National Tropical Botanical Garden, 3530 Papalina Road, Kalaheo, Kaua ‘i, Hawai ‘i 96741, USA; email: kwood@ ntbg. org eleven possible new extinctions are reported for the Hawaiian flora, in addition to 5 island records, 3 range rediscoveries, 1 rediscovery, and 1 new naturalized record. the remarkable range rediscoveries of Ctenitis squamigera (Dryopteridaceae) and Lysimachia filifolia (Primulaceae) give hope toward their future conservation, as both are federally listed as endangered and were undocumented on Kaua ‘i for ca 100 years. Yet there is great concern over numerous possible plant extinctions in Hawai ‘i. two extinctions were recently reported from Kaua ‘i (ie, Dubautia kenwoodii and Cyanea kuhihewa)(Wood 2007), and an additional 11 are now reported to have no known living individuals in the wild. Species abundance will naturally fluctuate, yet for very rare taxa there is little room for decline. the ongoing decline of native pollinators (Kearns et al. 1998) and seed dispersers (Milberg & tyrberg 1993), in combination with other primary extrinsic factors such as invasive nonnative plants, predation by introduced vertebrates, loss and fragmentation of natural habitats, and devastation by severe storms, are leading to an increase in extinctions throughout the islands of oceania (Sakai et al. 2002; Wood 2007; Kingsford et al. 2009). the assertion of extinction is potentially fallible and can only be inferred from absence of sighting or collection records (Solow & Roberts 2003). Although extensive field surveys have failed to produce evidence that these possibly extinct taxa still occur in the wild, there is still suitable habitat and future field surveys are being planned and funded. Because of the enormity of Hawai ‘i’s conservation dilemma, it is urgent that we have the most current information possible (Wagner et al. 1999). this paper is a call for biologists and conservation agencies to make concerted efforts to familiarize, re-find, and attempt to acquire conservation collections of these elusive species, many of which are hard to recognize, especially when they are not in flower or fruit.