Polyscias lallanii is a tree that can reach heights up to 7 meters. It is characterized by its straight trunk, spreading branches, smooth, gray bark, and the presence of secretory canals throughout most of its parts. The leaves are compound and pinnate, with an alternate arrangement. Blades measure 15–30 cm in length, bearing ovate to elliptic leaflets that range from 8 to 17 cm in length and 4 to 10(–12) cm in width. The apex of the leaflets is broadly acute to obtuse or emarginate, with a cordate base (obliquely so on lateral leaflets) and entire margins. They are sessile or attached by a short petiolule up to 5 mm long. Stipules are absent, contributing to the plant’s distinct foliage appearance. It produces bisexual (perfect) and actinomorphic (radially symmetric) flowers. These are supported by pedicels that are alternate to sub-verticillate, measuring 4–6 mm in length. The calyx presents as a truncate rim, while the petals are pale yellowish, lanceolate, and 8–10 mm long. The upper surface of the petals is glabrous, with the lower surface being whitish stellate-furfuraceous. The stamens, numbering between 10 and 15 in a single whorl, have yellowish filaments and dark yellow anthers. The ovary, which is inferior and stellate-furfuraceous, is crowned by a flat-topped, glabrous, dark-red disk. The fruit are drupes, stellate-furfuraceous, and topped by a dark red disk. Each drupe houses a single seed containing a small embryo. It occupies mesic forests on Kaua‘i and is known to naturally occur in only three areas: Nounou Mountain, cliffs along the Nāpali Coast, and Hā‘upu Ridge near Nāwiliwili Bay between 120-400 meters.
Bean-shaped (Reniform): Resembling the shape of a kidney or bean.
Square or Oblong: Angular shape with all sides more or less equal or longer than wide.
Triangular: Three-sided shape, broadest below the middle.
Elliptic: Rounded at both ends. shaped like an ellipse or oval.
Ovate or Obovate: egg-shaped, broader at one end.
Linear: Extremely long and narrow, with sides usually parallel.
Round: Appears circular, with length and width roughly the same.
Cardioid (Heart-Shaped): One edge has a prominent double curve into two lobes.
Cylindrical: A cylinder with parallel sides and a circular cross-section.
Discoid: Resembling a disc or plate with two relatively flat surfaces.
Fusiform: Spindle-shaped, tapering at both ends.
Globose: Spherical.
Lenticular: Resembling a lens with two convex surfaces.
Ovoid: Egg-shaped.
Plano-convex: Having a flat ventral (planar) surface and a curved dorsal (convex) surface.
Polygonal: Having more than three flat faces meeting at angles.
Sectoroid: Resembling a segment of an orange with two relatively flat faces and one curved face.
Subglobose/ellipsoid: Inflated shape but less than spherical.
Trigonous: Having three faces that meet at a distinct angle; triangular in cross-section.
Endangered species (E) are species that are so rare they’re in danger of becoming extinct.
Threatened species (T) are species that are likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of their range.
Species of Concern (SOC) are species about which there are some concerns regarding status and threats, but insufficient information is available to list the species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Plant Extinction Prevention (PEP) is a state status for rare plants that focuses its efforts on species that have fewer than 50 remaining wild individuals.
Orthodox seeds (desiccation-tolerant): can be dried to an internal seed moisture of less than 12% water and stored at freezing temperatures.
Intermediate seeds (temperature-sensitive) tend to age faster than orthodox seeds and may have only a 5-year lifespan when stored at -20°C. They are recommended for storage at 5°C.
Recalcitrant seeds (desiccation-sensitive): cannot be stored in a conventional freezer as they cannot survive after drying and/or freezing at -20°C. They are recommended for cryopreservation storage.