Scaevola

For the Roman name, see Mucius Scaevola. For the fossil gastropod genus, see Scaevola (mollusc). For the 1958 US nuclear test, see Operation Hardtack.

Scaevola
Scaevola chamissoniana
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae (unranked): Angiosperms (unranked): Eudicots (unranked): Asterids Order: Asterales Family: Goodeniaceae Genus: Scaevola L.
Species
About 130, see List of Scaevola species

Scaevola is a plant genus in the family Goodeniaceae. It contains approximately 130 species, commonly called scaevolas, fan-flowers, half-flowers, or (after these plants' Hawaiian name) naupaka. Their scientific name is Latin for "left-handed" and like some of the common names refers to the peculiar flower shape which looks as if it has been horizontally cut in half.

Scaevolas are the only Goodeniaceae genus that is widespread outside of Australia. In at least six separate dispersals, about 40 species have spread throughout the Pacific Basin, with a few reaching the tropical coasts of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Beach Naupaka (S. taccada) occurs throughout the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and Beachberry (S. plumieri) is widespread in the tropical Americas and Africa.

Most Australian scaevolas have dry fruits and sprawling, herbaceous to shrubby habits. By contrast, nearly all species outside Australia have fleshy fruits (making for easy dispersal by frugivores) and are often tall shrubs or trees.

The plant pathogenic sac fungus Mycosphaerella scaevolae was discovered on a fan-flower.

Selected species

Scaevola coriacea (Dwarf Naupaka) at Liliʻuokalani Botanical Garden, Honolulu

Flowers of Scaevola taccada (Beach Naupaka)

Scaevola plumieri with ripe and unripe drupes at Honeymoon Island State Park, Dunedin, Florida

• Scaevola aemula R.Br. – Fairy Fan-flower or Common Fan-flower (Southern Australia)
• Scaevola amblyanthera F.Muell.
• Scaevola brookeana F.Muell.
• Scaevola chamissoniana Gaudich. Naupaka kuahiwi (Hawaiʻi)
• Scaevola chanii K.M.Wong (Malaysia)
• Scaevola collaris F.Muell.
• Scaevola coriacea Nutt. – Dwarf Naupaka (Hawaiʻi)
• Scaevola crassifolia Labill. – Thick-leaved Fan-flower (Australia)
• Scaevola enantophylla F.Muell.
• Scaevola floribunda A.Gray (Fiji)
• Scaevola gaudichaudiana Cham. – Mountain Naupaka, Naupaka kuahiwi (Oʻahu and Kauaʻi in Hawaiʻi)^[1]
• Scaevola gaudichaudii Hook. & Arn. – Ridgetop Naupaka (Hawaiʻi)
• Scaevola kilaueae O.Deg. – Huahekili uka (island of Hawaiʻi)
• Scaevola muluensis K.M.Wong (Malaysia)
• Scaevola macrophylla
• Scaevola oldfieldii F.Muell.
• Scaevola oxyclona F.Muell.
• Scaevola parvifolia F.Muell. ex Benth.
• Scaevola phlebopetala F.Muell.
• Scaevola plumieri (L.) Vahl – Beachberry, Waxy Bush, "inkberry" (Pantropical)
• Scaevola porocarya F.Muell.
• Scaevola procera Hillebr. Forest Naupaka, Naupaka kuahiwi (Molokaʻi and Kauaʻi in Hawaiʻi)
• Scaevola ramosissima
• Scaevola socotraensis H.St.John (Yemen)
• Scaevola taccada (Gaertn.) Roxb. – Beach Naupaka, Naupaka kahakai (Hawaiian); ngahu (Tongan) (Pantropical)
• Scaevola verticillata Leenh. (Malaysia)

References

• Howarth, Dianella G.; Gustafsson, Mats H.G.; Baum, David A. & Motley, Timothy J. (2003): Phylogenetics of the genus Scaevola (Goodeniaceae): implication for dispersal patterns across the Pacific Basin and colonization of the Hawaiian Islands. Am. J. Bot. 90(6): 915-213. PDF fulltext Supplemental data

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Scaevola

• Hawaiian Native Plant Propagation Database