026) or Extinct (WCMC, 1992:215; Wagner et al., 1999a:15; Bruegmann & Caraway, 2003; Baillie & Butcher, 2012:88; Albani Rocchetti et al., 2022; POWO, 2024; Christenhusz & Govaerts, 2025)
Last record: 1964 (Bruegmann & Caraway, 2003; Wood et al., 2019; Christenhusz & Govaerts, 20245); 1970's (NatureServe, 2026)
IUCN RedList status: Extinct
This species has been identified as one of the 50 best candidates for de-extinction, ranking 14/50 (Albani Rocchetti et al., 2022).
Distribution & Habitat
Hawaiian Islands (Kure Atoll, Midway Atoll, Pearl and Hermes Atoll, and Laysan), USA
Biology & Ecology
Hypodigm
Media
References
Original scientific description:
St. John, H. (1980 "1979"). Monograph of the Hawaiian species of Achyranthes (Amaranthaceae). Hawaiian plant studies 56. Pacific Sci. 33: 333-350.
Other references:
Albani Rocchetti, Giulia, Carta, Angelino, Mondoni, Andrea, Godefroid, Sandrine, Davis, Charles C., Caneva, Giulia, Albrecht, Matthew A., Alvarado, Karla, Bijmoer, Roxali, Borosova, Renata, Bräuchler, Christian, Breman, Elinor, Briggs, Marie, Buord, Stephane, Cave, Lynette H., Da Silva, Nílber Gonçalves, Davey, Alexandra H., Davies, Rachael M., Dickie, John B., Fabillo, Melodina, Fleischmann, Andreas, Franks, Andrew, Hall, Geoffrey, Kantvilas, Gintaras, Klak, Cornelia, Liu, Udayangani, Medina, Leopoldo, Reinhammar, Lars Gunnar, Sebola, Ramagwai J., Schönberger, Ines, Sweeney, Patrick, Voglmayr, Hermann, White, Adam, Wieringa, Jan J., Zippel, Elke Zippel and Abeli, Thomas. (2022). Selecting the best candidates for resurrecting extinct-in-the-wild plants from herbaria. Nature Plants 8: 1385-1393. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-022-01296-7 [Supplementary Tables S1-S6]
Baillie, Jonathan E. M. and Butcher, Ellen R. (2012). Priceless or Worthless? The world’s most threatened species. London, UK: Zoological Society of London.
Borsch, Thomas, Flores Olvera, Hilda, Di Vincenzo, Vanessa, Ortuño Limarino, Teresa, Wondafrash, Melaku, Demissew, Sebsebe and Müller, Kai. (2026). A nearly complete genus-level phylogeny of the Amaranthaceae s.str. and a new tribal classification. Willdenowia 56: 3-38. https://doi.org/10.3372/wi.56.01
Bruegmann, M.M. & Caraway, V. 2003. Achyranthes atollensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2003: e.T44074A10847953. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2003.RLTS.T44074A10847953.en. Downloaded on 16 November 2016.
Christenhusz, Maarten J. M. and Govaerts, Rafaël. (2023). Uitgestorven. Op plantenjacht rond de wereld: 1-511. Sterck & De Vreese.
Christenhusz, Maarten J. M. and Govaerts, Rafaël. (2025). Plant extinction in the Anthropocene. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 207(3): 183-196. https://doi.org/10.1093/botlinnean/boae045 [Appendix S1]
Govaerts, R. (1995). World Checklist of Seed Plants 1(1, 2): 1-483, 529. MIM, Deurne.
Humphreys, Aelys M., Govaerts, Rafaël, Ficinski, Sarah Z., Lughadha, Eimear Nic and Vorontsova, Maria S. (2019). Global dataset shows geography and life form predict modern plant extinction and rediscovery. Nature Ecology & Evolution 3: 1043-1047. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-019-0906-2 [Supplementary Dataset 1]
Kartesz, J. T. (1994). A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
NatureServe. (2026). Achyranthes atollensis: Hawai`i Chaff-flower. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer [web application]. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available at: https://explorer.natureserve.org/ [Accessed on 20 August 2026]
POWO. (2018). Plants of the World online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. http://e-monocot.org/.
POWO. (2024). Plants of the World Online (online resource). Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, United Kingdom. Available at: https://powo.science.kew.org/ [Accessed 24 August 2024]
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (2003). Rare plant database. Unpublished.
Wagner, Warren L., Bruegmann, Marie M., Herbst, Derral M. and Lau, Joel Q. C. (1999a). Hawaiian Vascular Plants at Risk: 1999. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 60: 1-58.
Wagner, W.L., D.R. Herbst, and S.H. Sohmer. (1990). Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Univ. Hawaii Press and Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1853 pp.
Wagner, Warren L., Herbst, D. R. and Sohmer, S. H. (1999b). Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai'i, rev. ed., 1: 1-988. Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum Special Publication 91. University of Hawai'i Press, Bishop Museum Press.
Wagner, Warren L., Khan, Nancy R., Lorence, David H., Flynn, Timothy W. and Wood, Kenneth R. (2026). Checklist of native and naturalized Hawaiian vascular plants. Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 123: i-xii + 1-96, 3 tables. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.32124043
Walter, Kerry S. and Gillett, Harriet J. (eds.). (1998). 1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants. Compiled by the World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Gland, Switzerland & Cambridge, UK: IUCN – The World Conservation Union. lxiv + 862 pp.
WCMC (World Conservation Monitoring Centre). (1992). Global Biodiversity: Status of the Earth's living resources. London: Chapman & Hall. xx + 594 pp.
Wood, Kenneth R., Oppenheimer, Hank and Keir, Matthew. (2019). A checklist of endemic Hawaiian vascular plant taxa that are considered possibly extinct in the wild. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Technical Report #314.