Biological Sciences: Destiny Brokaw

PhD student Destiny Brokaw (advised by Professor Eric Roalson) had her paper “Resurrection of Cyrtandra kipahuluensis published about a mislabeled specimen from the Smithsonian that led to an investigation where a team she was part of discovered a species in need of resurrection. Previously, this species was recognized by botanist, Harold St. John, but was thought to be a hybrid based on the lack of evidence. Now, after finding several stable populations with consistent morphological features (with the addition to preliminary genetic work), we are recognizing Cyrtandra kipahuluensis as its own species.