Native Plants of Le‘ahi—

Vist the gardens in the park to see and learn
more about these native plants that once grewin the hot, dry environment of Lē‘ahi crater.

Hawai‘i’s nativeplants and animals arrived byfloating across the ocean, being blown hereon the wind, or being carried by birds. Most of the plants
are endemic, meaning they evolved here in the islands and are foundnowhere else. Indigenous species are native to more than one place. These native plants disappearedfrom Lē‘ahi after the early 1800s when land use changed and non-native species were introduced.

Koki‘o Ke‘oke‘oLuna & Allie

Description: Alahe‘e grows as a shrub or smalltree. It has sleek dark round leaves with clustersof fragrant small white flowers. The bark is grayand either smooth or rough in texture.
Uses: Leaves are used to make black-brown dye
for kapa or as a medicine. The strong wood used
to make spears, digging sticks, and adze handles.
Fun Facts: Name means “slippery like an octopus”(he‘e is the Hawaiian name for an octopus).

Mina & Lilian

Description: Koki‘o ‘ula has small red flowers
which are smaller than the introduced hibiscus
flowers. It grows as a bush with long branches.
The glossy green leaves are 1 to 3.5 inches.
Uses: Leaves and bark used as a medicine for sorethroat and blood purification. If used in a lei, theflower only lasts one day.
Fun Facts: Almost went extinct in the wild but isnow being successfully propagated.

Rylen & Izak

Description: ‘Ākia is dense shrub that grows
along the ground. When in bloom, tiny yellow
flowers develop and turn into small orange or redfruits about 1/2 to 3/4 inch in diameter.
Uses: The bark was used to make rope andfishing line. The leaves and bark were used tostun fish so they could be caught more easily.
Fun Facts: When fish ingest the ‘ākia, they swim
in a “drunken state” and can be scooped up.

Sesbania tomentosa
Naru & Kingston
Endemic

Description: ‘Ohai is a coastal plant that cangrow up to 12 feet. They have reddish orange
flowers that are about an inch long. These plants
live for around 5 years.
Uses: The flower varies in color and shape whichmakes it a favorite lei flower. It is a good coastal
plant for the stabilization of sand dunes.
Fun Facts: The leaf clusters at the stem tips havea fragrance that resembles nectarines.

Alahe‘ePsydrax odoratum
Indigenous

Koki‘o ‘ula
Hibiscus kokio
Endemic‘Ākia

Wikstroemia uva-ursi
Endemic‘Ohai‘Uki‘uki

Dianella sandwicensis
Calym & Myka
Indigenous

Pōhinahina
Vitex rotundifolia
Indigenous

Miranda & Clara

Description: ‘Uki‘uki has leaves as long as 40
inches, purple berries, and small lily-like flowersthat range in color from light blue to white withorange filaments.
Uses: The berries are used to make purple dyes
while the dry berries can be used to make lei. Theleaves were used for cordage and roof thatching.
Fun Facts: DON’T eat the berries. They taste
terrible and will turn your whole mouth blue.
Description: Pōhinahina has silvery green leaves
and purple flowers that grow in bunches at theend of the branches. It has a sage scent and isfound naturally along sandy, rocky shorelines.
Uses: The leaves were placed in kapa to keep
insects away and could be used for a green dye.
Also a medicine for headaches and stomach pain.
Fun Facts: Pōhinahina is an easy plant to growand can handle drought, wind, salt, and heat.

Description: Palapalai is also called the lace fern.
Its leaves can grow more than 3 feet long. It is ashade plant found in dry or moderately wet areas.
Found on all islands except Ni‘ihau and Kaho‘olawe.
Uses: Leaves used to make hula skirts and lei wornon the head and around neck and wrists. Also usedto decorate hula altars.
Fun Facts: This plant is sacred to Laka, goddess ofhula, and believed to be Laka’s physical form.

Palapalai

Microlepia strigosa
Cata Lina,
Indigenous
Denali, & Makeila

Kupukupu

Nephrolepis cordifolia
Makeila,Indigenous
Denali, & Cata Lina

Description: Kupukupu fronds stand erect and areabout 1-2 feet tall. The bright green fronds form atriangular pattern. These ferns live in moist, shaded
places like rainforests and by streams.
Uses: Used to decorate hula altars showing that it
is a place of learning or sprouting knowledge. Kupu
means to sprout or grow.
Fun Facts: The kupukupu fern is one of the firstplants to appear on lava flows.

Brayden & Myli

Description: Kī leaves come in many colors - pink,red, and green. The leaves sprout from a woody
trunk and are sword shaped. They can grow up to
2.5 feet long and 4 to 6 inches wide.
Uses: Leaves are used to wrap food for cooking andserving, as fishing lures on hukilau nets, and woven
into sandals, hula skirts, rain capes, and lei.
Fun Facts: This plant is sacred to Laka, goddess ofhula, and the god Lono. Kī is a symbol of high rank.

Heterogpogon contortus
Naru,Adam, & Kingston
Indigenous

Description: Pili grows in bunches or tufts of lightblueish-green leaf blades. Pili means to stick orcling and the tiny flowers at the top of the plantwith clusters of seeds often become tangled.
Uses: Pili grass was used for thatching Hawaiian
houses to make them rain proof. Also used as
mattress stuffing because of its pleasant odor.
Fun Facts: Placed on hula altars for Laka in hopesthat knowledge would pili or stick in their minds.

Kī or Tī

Cordyline fruticosa
Indigenous

Pili GrassKou

Cordia subcordata
Indigenous

Manoa & Dane

MiloThespesia populnea
Indigenous/Canoe Plant

Katie &Natsuki

Le‘ahi / Diamond Head State Monument

Description: Kou is an evergreen tree that grows
to a height of about 30 feet. Its delicate orange
flowers are scentless. The fruit grows in clusters
with seed pods that turn from green to brown.
Uses: The wood was favored for carving food bowls
because it does not affect the flavor of the food.
Leaves used as a dye and to treat mouth infections.
Fun Facts: A fossil kou found on Kaua‘i proved thatkou was in Hawai‘i before the Polynesians arrived.
Description: Milo is a fast growing small tree orlarge shrub that reaches a height of 30 feet. It has
triangular leaves, a yellow hibiscus-like flower, andseed capsules that turn from green to brown.
Uses: The wood was favored for making foodbowls and platters. The bark was used for cordage
while the fruit was used as a dye and medicine.
Fun Facts: This sacred tree surrounded the houseof Kamehameha I in Waikīkī.

—STATE OF HAWAI‘I / Department of Land and Natural Resources / Division of State Parks

Artwork and text preparedby the 4th grade studentsof Waikīkī School underteachers Lory Peroff andEileen Carr.