Maui Community College, Hawaiian Plants

Maui Community College

Native Hawaiian Plants on Campus

The thumbnail pictues on these pages are linked to larger photographs. By placing your cursor over them and clicking you will see a larger photo. We hope that these pictures and the information provided are useful.

Portulaca molokiniensis E (R)
Hawaiian name - 'ihi
Common name -
Family - Portulacaceae (purslane)
MCC Location - Greenhouse, Kalama Native Plant Garden
Habitat - Rare in coastal sites,10-115 m, in volcanic tuff, detritus at the base of sea cliffs, on steep rocky slopes, on Molokini, Pu'ukoa'e Islet, and Kamohio Bay, Kaho'olawe.
Hawaiian uses - No traditional uses found - currently, good groundcover, good candidate for water-saving garden by virtue of its succulent nature.
Description - Stout, perennial herbs with thick, round, corky stems which stand upright up to 30 cm. Bright, lemon yellow sessile flowers in dense head-like clusters at the ends of long leafless internodes, and 40-55 stamen; with succulent leaves forming a rosette clustered along the apical portion of the stem. Seeds dark brown, with surface of fresh seeds glistening and sticky. When the plant is going to flower, it sends a leafless, flower-bearing stem above the succulent leaves.
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Vitex rountundifolia I
Hawaiian name - pohinahina, kolokolo-kahakai
Common name - beach vitex, beach creeper
Family - Verbanaceae (verbane)
MCC Location - Golf Course
Habitat - Coastal plant, grows well with limited water. Common throughout the South Pacific due to its ability to adapt well with limited resources. Once grew wild in Maui, now used primarily as a ground cover or on beach walkways, because it can spread easily, sometimes crowds out other native plants. Frequently used in landscaping, commonly as a sand binder.
Description - Shrub to 70 cm high. Flowers, clusters of purplish blue flowers 0.5 cm. Fruits roundish, dark red or black, 1.5 cm. Leaves, stemless egg shaped, 2.5P5 cm wide, light silvery green with hairs on both sides, aromatic.
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Dianella sandwicensis I
Hawaiian name - 'uki 'uki
Common name - 'uki
Family - Liliaceae
MCC Location - KaLama Native Plant Garden
Habitat - Dry shrubland & grassland, on lava, & wet forest
Hawaiian uses - Extracted juice of the fruit was used as a kapa cloth dye. Leaves sometimes used for thatching houses.
Description - Perennial, 5-20 dm tall, spreads by rhizomes, grows in clumps. Flowers small pale blue white, berries translucent blue. Leaves leathery, smooth and shiny, folded toward base, linear-lanceo-late, 30-100 cm long, 2-3 cm wide, mid rib prominent & keeled margins entirely or sometimes minutely toothed.

Bacopa monnieri I
Hawaiian name - 'ae'ae
Common Name - water hyssop
Family - Scrophulariaceae
MCC Location - Growing along the pond and waterfall in front of Greenhouse.
Habitat - Near fresh and salt water, coastal areas, mudflats, sand, and brackish streams. found on all major islands, not on ka'ho'olawe.
Description - A vigorous ground cover, sometimes forming mats. Leaves succulent, bright green spatula shaped, 0.5 -1 cm. Apex obtuse to rounded, petioles 0 to 2 mm long, opposite, toothed or lobed no stipules Flowers tiny, 1 cm, usually white, also pale blue or pink with five short lobes. Fruit - capsules conical to ovoid 5 - 8 mm. Seeds - pale brown, oblong, ca, 4 - 5 mm long, longitudinally ridged

