Cyperus javanicus Native Indigenous ʻAhuʻawa is native to tropical Africa, Asia, and Hawaiʻi. Here it is found on all of the major islands except Kahoʻolawe. ʻAhuʻawa is common in marshes, loʻi kalo (taro patches), alongside streams and ditches, coastal pastures, rocky coastal sites, and cliffs. The fibrous roots of this plant make it great […]
Wikstroemia uva-ursi Native Endemic The bark and twigs are ground up and used by fishermen to stun fish in tide pools and shallow reefs for easy capture. Berries, leaves, and tiny yellow flowers are used in lei-making. The scent of the flowers is somewhat alarming since it is not necessarily a sweet fragrance. Sometimes bark […]
Chamaesyce Native Endemic Koko is the word for blood in Hawaiian and ʻAkoko means blood-colored. It got its’ name because of the red-colored seed capsules that resemble drops of blood on the plant. The milky liquid inside the plant is used in medicine and rubbed on branches for bird catching. ʻAkoko is in the Euphorbiaceae […]
Psydrax odorata Native Indigenous Ala means path, while heʻe means to slide. When the Alaheʻe tree is full of flowers, the smell slides down the mountain leading a fragrant path. The fragrant white flowers bloom during the summer and are prized for making lei. A heavy, dense wood with a strong and straight trunk […]
Plumbago zeylanica Native Indigenous A ground cover with little white sticky flowers that give us a clue about how the plant might have arrived before humans! Juice from the roots were used as a navy blue-black color dye for tattoos, traditionally called ʻuhi.
As told by Nona Beamer There is a shiny green plant that grows near the beaches of Hawaiʻi called the naupaka. It has small delicate white half flowers. It was named naupaka for a Hawaiian princess who lived many, many years ago, at a time when the naupaka blossoms were whole. Her people loved Naupaka. […]
Adapted from “The Goddess Pele” by Joe Mullins A long time ago, there was a handsome Hawaiian chief named ʻŌhiʻa, he was in love with a beautiful Hawaiian maiden named Lehua. ʻOhiʻa and Lehua had promised to be true to each other for always. One day, Pele, the goddess of the volcano, saw ʻŌhiʻa and […]
Sida fallax Native Indigenous These tiny, fragile yellow-orange flowers are the official island flower of Oʻahu (since 1923). Lei ʻIlima is prized for its delicate beauty and the patience it takes to gather and string hundreds of flowers. The flower buds are used medicinally to make a mild, good-tasting laxative. A low-growing form of this plant, also […]
Aleurites moluccana Polynesian Introduction The state tree, kukui is a symbol of learning, protection, and peace. Its nut has many uses—for lamp oil, as well as for lei. Cooked nut meat is used as a relish (ʻinamona). Kukui relates to “lamp,” “light,” or “torch” in Hawaiian. The nuts of the kukui are 80% oil and […]