Dubautia scabra
A Hawaii-endemic perennial shrub in the Asteraceae, genus Dubautia, with white flowers and a habitat range from barren lava flows to wet forests across several islands
Common Names
Rough Dubautia, Kupaoa
Summary
Rough dubautia is a Hawaiian endemic plant that forms a small, suberect/decumbent or mat-forming soft shrub with alternate, very narrow leaves and white flowers arranged in corymbiform heads; flowering can occur any time, with a peak in summer. It has lax purple branches and occurs on Moloka'i, Lana'i, Maui, and Hawai'i, commonly on fog-swept barren lava flows (subsp. scabra) or in rain forest habitats (subsp. leiophylla) at elevations of 75–2,500 m and with annual precipitation of 60–640 cm.
In cultivation and practical planning, it is a self-supporting evergreen shrub in the Asteraceae, native to Hawai'i, with two described subspecies (leiophylla and scabra) and a conservation status of S3; it occupies non-wetland terrestrial habitats across 75–2,500 m elevation with 60–640 cm of annual precipitation, including lava-flow surfaces and wet forest environments.
Lifecycle
Perennial
Soil Type
Volcanic lava soils (cinder/ash) from recent lava flows.
Bloom Color
White
Bloom Time
Summer
Leaf Lifecycle
Evergreen broadleaf
Seasons of Interest
Summer
Taxonomy
- Taxonomic Rank
- Species
- Author
- (DC.) D.D.Keck
- Publication
- Occas. Pap. Bernice Pauahi Bishop Mus. xi. n.° 19, 26 (1936)
Superior Taxa
- Kingdom
- Plantae
- Subkingdom
- Pteridobiotina
- Phylum
- Angiosperms
- Order
- Asterales
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Subfamily
- Asteroideae
- Tribe
- Madieae
- Subtribe
- Madiinae
- Genus
- Dubautia
Inferior Taxa
Dubautia scabra subsp. leiophylla Dubautia scabra subsp. scabra