Chamaesyce olowaluana E (V)
Hawaiian name - 'akoko
Family - Euphrbiacae (spurge)
MCC Location - KaLama Native Plant Garden
Habitat - Dry forest and open subalpine forest at elevations of 600-2800 m.
Description - Tree or shrub, 2-9 m tall; 10-20 cm in diameter. Branches look jointed, bulging at points along the branches. Flower is 5 mm in circumference, black to dark purple, 5 petals, 4 inverted and 1 sticking up. Long slender green leaves, 20-70 mm long, distichous, triangular shape. This is a very beautiful native, endemic Hawaiian plant.
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Sesuvium portulacastrum I
Hawaiian name - 'akulikuli
Common name - sea purslane
Family - Portulacaceae
MCC Location - Golf Course
Habitat - Muddy shorelines , brackish lagoons, marshes, basaltic surface, rocky shores, and sea cliffs.
Hawaiian uses - Lei making
Description - Prostate succulent herb with red stems up to 80 cm long, axillary on a short pedical up to 12 cm long, Calyx 6-9 mm long. Flower is petaloid and white to pinkish purple inside, deeply divided into 5 acute lobes. Fruit is an ovoid to subglobose capsule 5-7 mm long containing numerous small black seeds. Is a very salt-tolerant ground cover

Sida fallax I
Hawaiian name - ilima
Common name -
Family - Malvaceae (mallow, hibiscus)
MCC Location - Ka Lama native plant garden. Open dry areas from sea level to about 1800m.
Hawaiian uses - Flowers strung into lei, medical source for general debility, womb disorders, and asthma. Juice from flowers used as kanakanaika'i (gentle baby laxative) Prostrate to erect shrub to 1.5 m or more in height. Flowers pale yellow through orange to brown, 5 petals, 3 cm, solitary or in 2s or 3s. Leaves small, 2.5 to3 cm, brunt, bright green, slightly scalloped. Special lei flower of 'Oahu.
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Dodoanea varicosa I
Hawaiian name - a'ali'i, a'ali'i kumakani
Common name - hopseed
Family - Sapindaceae (soapberry)
MCC Location - KaLama Native Plant Garden
Habitat - Sea-level to 2333 m. A'ali'i invades open areas rapidly following fire and is a pioneer on lava flows in drier areas.
Hawaiian uses - Sacred to hula goddess Laka. Colorful fruits woven into head leis and boiled for dying kapa. Wood used for house timbers and for making weapons. Medicinally, leaves were crushed and applied to rashes.
Description - Variable shrubs or trees, up to 9 m. Flowers are inconspicuous, in small clusters at branch tips or leaf axis. Fruit capsules have two or three wings, red, yellow, green or brown in color. Seeds tiny and hard. Leaves shiny green, alternate. Leaves short stemmed, narrow, blunt or pointed. Wood is hard, yellow brown with dark heartwood. A'ali'i is best propagated by soaking the tiny hard seeds in water for 24 hrs. to increase germination. A tough plant with a strong root system, very drought resistant. Can be used as a shrub, hedge, or tree in gardens.

