Flora of St.Helena

The Saint Helena olive (Nesiota elliptica) is an extinct species of flowering plant. It is the only member of the genus Nesiota. It was endemic to the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. Despite its name, it is unrelated to the true olive (Olea europaea), but is instead a member of the family Rhamnaceae, the family which contains buckthorns and jujube. The last remaining tree in the wild died in 1994, and the last remaining individual in cultivation died in December 2003, despite conservation efforts. It is thus a prime example of recent plant extinction. The Saint Helena

Commidendrum is a genus of trees and shrubs in the family Asteraceae endemic to the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. The vernacular name is gumwood or scrubwood. Species †Commidendrum burchellii (Hook.f.) Benth. & Hook.f. ex Hemsl. Commidendrum robustum (Roxb.) DC. (Saint Helena gumwood) Commidendrum rotundifolium (Roxb.) DC. (bastard gumwood) Commidendrum rugosum (Aiton) DC. (scrubwood) Commidendrum spurium (G. Forst.) DC. (false gumwood)

Dicksonia arborescens, the Saint Helena tree fern, is a characteristic plant of the "tree fern thicket" vegetation of the highest parts of the central ridge of the island of Saint Helena. It is the type species of the genus Dicksonia. It is important as a major component of a vegetation type that is one of the last remnants of the native vegetation. Many of the other endemic plants of this vegetation germinate as seedlings on the trunks of the tree fern, which thus acts as a nursery for the native flora. The genus Dicksonia contains several species widely dispersed around the world.

Wahlenbergia roxburghii, the Roxburgh bellflower or dwarf cabbage tree, is an extinct member of a group of four species of Wahlenbergia once known from the island of Saint Helena, in the South Atlantic Ocean. It was last seen by naturalist John Charles Melliss in 1872. William Roxburgh recorded it in the thick forests on the south face of Diana's Peak. De Candolle notes it in dense woods around Diana's Peak and Halley's Mount. Burchell notes it 'On Sandy Bay ridge near Taylor's. Flowering: probably August to March. It was exceedingly rare in Meliss's time, it is not in his book as he had not

Petrobium is a genus in the family Asteraceae. The only known species is Petrobium arboreum, called Saint Helena whitewood. It is found in the tree-fern thicket at the top of the central ridge of island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. The plants are either female or hermaphrodite, i.e. the species is gynodioecious.

Pelargonium cotyledonis (local name old father live forever) is an endemic species of plant on the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a white flowered, deciduous succulent plant, and is considered endangered.

Carex dianae (common name, Diana's Peak Grass) is a tussock-forming species of perennial sedge in the family Cyperaceae. It is native to St Helena.

Wahlenbergia linifolia, the large bellflower, is a species of plant in the family Campanulaceae. It is endemic to Saint Helena. Its natural habitat is rocky areas. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Pladaroxylon is a genus of trees in the tribe Senecioneae within the family Asteraceae. The only known species is Pladaroxylon leucadendron, native to the island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic. Commonly known as the he cabbage-tree.

Melanodendron is a genus of trees in the family Asteraceae, with only one species, Melanodendron integrifolium (black cabbage tree), native to the island of Saint Helena (South Atlantic Ocean). It is related to the Saint Helenan gumwoods (Commidendrum spp.) and is the most common of the remaining cabbage tree species of Saint Helena, although it is considered endangered due to the restricted population size.

Lachanodes is a genus of plants in the groundsel tribe of the sunflower family. The plants are native to certain islands in the South Atlantic (Saint Helena, Ascension, Tristan da Cunha). Species Lachanodes arborea (Roxb.) B.Nord. Lachanodes cuneifolia DC. Lachanodes leucadendron DC. Lachanodes pladaroxylon Endl. Lachanodes prenanthiflora Burch. ex DC.

Euphorbia heleniana or French grass or Saint Helena spurge is a herbaceous plant, a member of the Euphorbiaceae family.

Bulbostylis neglecta, neglected tuft sedge locally, is an endemic member of the Cyperaceae of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic. Bulbostylis neglecta was first collected by William John Burchell in 1806, although the specimen was not described as a new species until 1884. Since then, it had not been recorded again and was presumed extinct until, in May, 2008, during a botanical survey of St Helena, a small population of the sedge was rediscovered by botanists Philip Lambdon and Andrew Darlow of the European Union's South Atlantic Invasive Species Project and by local naturalist Pat Joshua.

