It is frequently seen growing wild in dry places, including Kapi'olani's Diamond Head campus, while certain other varieties are cultivated in gardens for the purpose of providing lei flowers. The flowers are solitary, or in 2's and 3's, scattered over the plant on short stems.
Flower colors range from yellow, to rich orange to dull red and even brown.
The flowers, about an inch across, resemble a small hibiscus, with five petals and a group of stamens in the center. The flowers are strung into leis by threading them through the center. Juice from the pressed flowers was given to children and pregnant women sometimes ate the flowers until childbirth. Formerly, the large cultivated plants were used for slats in building houses. They made temporary baskets by plaiting whole plants together with roots at the top.