Cabbage on a stick

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The perfect place to escape the last of the winter weather is the National Botanic Garden.  The building is filled with beautiful orchids and other tropical and desert plants.

They also have a nice display of endangered plants, so the endangered species of the week is (drumroll please.....)

Cabbage on a Stick! (Brighamia insignis)

This critically endangered plant is found on only one sea cliff on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.  Three factors threaten this species:

• overgrazing
• invasive plants that compete with the cabbage
• the loss of its primary pollinator, the sphingid moth

Because of the loss of its pollinator, conservationists actually hand pollinate these plants and use the seeds to grow more plants in botanic gardens or conserve the seeds in seed banks. 

This plant demonstrates the importance of your local efforts to plant pollinator gardens and remove invasives. You might not be able to protect the Cabbage on a Stick, but you can protect your local ecosystems!  Think globally, act locally!