According to zoologist and conservationist Sheila Conant, "A. brownii" was important due to its uniqueness in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands as "the only Hawaiian endemic in this large genus which contains many economically and nutritionally important species." However, in more than a decade of field surveys on Nihoa, no living plants were identified. Wildlife refuge staff visited the island during the dry season at least 21 times between 1983 and 1996. Originally, botanists thought the absence of the plant in field surveys might have been explained by the time of visits During the summer months, the stems of "A. brownii" dried up and could not be distinguished from other herbaceous plants. However, a seven-day visit to the island in April 2006 still did not find any specimens. Additional winter surveys were performed, but none were successful.