They eat rounded and fleshy young leaves, leaves from Prunus genus, young shoots from Asteraceae, Caryophyllaceae, and Brassicaceae (Cruciferae).
Schiedea verticillata, known as the Nihoa Carnation, is an endangered species of carnation, endemic to the island of Nihoa in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, where it was discovered in 1923 by the Tanager Expedition.