Nothocestrum breviflorum remaining. Nothocestrum breviflorum Nothocestrum breviflorum, commonly known as smallflower aiea, is a species of tree in the nightshade family, Solanaceae, that is endemic to the island of Hawaii. It inhabits dry and mixed mesic forests at elevations of . These forests are dominated by ōhia lehua ("Metrosideros polymorpha") and koa ("Acacia koa") or lama ("Diospyros sandwicensis"), while plants associated with smallflower aiea include wiliwili ("Erythrina sandwicensis") and uhiuhi ("Caesalpinia kavaiensis"). "N. breviflorum" reaches a height of . It is threatened by habitat loss. It is federally listed as an endangered species of the United States. There are fewer than 50
Acacia koa reaching in five years on a good site. Initially, bipinnately compound leaves with 12–24 pairs of leaflets grow on the koa plant, much like other members of the pea family. At about 6–9 months of age, however, thick sickle-shaped "leaves" that are not compound begin to grow. These are phyllodes, blades that develop as an expansion of the leaf petiole. The vertically flattened orientation of the phyllodes allows sunlight to pass to lower levels of the tree. True leaves are entirely replaced by long, wide phyllodes on an adult tree. Flowers of the koa tree are pale-yellow spherical racemes with