Gouania meyenii is a rare species of flowering plant known by the common name smoothfruit chewstick. 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 Oahu

Oahu

Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...

 and 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",...

. It is estimated that there are between 38 and 63 individuals of this species remaining in the wild. 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 is a shrub

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 stems growing erect or spreading and growing one half to over two meters in length. The leaves have oval blades up to 7.5 centimeters long by 4.5 wide borne on short petioles

Petiole (botany)

In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...

. The 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...

 is a cyme of several flowers with tiny white petals and slightly larger white 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 no more than 3 millimeters long. The small winged fruit contains shiny brown seeds.

This shrub grows in dry or moist forest and shrubland habitat in the Waianae Mountains of Oahu

Oahu

Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...

 and Nā Pali Coast State Park

Na Pali Coast State Park

Nā Pali Coast State Park encompasses of land and is located in the center of the rugged along the northwest side of Kauai, the oldest inhabited Hawaiian island. The Nā Pali coast itself extends southwest starting at Kee Beach extending all the way to Polihale State Park. The pali rise as high as...

 on Kauai. It is associated with other plants such as koa (Acacia koa), maile

Alyxia stellata

Alyxia stellata is a plant in family Apocynaceae. Its white bark gives away a certain distinctive smell and bitter taste. This plant grows wild in the forests and in the fields of mountainous area...

 (Alyxia stellata), kookoolau

Bidens torta

Bidens torta, the corkscrew beggartick, is a plant species.Okanin, a chalcone, can be found in Bidens pilosa . Methylated okanin derivatives can be isolated from Bidens torta. Those include okanin 3,4,3′,4′-tetramethyl ether, okanin 3,4,3′-trimethyl ether 4′-glucoside, okanin 4-methyl ether...

 (Bidens torta), lama

Diospyros sandwicensis

Diospyros sandwicensis is a species of flowering tree in the ebony family, Ebenaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. Its common name, Lama, also means enlightenment in Hawaiian. Lama is a small to medium-sized tree, with a height of and a trunk diameter of . It can be found in dry, coastal mesic,...

 (Diospyros sandwicensis), aalii

Dodonaea viscosa

Dodonaea viscosa is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry family, Sapindaceae, that has a cosmopolitan distribution in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate regions of Africa, the Americas, southern Asia and Australasia.-Description:...

 (Dodonaea viscosa), and naenae

Dubautia plantaginea

Dubautia plantaginea is a rare species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name plantainleaf dubautia. It is endemic to Hawaii where it is the only member of the silversword alliance that is found on all six of the largest islands . Two of the three subspecies are rare and...

 (Dubautia plantaginea).

Threats to this rare species and its habitat include introduced plant species

Introduced species

An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...

, such as mistflower (Ageratina riparia), silk oak

Grevillea robusta

Grevillea robusta, commonly known as the southern silky oak or Silky-oak, or Australian Silver-oak, is the largest species in the genus Grevillea. It is a native of eastern coastal Australia, in riverine, subtropical and dry rainforest environments receiving more than 1,000 mm per year of...

 (Grevillea robusta), airplant

Kalanchoe pinnata

Kalanchoe pinnata is a succulent plant native to Madagascar...

 (Kalanchoe pinnata), lantana

Lantana camara

Lantana camara, also known as Spanish Flag or West Indian Lantana, is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family, Verbenaceae, that is native to the American tropics. It has been introduced into other parts of the world as an ornamental plant and is considered an invasive species in many...

 (Lantana camara), haole koa (Leucaena leucocephala). Feral pigs and feral goat

Feral goat

The feral goat is the domestic goat when it has become established in the wild. Feral goats occur in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Great Britain, Hawaii, the Galapagos and in many other parts of the world...

s degrade the habitat. Fire, rockslides, and landslides can also damage populations.