''Panicum niihauense'' is a rare species of

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns a ...

known by the common names ''lau 'ehu'' and Niihau panicgrass. 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 has been found on the islands of

Niihau Niihau ( Hawaiian: ), anglicized as Niihau ( ), is the westernmost main and seventh largest inhabited island in Hawaii. It is southwest of Kauaʻi across the Kaulakahi Channel. Its area is . Several intermittent playa lakes provide wetland ha ...

and Kauai. It has not been observed on Niihau since 1949, and there are fewer than 40 individuals remaining on Kauai, not counting a few individuals that have been deliberately planted in appropriate habitat.USFWS
''Panicum niihauense'' Five-year Review.
January 2008. The grass is a federally listed endangered species of the United States. The only naturally occurring specimens of the grass grow in

Polihale State Park Polihale State Park is a remote wild beach on the western side of the Hawaiian island of Kauai. It is the most western publicly accessible area in Hawaii, although the privately owned island of Niihau is further west. The park is miles away fro ...

. There they grow on sand dunes and they are threatened by the use of

off-road vehicle An off-road vehicle, sometimes referred to as an overland or adventure vehicle, is considered to be any type of vehicle which is capable of driving on and off paved or gravel surface. It is generally characterized by having large tires with de ...

s.''Panicum niihauense''.
The Nature Conservancy. The habitat is also impacted by the

invasion An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity aggressively enter territory (country subdivision), territory owned by another such entity, gen ...

of non-native plants such as '' Chloris barbata'' (swollen fingergrass), ''

Leucaena leucocephala ''Leucaena leucocephala'' is a small fast-growing mimosoid tree native to southern Mexico and northern Central America (Belize and Guatemala) and is now naturalized throughout the tropics including parts of Asia. Common names include jumbay, ...

'' (haole koa), ''

Prosopis pallida ''Prosopis pallida'' is a species of mesquite tree. It has the common names kiawe () (in Hawaii), huarango (in its native South America) and American carob, as well as "bayahonda" (a generic term for ''Prosopis''), "algarrobo pálido" (in some pa ...

'' (kiawe), ''

Atriplex semibaccata Atriplex semibaccata, commonly known as Australian saltbush, berry saltbush, or creeping saltbush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a perennial herb native to Western Australia, Sout ...

'' (Australian saltbush), and '' Verbesina encelioides'' (golden crown-beard).

References

External links

USDA Plants Profile
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7131135 niihauense Endemic flora of Hawaii Endemic flora of Nihoa Biota of Kauai Grasses of Oceania