A member of the Silversword alliance, it only grows in the understory of mesic Hawaiian tropical rainforests.

It is declining in population and is threatened by the spread of invasive species, with approximately 5500 individuals remaining.

[1] Dubuatia laevigata is a shrub that grows up to 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) high with a compact woody stem.

Flowers are small (2.5–3 mm (0.098–0.118 in) long) and appear in clusters of 2–5, with yellow corollas,[3] and mostly appear between December and August.

[4] Dubuatia laevigata is only found at medium elevations of 575–1,250 m (1,886–4,101 ft) in mesic wet forests on the island of Kaua'i.