Hawaiian Flowers

The Malay apple is much admired for the beauty of  its flowers and its colorful, glistening fruits, without parallel in the family Myrtaceae. Botanically recognized as Syzygium malaccense, this species has earned a few alternate common names including Malay rose-apple, mountain apple and water apple. It is the pseudofruit or swollen fruit-stalk of the cashew nut due to its resemblance to the cashew apple.

Syzygium Malaccense

There are 7 names (or perhaps even more now) of the Malay Apple in Hawai’i; ‘ohi‘a ‘ai, ‘ohi‘a, ‘ohi‘a ‘ai ke‘oke‘o, ‘ohi‘a hakea, ‘ohi‘a kea, ‘ohi‘a leo, and ‘ohi‘a ‘ula. It is now cultivated throughout the tropics, especially in Indo-Malaysia, Southeast Asia, Melanesia, Polynesia (where it was an ancient introduction as far east as Hawai‘i), and Micronesia (where it is apparently a modern introduction in the eastern part of its range, Pohnpei and Kosrae). In some places, such as in Melanesia (e.g., Vanuatu and Fiji), it appears to be naturalized. In Hawai‘i, it is common in forest groves that are probably remnants of former cultivation, but the tree does not readily spread from these.

An inflorescence of short, few-flowered cymes up to 6 cm (2.4 in) long is borne on the trunk or older branches. Calyx turbinate, 1.2–1.8 cm (0.5–0.7 in) long, notched to form 4 pale yellow, rounded lobes 4–6 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long. Corolla with 4, red or pink (rarely white), suborbicular petals 7–11 mm (0.3–0.4 in) long, early caducous. Ovary inferior, style long, with a simple style up to 2.5 cm (1 in) long. Stamens many (ca. 200), free, red, 1–2 cm (0.4–0.8 in.) long. Flowering is usually seasonal, from 1–2 months in dura tion, but it varies widely from place to place and even from year to year. In some areas, Malay apple flowers two or three times per year. It occurs mostly in the spring (August–November) in the South Pacific, but from May–February in Fiji, in February and from June–October in Vanuatu, and from May–June on Java. In Hawai‘i, lying north of the equator, it flowers from March–April, and in Pohnpei flowering apparently occurs twice a year, in November– December, and again in April–May. Trees begin flowering at an age of 7–8 years.

Malay Apple

 The flowers are very attractive but fragile and not easily used. After picking, they soon shed numerous red stamens. Early sources in Fiji noted “the natives gathering handfuls of them [the showy red stamens] to strew on their heads.” In Hawai‘i both blossoms and fruit were used to make leis.

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Ohia of Big Island

The native Hawaiian ‘ōhi‘a which scientifically named Metrosideros polymorpha is the most abundant tree in the Hawaiian Islands. The name Metrosideros is derived from the Greek metra, heartwood, and sideron, iron, in reference to the hard wood of the genus. Known locally by its Hawaiian name, ‘ōhi‘a lehua, the species is found on all the major islands and in a variety of habitats. Distributed from near sea level to the tree line (2500 m [8200 ft]), the species exhibits tolerances of frost, volcanic vapors, and excesses or deficiencies in moisture. It is found across a rainfall gradient having extremes of less than 400 mm (16 in) to over 10,000 mm (400 in) on Mt. Wai‘ale‘ale, Kaua‘i, one of the wettest places on earth. ‘Ōhi‘a is found growing on a broad range of substrates including those as young as recent lava flows or as old as highly weathered Oxisols. Dominant in cloud forests and most rainforests above 400 m (1300 ft), often with a tree fern understory, the species is also common in seasonally wet forests, where it may be dominant or in mixtures with the native Acacia koa or the invasive species Morella faya.  

The Goddess Pele

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Beach Morning Glory

Scientifically registered as Ipomoea pes-caprae brasiliensis subspecies, this beach morning glory is an indigenous flower of Hawaii. The Hawaiian flower by its local name pohuehue, is a vigorously hard vine found along sand beaches above the high-water mark. The stems can grow from a thickened taproot up to fifteen feet long and become woody as it is aging. It has purple and pink, trumpet shaped petals that blossom early in the morning as the name does. It lies lose to the ground and the petals open only in the cool hours of the morning. The pohuehue lives on salt water, and its vines wind themselves down the beach and stretch into the ocean. Its seeds are dispersed in salt water too. The leaves are having, as already noted, the appearance of goat’s hoofprint and usuallu half-folded along the midrib.

It is not only found along the shores of Hawaii, but also on other tropical beaches around the world. The pohuehue is suitable for making leis, but it also has a very important role in the ecosystem of the shore. It holds together the sand, so that it stops erosion and small dunes can form. Native Hawaiians used the pohuehue for various medical solutions, such as for healing sprain by dressing the mixture of crushed pohuehue leaves and salt. Surfers used to slap pohuehue vines in the ocean water to convince the sea to provide good waves on the day. Old folks of Hawaii used to eat small amount of this Hawaiian flower’s stem and root in times of famine.

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Hawaiian State Flower

It is scientifically known as Hibiscus brackenridgei (Asa Gray) and locally named ma‘o hau hele or pua aloalo. The yellow hibiscus is a tall shrub that grows up to 10 feet with bright yellow petals and maplelike leaves, which closely related to the widespread woodland sunflower. Two subspeciesof this Hawaiian flower are recognized as H. b. brackenridgei, a sprawling shrub to an erect tree found on Moloka‘i, Lāna‘i, Maui, and Hawaii; and H. b. mokuleianus, a tree from dry habitats on Kaua‘i and Wai‘anae mountains on O‘ahu.

The most visible difference between the two subspecies is in the leaves and stems. The leaves of subspecies mokuleianus have more serrated margins and pink veins with tiny spines on the branches. Subspecies brackenridgei, on the other hand, has leaves with more rounded margins and yellow veins, and it lacks the tiny spines on its branches.

Yellow Hibiscus

This species is listed as an endangered species by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Home (USSFWS). This yellow flower is the official Hawaiian flower, and although endangered in its natural habitats, has become a moderately popular ornamental plant in most Hawaiian yards. It can be found in the dry to mesic forests of all main islands of Hawaii except Niihau, although it was once reportedly collected from Kahoolawe province on the island.

Some may claim that this Hawaiian flower had been regarded as state flower on May 2, 1923 after a long struggle by a group of women who aimed to beautify Honolulu, called Outdoor Circle which was established in 1912. But it was then officially adopted by the Hawaii Legislature June 6, 1988, 30 years after Hawaii joined as the 50th state of USA.

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