The Hawaiian tropical high shrublands are a tropical savanna

Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands

Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands are a grassland terrestrial biome located in semi-arid to semi-humid climate regions of subtropical and tropical latitudes. Grasslands are dominated by grass and other herbaceous plants. Savannas are grasslands with scattered trees...

 ecoregion

Ecoregion

An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...

 in the Hawaiian Islands

Hawaiian Islands

The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...

. They cover an area of 1900 km² (733.6 sq mi) on the upper slopes of the volcano

Volcano

2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...

es Mauna Kea

Mauna Kea

Mauna Kea is a volcano on the island of Hawaii. Standing above sea level, its peak is the highest point in the state of Hawaii. However, much of the mountain is under water; when measured from its oceanic base, Mauna Kea is over tall—significantly taller than Mount Everest...

, Mauna Loa

Mauna Loa

Mauna Loa is one of five volcanoes that form the Island of Hawaii in the U.S. state of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean, and the largest on Earth in terms of volume and area covered. It is an active shield volcano, with a volume estimated at approximately , although its peak is about lower than that...

, Hualālai

Hualalai

Hualālai is a dormant shield volcano on the island of Hawaii in the Hawaiian Islands. It is the third-youngest and the third most active of the five volcanoes that form the island of Hawaii, following Kīlauea and the much larger Mauna Loa, and also the westernmost. Its peak is above sea...

, and Haleakalā

Haleakala

Haleakalā , or the East Maui Volcano, is a massive shield volcano that forms more than 75% of the Hawaiian Island of Maui. The western 25% of the island is formed by the West Maui Mountains.- History :...

. It includes open shrublands, grasslands

Montane grasslands and shrublands

Montane grasslands and shrublands is a biome defined by the World Wildlife Fund. The biome includes high altitude grasslands and shrublands around the world....

, and desert

Desert

A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...

s. Shrubland species include āheahea (Chenopodium

Chenopodium

Chenopodium is a genus of about 150 species of perennial or annual herbaceous flowering plants known as the goosefoots, which occur almost anywhere in the world. It is placed in the family Amaranthaceae in the APG II system; older classifications separate it and its relatives as Chenopodiaceae, but...

 oahuense), ōhelo ai (Vaccinium reticulatum

Vaccinium reticulatum

Vaccinium reticulatum, known as Ōhelo ai in Hawaiian, is a species of flowering plant in the heather family, Ericaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. It grows at altitudes of on lava flows and freshly disturbed volcanic ash on Maui and Hawaii, and less commonly on Kauai, Oahu, and Molokai...

), naenae (Dubautia

Dubautia

Dubautia is a genus of flowering plant in the sunflower family, Asteraceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. It contains more species than the other two genera in the silversword alliance, including cushion plants, shrubs, trees, and lianas.-Selected species:...

 menziesii), and iliahi (Santalum haleakalae

Santalum haleakalae

Santalum haleakalae, known as Iliahi in Hawaiian, is a species of flowering tree in the European mistletoe family, Santalaceae, that is endemic to the island of Maui in the Hawaiian Islands, part of the United States...

). Alpine grasslands are dominated by tussock grasses, such as Deschampsia

Deschampsia

Deschampsia is a genus of grasses in the family Poaceae, commonly known as hair grass or tussock grass. There are 30 to 40 species....

 nubigena, Eragrostis atropioides, Panicum

Panicum

Panicum is a large genus of about 450 species of grasses native throughout the tropical regions of the world, with a few species extending into the northern temperate zone...

 tenuifolium, and pili uka (Trisetum

Trisetum

Trisetum is a genus of grass in the Poaceae family.-Species:* There are about 75 species, listed in List of Trisetum species.-External links:*...

 glomeratum). Deserts occur on the coldest and driest peaks, where only extremely hardy plants such as āhinahina (Argyroxiphium sandwicense

Argyroxiphium sandwicense

The plant species Argyroxiphium sandwicense is a kind of silversword. It is endemic to Hawaii. There are two subspecies which are separated by geography. Both subspecies are rare, threatened, and federally protected....

) and Dubautia species are able to grow. The nēnē (Branta sandvicensis

Hawaiian Goose

The Nene, also known as Nēnē and Hawaiian Goose, is a species of goose endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. The official bird of the state of Hawaii, the Nene is exclusively found in the wild on the islands of Maui, Kauai and Hawaii...

) is one of the few bird

Bird

Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...

s found in alpine shrublands, while uau (Pterodroma sandwichensis

Hawaiian Petrel

The Hawaiian Petrel or Uau is a large, dark grey-brown and white petrel that is endemic to Hawaii.-Distribution:...

) nest in this ecoregion.