A proposal for listing "A. brownii" under the U.S. Endangered Species Act was originally submitted on June 16, 1976, but was withdrawn on December 10, 1979, as out of date and incomplete. It was proposed again on March 24, 1993, and was federally listed as an endangered species on August 21, 1996. On May 22, 2003, the FWS designated on the island of Nihoa as a critical habitat for "A. brownii", as well as "Pritchardia remota", "Schiedea verticillata", and two other species also found on Nihoa and other Hawaiian islands, "ohai" ("Sesbania tomentosa") and "Mariscus pennatiformis". Also in 2003, "A. brownii" was internationally classified as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List. As of 2010, "A. brownii" was one of 51 Hawaiian plant species listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act.