Gossypium tomentosum E
Hawaiian name - ma'o hau hele
Common name - Hawaiian cotton
Family - Malvaceae (mallow, hibiscus)
MCC Location - Entrance, Golf Gourse
Habitat - Arid, rocky, or clay coastal plains, on all main islands except Big Island, found on the leeward side of the islands
Hawaiian uses - Used the yellow flower to make yellow dye; used the leaves to make light green dye; Ma`o is not useful for textile prodcution, M`ao is used to improve pest reistance of commerical cotton by breeders.
Description - Shrubs 0.5-1.5 m tall. Leaves softly greenish-white, fuzzy, blades wider than long, usually 3-10 cm wide, 3-lobed or sometimes 5-lobed. Flowers perfect, solitary or few in short cymes, petals bright yellow fading to greenish, 2-5.5 cm long; oval bracts 15-25 mm long, dentate, with 5-9 teeth. Silvery leaves5 lobed; 6-8 cm in diameter Capsules 1.2-1.8 cm long, black pitted. Seeds 2-4 per cell, about 5 mm long, densly covered with reddish brown lint. Seeds are tolerant of salt water, but do not float like other species of gossypium Ma`o is readily propagated from seeds, Ma`o is also grown from cuttings and air layers. Ma`o is the only memeber of the family not cultivated.
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Helitropium anomalum I
Hawaiian name - hinahina
Family - Boraginaceae (heliotrope)
MCC Location - Golf Course, water garden outside the Greenhouse
Habitat - Dry, sandy sites in coastal areas, near the tidal zone
Hawaiian uses - Landscaping; lei making; tonic tea. The fragrant hinahina is the official flower of Kaho'olawe.
Description - Low-lying perennial beach plant, with short 10 - 50 cm spikes of one-sided, coiled, densley, clustered leaves. Flower is 1.3 cm wide , white, with a yellowish center. Leaves are 1-3 cm, narrow, grayish silver, with tiny hairs. Is used in landscaping, lei making, the leaves are brewed to make a tonic tea.
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Jaquemontia ovalifolia subsp. sandwicensis E
Hawaiian name - pa'u-o-Hi'iaka
Family - Convolvulaceae (morning glory)
MCC Location - Water garden outside the Greenhouse
Habitat - Coastal, particularly on leeward sides on all main islands, from 0-30 m elevation.
Hawaiian uses - Medicinal as a cathartic and for treating babies with thrush. Derived from a legend, fire goddess Pele returning from a fishing trip finds her baby sister Hi'iaka, left on the beach, covered by this plant, protected from the sun.
Description - Shrub, spawling ground cover. Flower five petals, light blue or sometimes white, to 2.5 cm in diameter. Leaves oval, about 2.5 cm. Hawaiian name means "skirt-of-Hi'iaka". Closely related to strand taxa in West Indies and Africa.
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Lipochaeta integrifolia E
Hawaiian name - nehe
Family - Compositae (sunflower)
MCC Location - Golf Course
Habitat - Scattered to locally common along the coasts of Kure Atoll, Laysan, and all of the main islands
Description - Nehe is a small sprawling plant, 15-20 cm tall, with small, succulent leaves and yellow daisy like flowers. The leaves have a silvery grey apperance, or can be quite green in a moist situation. Used for groundcovering. Easy to grow from cuttings, with or without mist. Some sucking insects like the mealy bugs sometimes attack Nehe. In this case, small yellow flowers, differs from plant to plant. Sizes on leaves differs between different species, usually small, but proportional to flower.
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Nototrichium sandwicense E
Hawaiian name - kulu'i
Family - Amaranthaceae (amaranth)
MCC Location - Golf Course, KaLama Native Plant Garden
Habitat - Dry slopes; dry forest areas
Hawaiian uses - Lei making
Description - Shrub 3 to 6 feet tall. Perfect flowers that rarely flowers. Fruit oblong to obovoid utricle. Silvery leaves 5.08 cm to 12.7 cm long, oppoiste leaves covered with white hairs. Catkinlike spikes 1.27 cm to 5.08 cm long.
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Osteomeies anthyllidifolia I
Hawaiian name - 'ulei
Common name - Hawaiian hawthorne
Family - Rosaceae (rose)
MCC Location - Golf Course, KaLama Native Plant Garden
Habatat - dry areas, between sea level and 4,000'. Coastal cliffs to alpine zone. Can survive in rain and droughts.
Hawaiian uses - Wood for fish spears, the 'ukeke (musical bow with 2-3 strings), oo (digging tool, bows for shooting rats, back scratchers. Seeds for baby medicine. Flowers for haku leis. Old Hawaii-purple berries-dye for kapa (bark cloth), bark used for enemas.
Description - Evergreen shrub, sometimes vinelike (.3 m-.6 m), other times, a bushy tree. May grow as high as 4.4 m. Strong, hard, reddish-brown wood with fine texture. Flower whitish, slightly fragrant, roselike, 1 cm in diameter. 5 petals, 5 sepals, many stamens. Fruits 1 cm in diameter, white with bluish tint, inedible with 5 small seeds. Compound leaves-several pairs of 1 cm long leaflets and one leaflet(3 cm long) at tip. Leaves silvery.
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Pandanus tectorius I
Hawaiian name - hala
Common name - pandanus, screwpine
Family - Pandanaceae (pandanus)
MCC Location - Male plants in several locations: near Hale, Student Center, KaLama
Habatat - Lowland forests, abundant from sea level to 2000ft on Windward coast. Thrive in salty windy coastal conditions.
Hawaiian uses - Leaves (lauhala) woven into mats, hats, baskets, canoe sails, jewlry, sandals, pillows, fans. Used for medicine. Male flower eaten. Dried female fruit used as paintbrushes and staining tapa. Pollen used as aphrodisiacs. Limbs of the male tree were hallowed out and used for irrigating taro patches. Limbs of the female tree were used for house timber.
Description - Widely branching tree or shrub with a twisted look. Leaves long, thin, tough and durable. Dioecious. Male flower (hinano) white with fragrant spikes. Female trees produce pineapple like fruits. The fruit turns yellow, orange or red on ripening. The fruit of hala can float for long periods of time and that's how hala spread from island to island throughout the Pacific. Twisted look to trunk trunk and limbs.
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Pleomele hawaiiensis E (R)
Hawaiian name - hala pepe
Family - Agavaceae (agave)
MCC Location - KaLama Native Plant Garden
Habatat - Dry forest in Kona, and moderately wet forest in Kauai. Common on aa lava fields, usually 1K to 2K elevation.
Hawaiian uses - Rarely cultivated due to the wood being soft and unstable wood. Instead of cultivation, wood was used to carve into idols, and branches were used to decorate altars of the goddess Laka (patron of hula).
Description - Tree to 9 m or more, generally branched part way up trunk. Branches are stiff and ridged by numerous leaf scars. Wood is white with streaks of red or yellow. Wood is soft and lightweight with soft whitish roots. Flowers greenish to yellow to white, approx. 4 cm. long. Flowers are perfect in formation and numerous, arranged in long drooping panicles. Fruits are orangish, numerous and oval (0.5-1 cm long). Leaves are arranged in spiral clusters at branch ends, and blades are long and narrow. Leaves average 45 cm long, and 3 cm wide; tend to bend down under own weight, giving a droopy appearance. Used to be classified as "Dracaena aurea", or "Pleomele aurea" and some references can be found in books under this name. Also, many species of "Pleomele" are commonly referred to as "hala pepe".
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Scaevola coriaceae E [E]
Hawaiian name - naupaka kuahiwi
Common name - dwarf naupaka
Family - Goodinaceae
MCC Location - KaLama Native Plant Garden
Habatat - Once found on all islands in dry costal sandune areas, last found in Waiehu
Hawaiian uses - Leaves and bark to treat indigestion, fruits used to make hawaiian dye
Description - Shrubs 1-3 m tall, smooth branches. Flowers 1-2 cm long, peduncles 6-16 mm long, pedicels sparsley pubescent yellowish green half flowers, External cream colored w/in stamen as long as corolla tube Fruits dark purplish to black, ovid, 5-10mm long, 5 mm wide. Leaves 2-5cm long, succulent, apex rounded, tapering to a petiole, light greenish, leaves clusters

