''Dubautia kalalauensis'' is a rare species of flowering plant in the family

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

where it is known only from the island of Kauai. There is only a single known population composed of 26 plants.''Dubautia kalalauensis''.
The Nature Conservancy. It was federally listed as an endangered species of the United States in 2010.USFWS
Determination of endangered status for 48 species on Kauai and designation of critical habitat; Final rule.
''Federal Register'' April 13, 2010. pg 18965. Like other ''Dubautia'' this plant is known as ''na`ena`e''.USFWS
Species Reports: Listed Plants.
/ref> This member of the

silversword alliance The silversword alliance, also known as the tarweeds, refers to an adaptive radiation of around 30 species in the composite or sunflower family, Asteraceae. The group is endemic to Hawaii, and is derived from a single immigrant to the islands. F ...

was part of '' Dubautia laxa'' until 2005, when it was separated and described as a new species.Baldwin, B. G. and G. D. Carr. (2005)
''Dubautia kalalauensis'', a new species of the Hawaiian Silversword Alliance (Compositae, Madiinae) from northwestern Kaua'i, U.S.A.
''Novon'' 15:2 259-63. The population grows in wet mountain forest habitat in the

understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but abo ...

of ʻōhiʻa lehua (''Metrosideros polymorpha'') trees in

Kalalau Valley The Kalalau Valley is located on the northwest side of the island of Kauai in the state of Hawaii. The valley is located in the Nā Pali Coast State Park and houses the Kalalau Beach. The Nā Pali Coast is rugged and is inaccessible to aut ...

on Kauai. This plant is a shrub or

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

with oppositely arranged leaves and flower heads which contain green-tinged cream-colored flowers.

References

kalala Endemic flora of Hawaii Biota of Kauai Plants described in 2005 {{Madieae-stub