(AP) — A fern species that was believed to be extinct when the last known specimen died on Hawaiʻi’s Big Island has been found on the island of Kauaʻi. The native pendant kihi fern grows on the trunks of trees. Hawaiʻi Tribune-Herald reports that the fern was believed to be extinct for several years until a team from the Hawaiʻi Plant Extinction Prevention Program found another specimen on Kauaʻi earlier this year. The last known Big Island specimen of the fern was found dead in 2015. State officials will try mass producing the newly found Kauai specimens. They hope to reintroduce them into the wild.
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