Notes on Hawaiian species of Scaevola (Goodeniaceae) 
Hawaiian Plant Studies 19^ 
Harold St. John^ 
GOODENIACEAE 
Scaevola kauaiensis 
(Degener) St. John, comb. nov. 
Camphusia glabra (Hooker & Arnott) De 
Vriese, var. kauaiensis Degener, EL Hawai- 
iensis, fam. 340: text and fig. of flower and 
fruit on left of plate, Oct. 14, 1938, not S. 
Gaudichaudiana Cham. f. kauaiensis Skotts- 
berg, Bernice P. Bishop Mus., Bui. 43: 
27, 1927. 
The genus Scaevola is well known in the 
Pacific, having littoral species widespread in 
the tropics, and more than 80 species in 
tropical Asia and the Pacific, but most of 
them in Australia and Oceania. The numerous 
species include various habit forms and a 
considerable range of morphological struc- 
ture, but the genus has long been considered 
a clearly delimited and natural one. To be 
sure, the shrubs may be erect or scandent, the 
leaves alternate or opposite and glabrous or 
pubescent, the flowers solitary or in cymes, 
white striped, blue, purple, or yellow, and the 
1 This is the nineteenth of a series of papers de- 
signed to present descriptions, revisions, and records 
of Hawaiian plants. The preceding papers have been 
published in Bernice P. Bishop Mus., Occas. Papers 
10(4), 1933; 10(12), 1934; 11(14), 1935; 12(8), 1936; 
14(8), 1938; 15(1), 1939; 15(2), 1939; 15(22), 1940; 
15(28), 1940; 17(12), 1943; Calif. Acad. Sci., Proc. IV, 
25(16), 1946; Torrey Bot. Club, Bui. 72: 22-30, 1945; 
Lloydia 7: 265-274, 1944; Pacific Sci. 1(1): 5-20, 1947; 
Brittonia 6(4): 431-449, 1949; Gray Herb., Contrib. 
165: 39-42, 1947; Pacific Sci. 3(4): 296-301, 1949; 
Pacific Sci. 4(4): 339-345, 1950; and Bernice P. 
Bishop Mus., Occas. Papers 20(6): 77-88, 1950. 
2 Chairman, Department of Botany, University of 
Hawaii. Manuscript received March 15, 1951. 
drupes white or black, but these are properly 
considered specific differences and the genus 
is a natural, easily recognized one because of 
its tubular corolla with a split down its proxi- 
mal side. Erom this large assemblage of 
species, various segregate genera have been 
proposed. Among these is Camphusia of De 
Vriese (1850), ^ based on the single Hawaiian 
species, Scaevola glabra Hooker & Arnott. 
This species is very distinct from all the other 
Hawaiian ones. In his subsequent monograph 
in 1854, De Vriese retained Camphusia^ de- 
scribing it in detail and giving as the key 
character the fact that its flowers were solitary. 
This character is of little value, as there are 
other dissimilar species which have solitary 
flowers: S. Menziesiana Chamisso, S. coriacea 
Nuttall, S. Skottsbergii St. John, etc. Degener 
(1938) revives the genus Camphusia and de- 
scribes a new C. glabra var. kauaiensis with 
the sole character mentioned in the diagnosis 
being flowers twinned ('Tlores gemini”), a 
character completely at variance with the key 
character chosen by De Vriese, "Elores soli- 
tarii.” Degener in his English description 
mentions several other characters, such as 
length of peduncle, corolla, etc., but these are 
of varietal or specific significance only. Of 
course it is perfectly proper for a later author 
to redefine a genus and emphasize other 
characters as diagnostic. Degener does this 
for Camphusia De Vriese, separating it in his 
key as follows: 
' 'Corolla tube strongly curved and on 
upper side not split to base; filaments 
2 In Nederl. Kruidk. Arch. 2: 148, 1850. 
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