Santalum ellipticum E
Hawaiian name - iliahi alo'e
Common name - sandalwood, coastal sandalwood
Family - Santalaceae
MCC Location - KaLama Native Plant Garden, Golf Course
Habatat - Usually found in dry shrub land and forest. Sometimes scattered on ridges, slopes or gulches
Hawaiian uses - Very strong wood used for trading, medicinal uses, perfume, edible fruits.
Description - Tree or shrub about 1-5 meters. Very fragrant wood. Flowers are 4-8 mm long with a sweet fragrance; greenish in bud; corolla is greenish tinged with brown, orange, or salmon after opening; and are usually longer than wide. Leaves are small and have a dull geenish-gray color on both sides; texture is very leathery. Very endangered. Considered to be one of the most valuable woods in the world.
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To view more pictures please visit University of Hawaii, Native Hawaiian Plants

The information for this web site was supplied by the following students: Carl Truckenbrodt, Mark Leal, Lyndelle Lee, Leilani Kepler, Kevin Lombardo, Ann Harley, Althea Shiotsugu, Kaui Keliikoa-Brewster, Brooks Tokuda, Bryan Lustig-Thurman, Joanna Zinner, Jymme Gabriel, Janet Brinkman, Glenda Berry, David Leonard, Carl Stepath, Andrea Shluker, Meridith Russell, Kanani Baz, and Cassie Pali.

The pictures/photos were supplied by Cassie Pali, David Leonard, and Ann Coopersmith.

This site is maintained and hosted by Creative Island Visions

Last Modification: March 10, 1999

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