Dubautia latifolia is a rare species of flowering plant in the aster family

Asteraceae

The Asteraceae or Compositae , is an exceedingly large and widespread family of vascular plants. The group has more than 22,750 currently accepted species, spread across 1620 genera and 12 subfamilies...

 known by the common name koholapehu. It is endemic to Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

 where it is known only from the west side of the island of Kauai

Kauai

Kauai or Kauai, known as Tauai in the ancient Kaua'i dialect, is geologically the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle",...

. There are no more than 200 individuals remaining. There are about 18 occurrences, but most of these are made up of only one or two plants. It was federally listed as an endangered species

Endangered species

An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...

 of the United States in 1992. Like other Dubautia this plant is called na`ena`e.

This member of the silversword alliance

Silversword alliance

Silversword alliance refers to an adaptive radiation of over 50 species in the composite or sunflower family, Asteraceae. The group is endemic to Hawaii, and is derived from a single immigrant to the islands...

 grows in scattered locations in the moist and wet forests near Waimea Canyon

Waimea Canyon State Park

Waimea Canyon, also known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, is a large canyon, approximately ten miles long and up to 3,000 feet deep, located on the western side of Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands. Waimea is Hawaiian for "reddish water," a reference to the erosion of the canyon's red soil...

 on Kauai. The habitat receives up to 190 centimeters of precipitation

Precipitation (meteorology)

In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...

 annually. The forest is dominated by koa (Acacia koa), ohia

Metrosideros polymorpha

The ōhia lehua is a species of flowering evergreen tree in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, that is endemic to the six largest islands of Hawaii. It is a highly variable tree, being tall in favorable situations, and much smaller when growing in boggy soils or on basalt...

 (Metrosideros polymorpha) and uluhe

Dicranopteris linearis

Dicranopteris linearis is a common species of fern known by many common names, including Old World forked fern and uluhe . It is one of the most widely distributed ferns of the wet Old World tropics and adjacent regions, including Polynesia and the Pacific...

 (Dicranopteris linearis). This plant is a liana

Liana

A liana is any of various long-stemmed, woody vines that are rooted in the soil at ground level and use trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the canopy to get access to well-lit areas of the forest. Lianas are especially characteristic of tropical moist deciduous...

 which can exceed 8 meters in length. It climbs trees, reaching several meters up into the canopy. Blooming occurs in September through November, when the plant produces panicle

Panicle

A panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers attached along the secondary branches; in other words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes....

s of yellow flowers.

Threats to this species and its habitat include feral pigs, feral goat

Feral goat

The feral goat is the domestic goat when it has become established in the wild. Feral goats occur in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Great Britain, Hawaii, the Galapagos and in many other parts of the world...

s, rat

Rat

Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...

s, and deer

Mule Deer

The mule deer is a deer indigenous to western North America. The Mule Deer gets its name from its large mule-like ears. There are believed to be several subspecies, including the black-tailed deer...

. Invasive plant species

Introduced species

An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...

 that threaten it include Santa Barbara daisy

Erigeron karvinskianus

Erigeron karvinskianus is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common name Latin American fleabane, though some know it as the Santa Barbara daisy....

 (Erigeron karvinskianus), kahili ginger

Hedychium

Hedychium is a genus of perennial plants native to tropical Asia and the Himalayas, commonly growing to between 120 and 180 cm tall. Common names include garland flower, ginger lily, and kahili ginger...

 (Hedychium spp.), lantana

Lantana camara

Lantana camara, also known as Spanish Flag or West Indian Lantana, is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family, Verbenaceae, that is native to the American tropics. It has been introduced into other parts of the world as an ornamental plant and is considered an invasive species in many...

 (Lantana camara), airplant

Kalanchoe pinnata

Kalanchoe pinnata is a succulent plant native to Madagascar...

 (Kalanchoe pinnata) and firetree

Myrica faya

Myrica faya is a species of Myrica, native to Macaronesia , and possibly also southern Portugal....

 (Myrica faya). Conservation

Conservation biology

Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...

efforts include the collection of seeds and the planting of young plants in appropriate habitat.