Tropical islands are home to unique floras, and host a vast number of endemic plant species. Threats have led to a significant population decrease in Hawaii, where 97% of these endemic plant species are listed as endangered, critically endangered, or extinct. Vertical cliff habitats work as refugia to protect plants from these threats. However, these habitats make conservation work particularly difficult, forcing  botanists to use risky and time-consuming methods such as abseiling to access remote plant populations. We developed the Mamba, the first aerial system capable of sampling plants on cliffs. The system has allowed the collection of seeds from many critically endangered species including Hibiscadelphus woodii, as well as the recent discovery of a new species: Schiedea waiahuluensis. The conservation collections made by this tool are thriving in nurseries, demonstrating the impact on the conservation cycle for organisms located in difficult-to-reach environments, and the actions necessary to prevent plant extinction.