Panicum niihauense

{{Short description|Species of grass}}

{{Speciesbox

|image = Panicum niihauense (5250067060).jpg

| status = {{TNCStatus}}

| status_system = TNC

| status_ref = {{Cite web|date=2022 |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.161224|access-date=27 May 2022 |website=NatureServe Explorer Panicum niihauense |publisher=NatureServe|title=NatureServe Explorer }}

|genus = Panicum

|species = niihauense

|authority = H.St.John

}}

Panicum niihauense is a rare species of grass known by the common names lau {{okina}}ehu and Ni{{okina}}ihau panicgrass. It is endemic to Hawaii, where it has been found on the islands of Ni{{okina}}ihau and Kaua{{okina}}i. It has not been observed on Ni{{okina}}ihau since 1949, and there are fewer than 40 individuals remaining on Kaua{{okina}}i, not counting a few individuals that have been deliberately planted in appropriate habitat.USFWS. [http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/five_year_review/doc1856.pdf Panicum niihauense Five-year Review]. January 2008. The grass is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.

The only naturally occurring specimens of the grass grow in Polihale State Park. There they grow on sand dunes and they are threatened by the use of off-road vehicles.[http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Panicum+niihauense Panicum niihauense.] The Nature Conservancy. The habitat is also impacted by the invasion of non-native plants such as Chloris barbata (swollen fingergrass), Leucaena leucocephala (haole koa), Prosopis pallida (kiawe), Atriplex semibaccata (Australian saltbush), and Verbesina encelioides (golden crown-beard).

File:Panicum_niihauense_(5249464569).jpg