The Hawaiian tropical low shrublands are a tropical savanna ecoregion in the Hawaiian Islands.

Geography

These shrublands cover an area of 1500 km2 in the leeward lowlands of the main islands and most of the smaller islands, not including the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands which form an ecoregion of their own.

Flora

The ecoregion includes both grasslands and mixed shrublands. Kāwelu (Eragrostis variabilis), mauu akiaki (Fimbristylis cymosa), akiaki (Sporobolus virginicus), and Lepturus repens are common grassland plants. Shrublands are dominated by ilima (Sida fallax), aalii (Dodonaea viscosa), naupaka (Scaevola spp.), hinahina kū kahakai (Heliotropium anomalum var. argenteum), kīpūkai (Heliotropium curassavicum), mao (Gossypium tomentosum), akoko (Euphorbia spp.), āheahea (Chenopodium oahuense), naio (Myoporum sandwicense), kolokolo kahakai (Vitex rotundifolia), and pūkiawe (Styphelia tameiameiae). More than 90% of the plant species found in this ecoregion are endemic, including ōhai (Sesbania tomentosa), āwiwi (Schenkia sebaeoides), and wahine noho kula (Isodendrion pyrifolium).

Protected areas

Protected areas that cover part of the ecoregion include Koko Head District Park, Diamond Head, Mākua Kea'au Forest Reserve, Ka'ena Point State Park, and Kuaokala Forest Reserve on Oahu.