Schiedea sarmentosa is a rare species of flowering plant in the pink family

Caryophyllaceae

The Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Caryophyllales in the APG III system, alongside 33 other families, including Amaranthaceae, Cactaceae and Polygonaceae...

 known by the common name cliff schiedea. 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 island of Molokai

Molokai

Molokai or Molokai is an island in the Hawaiian archipelago. It is 38 by 10 miles in size with a land area of , making it the fifth largest of the main Hawaiian Islands and the 27th largest island in the United States. It lies east of Oahu across the 25-mile wide Kaiwi Channel and north of...

. It is threatened by the degradation and destruction of its habitat. 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...

 of the United States.

This plant is a subshrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

 with many branches reaching 30 to 45 centimeters tall. It has very narrow, threadlike leaves up to 4.5 centimeters long oppositely arranged on the branches. The plant produces many inflorescence

Inflorescence

An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...

s of flowers with green sepal

Sepal

A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...

s and no petals. It grows in dry and moist forest habitat, sometimes on cliff faces. Other plants in the habitat include Schiedea lydgatei

Schiedea lydgatei

Schiedea lydgatei is a rare species of flowering plant in the pink family known by the common name Kamalo Gulch schiedea and Pacific schiedea. It is endemic to Hawaii, where it is known only from the island of Molokai. It is threatened by the degradation and destruction of its habitat...

(Lydgate's schiedea), Styphelia tameiameiae

Styphelia tameiameiae

Styphelia tameiameiae, known as Pūkiawe in the Hawaiian language, is a species of flowering plant in the heather family, Ericaceae, that is native to the Hawaiian and Marquesas Islands. The specific epithet honors King Kamehameha I, who formed the Kingdom of Hawaii. It grows as a tree up to tall...

(pukiawe), Chenopodium oahuensis (’aheahea), Alyxia oliviformis (maile), Pleomele

Pleomele

Pleomele may refer to:* Pleomele , a plant genus in the Ruscaceae family* Dracaena reflexa , also in the Ruscaceae family...

sp. (hala pepe), and Chamaesyce sp. (’akoko).

There are two populations of this plant for a total of not more than 1000 individuals.