''Capparis sandwichiana'' is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the

Capparaceae The Capparaceae (or Capparidaceae), commonly known as the caper family, are a family of plants in the order Brassicales. As currently circumscribed, the family contains 15 genera and about 430 species. The largest genera are ''Capparis'' (about 1 ...

family

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

to the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to nort ...

. Common names include ''maiapilo'', ''pua pilo'', and Hawaiian caper. ''C. sandwichiana'' can be found on the main islands,

Midway Atoll Midway Atoll (colloquialism, colloquial: Midway Islands; ; ) is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the United States and is an Insular area#Unorganized unincorporated territories, unorganized and unincorpo ...

, the

Pearl and Hermes Atoll The Pearl and Hermes Atoll (), also known as Pearl and Hermes Reef, is part of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, a group of small islands and atolls that form the farthest northwest portion of the Hawaiian island chain. The atoll consists o ...

, and

Laysan Laysan (; ) is one of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, located northwest of Honolulu. It has one land mass of , about in size. It is an atoll of sorts, although the land completely surrounds Laysan Lake, some above sea level, that has a sa ...

. It inhabits coastal low shrublands and rocky shores at elevations from sea level to . ''Maiapilo'' is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN and is threatened by grazing, competition with invasive species, and

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

References

External links

* * * * sandwichiana Endemic flora of Hawaii Plants described in 1824 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle {{Brassicales-stub