Wahlenbergia angustifolia, also called small bellflower, is a species of plant in the family Campanulaceae. It is endemic to Saint Helena. Its natural habitat is rocky areas. It is endangered because of habitat loss.

Plantago robusta, commonly known as the St Helena plantain, is a flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae. It is endemic to St. Helena. It is classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Phylica polifolia, also called rosemary or Saint Helena rosemary, is a species of plant in the family Rhamnaceae. It is endemic to Saint Helena. Its natural habitats are rocky areas and rocky shores.

Lachanodes arborea, the she cabbage tree, is a small tree in the family Asteraceae. It is an endemic of the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is now extinct in the wild.

Heliotropium pannifolium, the Saint Helena heliotrope, is now extinct but was formerly a hairy-leaved small shrub. It grew to a height of up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in). It was only seen once, by the explorer W. Burchell in Broad Gut, Saint Helena (c. 1808) and has never been seen again. Human impact on the island of Saint Helena was severe and the Saint Helena heliotrope is one of several extinct plants from that island.

Frankenia portulacifolia, also called Saint Helena tea or tea plant, is a species of salt-tolerant plant in the Frankeniaceae family. It is endemic to the islands of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. Its natural habitats are inhospitable, dry and rocky areas and rocky shores, often on weathered volcanic ash. As its total population has been estimated at only around 3,500 individuals, it is currently classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN.

Commidendrum spurium, the false gumwood, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is found only in Saint Helena. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, rocky areas, and rocky shores. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Commidendrum rotundifolium, the bastard gumwood, is a species of tree endemic to the island of Saint Helena. It was thought to be extinct, but one last tree was discovered in Horse Pasture in 1982. This tree, long believed to be the last, was destroyed in 1986 by a gale. However seedlings were grown from this tree before it perished. The last of these to survive in cultivation was damaged by gales in 2008 and the survival of the species was in doubt. In December 2009, Lourens Malan, a horticulturist working for the island's conservation department under the Critical Species Recovery Project,

Commidendrum robustum, the Saint Helena gumwood, is a species of tree endemic to the island of Saint Helena in the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. Though it is now comparatively rare, it was once one of the most abundant trees of mid-elevations of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. A small tree reaching a maximum of 8 metres (26 ft) in height, it was cut extensively for fuel in the early years of settlement of the island by the English East India Company. It is one of several species in the endemic genus Commidendrum. Commidendrum robustum is

Nesohedyotis is a genus of flowering plants endemic to the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. It in the family Rubiaceae (the family that includes coffee). It is a monotypic genus containing the single species Nesohedyotis arborea (Roxb.) Bremek., which grows on the central ridge of the island. It is known commonly as the St. Helena dogwood. The vernacular name recalls the similarity between its inflorescences and those of Cornus species, the dogwoods of Europe and North America. Although it is one of the commoner endemic species on Saint Helena its small population size and

Dryopteris cognata, the large kidney fern, is a herbaceous plant, a member of the Dryopteridaceae family.

Commidendrum rugosum, known as scrubwood, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae.

Acalypha rubrinervis (string tree or stringwood) is an extinct plant in the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae), from the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. It was called string tree on account of the thin pendulous inflorescences which resembled red strings. Disturbance following human settlement on the island destroyed its habitat, and it was last seen in the 19th century. It is thus one of a number of island plants to have been driven to extinction by human activity (see List of extinct plants). The genus to which it belongs, Acalypha, is a large one and includes island endemics

Kewa acida, commonly called the Salad Plant, is one of the eight species currently recognized in the genus Kewa, the sole genus in the family Kewaceae. It is a bushy grey-leaved annual or short-lived perennial plant, with white flowers, endemic to St Helena. It is regarded as Critically Endangered. The succulent leaves are high in Vitamin C and were used by sailors in the past as a scurvy preventative.

Elaphoglossum nervosum, the veined tongue-fern, is a herbaceous plant, a member of the Dryopteridaceae family.

Elaphoglossum dimorphum, the toothed tongue-fern, is a herbaceous plant, a member of the Dryopteridaceae family.

Bulbostylis lichtensteiniana is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family, Cyperaceae, that is endemic to Saint Helena. Unlike other species native to Saint Helena, such as Bulbostylis neglecta, Bulbostylis lichtensteiniana does not show obvious signs of decline due to the spread of invasive plants. However, the lack of decline is partially attributed to Bulbostylis lichtensteiniana being the only endemic plant to have expanded into new anthropogenic habitats.