Astelia waialealae is a rare species of plant

Plant

Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...

 in the Asteliaceae

Asteliaceae

Asteliaceae is the botanical name of a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots.The family has only recently been recognized by taxonomists. The APG III system of 2009 does recognize this family...

 family that is endemic to 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",...

 of the state of Hawaii in United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It inhabits montane bogs within the vicinity of the Alakai Swamp on the island's central plateau. A. waialealae is threatened by habitat loss and habit disturbance by feral pigs; there are only about 26 plants remaining. It is a federally listed 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...

.

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