Dubautia kalalauensis

Dubautia kalalauensis
Conservation status

Critically Imperiled  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Dubautia
Species: D. kalalauensis
Binomial name
Dubautia kalalauensis
B.G.Baldwin & G.D.Carr

Dubautia kalalauensis is a rare species of flowering plant in the aster family. It is endemic to Hawaii where it is known only from the island of Kauai. There is only a single known population composed of 26 plants.[1] It was federally listed as an endangered species of the United States in 2010.[2] Like other Dubautia this plant is known as na`ena`e.[3]

This member of the silversword alliance was part of Dubautia laxa until 2005, when it was separated and described as a new species.[4] The population grows in wet mountain forest habitat in the understory of ʻōhiʻa lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha) trees in Kalalau Valley on Kauai.[2]

This plant is a shrub or tree with oppositely arranged leaves and flower heads which contain green-tinged cream-colored flowers.[1]

References