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Hawaiian tropical low shrublands

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Hawaiian tropical low shrublands are a tropical savanna region in Hawaii. They cover about 1,500 square kilometers (580 square miles) in the leeward lowlands of the main islands and many smaller islands. The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are a separate ecoregion.

The area includes both grasslands and mixed shrublands. Common grass plants include Kāwelu (Eragrostis variabilis), mauʻu ʻakiʻaki (Fimbristylis cymosa), ʻakiʻaki (Sporobolus virginicus), and Lepturus repens. The shrublands are dominated by ʻilima (Sida fallax), ʻaʻaliʻi (Dodonaea viscosa), naupaka (Scaevola spp.), hinahina kū kahakai (Heliotropium anomalum var. argenteum), kīpūkai (Heliotropium curassavicum), maʻo (Gossypium tomentosum), ʻakoko (Euphorbia spp.), ʻāheahea (Chenopodium oahuense), naio (Myoporum sandwicense), kolokolo kahakai (Vitex rotundifolia), and pūkiawe (Styphelia tameiameiae).

More than 90% of the plant species here are endemic to Hawaii, including ʻōhai (Sesbania tomentosa), ʻāwiwi (Schenkia sebaeoides), and wahine noho kula (Isodendrion pyrifolium).

Protected areas that include parts of this ecoregion on Oahu include Koko Head District Park, Diamond Head, Mākua Keaʻau Forest Reserve, Kaʻena Point State Park, and Kuaokala Forest Reserve.


This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 14:09 (CET).