Hawai'i tropical high shrublands
RESOLVE 639
The Hawaiʻi tropical high shrublands occupy the upper slopes of four great volcanoes in the US state of Hawaii: Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, and Hualālai on Hawaiʻi Island, and Haleakalā on Maui. Above the forest line, alpine deserts and grasslands give way downslope to subalpine shrublands, where hardy, cold- and drought-adapted plants dominate, including ʻāheahea (Chenopodium oahuense), ʻōhelo ʻai (Vaccinium reticulatum), naʻenaʻe and related Dubautia shrubs, and ʻiliahi sandalwood (Santalum haleakalae), alongside tussock grasses such as Deschampsia nubigena. This is a high-elevation subtropical highland climate marked by dry, cold conditions on the exposed summits. Its signature plant is the Hawaiian silversword, ʻāhinahina (Argyroxiphium sandwicense), part of an endemic alliance descended from a North American tarweed, while the nēnē goose and ʻuaʻu (Hawaiian petrel) are among its native fauna. The ecoregion is considered vulnerable, pressured by grazing and trampling from feral livestock and by invasive species. For mountain or rock gardeners, the native ʻōhelo (Vaccinium reticulatum), a low cranberry relative, is a notable cold-hardy ornamental from this flora.
About the tropical & subtropical grasslands, savannas & shrublands biome
Warm grasslands and savannas where grasses dominate and trees are scattered, maintained by seasonal rainfall, grazing, and fire. They support large herbivore communities and respond sharply to wet–dry cycles.
Collections for this ecoregion
No curated collection's plants all fit this ecoregion's zone range. We surface a collection only when every member would grow here — partial fits get filtered out rather than mislead. As the catalog and the curated set both grow, this section will fill in.