Hawaii fern thought to be extinct found again

A fern species that was believed to be extinct was found on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, The Associated Press reported Thursday.

A group from the Hawaii Plant Extinction Prevention Program (HPEPP) found the fern species in May. 

The native pendant kihi fern, also known as Adenophorus periens, only grows on the trunks of trees and was believed to be extinct after other known specimens have died in the wild, according to the Hawaii Tribune-Herald.

Adenophorus periens was found dead on Big Island in 2015, which led to it being listed critically endangered and possibly extinct, the Hawaiian newspaper reported. 

Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Rare Plant Program botanist Matt Kier told the Tribune that the discovery could lead to the reintroduction of the plant on Big Island. 

“The thing about rare plants is that there’s not enough of them,” Kier said. “So, we’ll try to mass-produce them and hopefully reintroduce them into the wild, which means we may bring them back to the Big Island.”

Kier also said that five of the fern were discovered in three different locations. 

There were 1,280 known specimens of plants in the state of Hawaii in 1994, but in 2012 the number decreased to 31 on the island of Kauai and less than 10 on the main island, the Tribune noted.