Kauaʻi record · kba_plant_myoporum_sandwicense
Naio
Myoporum sandwicense
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About Naio
Naio (Myoporum sandwicense) is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands and recorded on Kauaʻi. Low spreading shrub or erect shrub to small tree, occasionally reaching 20 m.
Kauaʻi evidence
Taxonomy, nativity, island-level occurrence, growth form, names, and source conservation assessments are documented in the 2026 census audit. Broader ecology and conservation recommendations still require claim-level source review. Generated imagery is not occurrence evidence. The 1918–1959 Kauaʻi reforestation working register records 1,498 plants under Myoporum sandwicense across 1 entries dated 1940. These are recorded planting quantities, not counts of surviving trees, and they do not by themselves establish current persistence, naturalization, or ecological impact. Source: Kauaʻi Reforestation Plantings 1918–1959 working register (user-supplied; reconciled 6 October 2026).
Names and classification
- Scientific name
- Myoporum sandwicense
- Common names
- naio
- Hawaiian names
- Naio
- Other names
- naio · Myoporum sandwicense · Myoporum lanaiense · Myoporum sandwicense var. lanaiense · Myoporum fauriei · Myoporum sandwicense var. fauriei · Myoporum sandwicense subsp. st · Myoporum st-johnii
- Family
- Scrophulariaceae
- Order
- Lamiales
- Record type
- Species or taxonomic group
Kauaʻi occurrence and status
- Kauaʻi occurrence
- Recorded on Kauaʻi
- Origin
- Endemic
- Conservation status
- Smithsonian checklist assessment: Apparently Secure; U.S. source status: No Status
- Evidence date
- 2026-10-05
- Evidence limits
- Island-level occurrence is retained; finer locality is intentionally withheld. Growth-form tags describe the taxon across its range, not a measured Kauaʻi population. Checklist source statuses are not a new legal-status determination. Nativity follows the current Hawaiian census and Bishop Museum treatment of the Hawaiian taxa as endemic. Broader treatments include Tonga; Bishop Museum treats that plant as Myoporum wilderi. The taxonomic disagreement is retained.
Habitat and ecology
- Habitats
- Dry to mesic forest · Shrubland
- Food and resource needs
- Light, water, nutrients, and suitable soil or substrate
- Reproduction
- Viable propagules and suitable establishment conditions
- Shelter
- Suitable soil, substrate, and vegetation structure
- Growth form
- Tree; Shrub
Threats and conservation
- Threats
- Naio thrips in some islands, fire, weeds, ungulates
- Conservation actions
- Monitor pests, restore dry forest, control grasses
- Monitoring
- Monitor pests, restore dry forest, control grasses
- Data gaps
- Additional ecological and conservation citations are recommended
Process and seasonal context
- Seasonal timing
- Not assessed
- Seasonal description
- Naio (Myoporum sandwicense) is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands and recorded on Kauaʻi. Low spreading shrub or erect shrub to small tree, occasionally reaching 20 m.
Sources and further reading
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Starr-040131-0097-Myoporum_sandwicense-habit-Auwahi-Maui_(24070940023).jpg
- https://doi.org/10.5479/si.32124043
- https://naturalhistory2.si.edu/botany/hawaiianflora/speciesdescr.cfm?genus=Myoporum&species=sandwicense
- https://www.plantsofhawaii.org/detail/%7BC32D79EE-1B69-4630-8DC5-961D85737D34%7D
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