Hawaiian Flora

Hawaii is the lushest, most verdant place I have ever seen. It's what I picture when I think of the Garden of Eden; a spectacular display of all of God's creations. I am utterly amazed by the composition and colors of so many plants and flowers, and to me they speak of the great love of our creator.

Most of the time on our trip I had the camera wrapped around my wrist, ready to turn on and snap at any moment. I didn't want to forget anything I saw, and I have this weird desire to know what everything is called. To aid me in my pursuits my mom picked up a book at the BYU-Hawaii bookstore for me:
It was fun to look things up as I saw them and be able to point them out to others, and much of the information I will share is from it. So while I am listing and naming these plants mostly for my own exercise, I think you will enjoy the show!

Hibiscus is the flower that most people first associate with Hawaii. It's the one all the hula girls wear behind their ear, and the one that gets printed on Hawaiian shirts and swim shorts. For good reason too, because you do see them everywhere you go.

They come in many varieties and colors, like this striking red double-petaled one.

This hedge was seen at the Laie Hawaii Temple grounds.

You may be surprised to know that hibiscus can be grown here (in Utah). My neighbor Doris has a few hibiscus blooming in her backyard all summer.

Another very popular flower is called Plumeria, also often worn in the hair. I didn't get a close up of these beauties because they grow on the tips of bare tree branches. I am still a little mystified about that... most of the plumeria trees I saw had very few leaves.

Something I noticed as soon as we stepped off the plane was that most of the houseplants I am familiar with grow unaided in Hawaii! What I am used to seeing in little pots and containers grow there in thick mats or as tall woody trees. Above is a plant called Pothos (Epipremnum pinnatum), and I have a mini one growing above my kitchen cabinets.

Unfortunately there are a few plants I have yet to identify. I can usually group it into a family though, and this looks much like a lily or agapanthus.

I don't know this purple flowering tree either, but it sure set off the tabernacle steeple beautifully!

My sister spotted this awesome Banyan (Ficus benghalensis) tree. It is amazing how the roots connect from the branches to the ground!

I looked it up on Wikipedia and learned some interesting things: It is the national tree of India, and it looks the way it does because its seeds germinate and send roots to the ground, which have a tendency to strangle existing roots and even structures. Thus a casual name for it is "strangler tree."

I was excited to recognize this Lantana flower because I grew it in my front yard as an annual last year. It can also be found in pinks and oranges.

The Ti plant (Cordyline) is very common in Hawaii and can be found in many shades of green and red (below).


Of course there are tons of palms on the islands! Besides the coconut tree, one I am familiar with is called King Palm (Archontophoenix alexandrae).


Another very common tree is this Moluccan albizia (Paraserianthes falcataria). I love how it forms a flat canopy.

That one was deciduous, but I was surprised to see lots of conifers everywhere we went. Actually, my book says despite its similar appearance to pines, Ironwood (Casuarina equisetifolia) is not related, even though it has cones and needles.

This columnar auraucaria or Cook pine (Araucaria columnaris) is very dramatic in the landscape. Everyone kept asking me what it was called. Interestingly it is commonly incorrectly known as the Norfolk Island pine.

Here's a couple more beautiful flowers I can't ID!

This almost looks like an orchid, but it grows like a lily. Beautiful at any rate!



I'm pretty sure this tree is called Dracaena, but I've never seen one that big!

This is a very cool tree that had my mom and I stumped for awhile, but I just came across it in my book! It's called tropical almond or false kamani (Terminalia catappa) and is known for its mix of red and green leaves.

I think my favorite tree is this African tulip tree (Spathodea campanulata). It is everywhere on the sides of the freeways, in neighborhoods, and in ravines.


The trees really look like they are covered with red tulips!

On our tour of the Dole pineapple plantation, we saw many other species of plants being grown. Here are rows of Heleconia, a flower I am am most familiar with in floral design.

There were also big rows of sugarcane (the tall grass plants) and cocoa.


When I walked by this tree I stopped in my tracks, dumbfounded. Have you ever seen such cool bark? It's called Bagras eucalyptus (Eucalyptus deglupta), often known as rainbow eucaluptus. I can see why.


The most horticulturally interesting place we visited is called Waimea Valley, home of the beautiful Waimea Falls. It includes just under 2,000 acres of native and cultivated species and is a real Hawaiian treasure. If you have time, read more about it here. We hiked the paved path to the waterfalls and viewed much of their botanic collection. I could have spent a week there, but alas, we only had one afternoon, and kidlets to keep happy.

I spotted this impressive Bamboo (Bambuso vulgaris) in the parking lot.

Also near the entrance was this stunning Monkeypod Rain tree (Samanea saman). Just look at how massive the canopy was (see my dad at the bottom right?). It is favored as a shade tree and also known for it's light and dark wood.

Schefflera is another plant I am familiar with as a houseplant. Above is a variegated version and below is a hedge.


Monstera deliciosa is one of my favorite tropical plants. I never forgot this name from my greenhouse class in college because the leaves truly are monstrous. The common name is Swiss cheese plant, which is equally as fitting, don't you think?


Other large-leaved plants include this Alocasia or Elephant ear. We used these a lot in the Tahitian Noni gardens in the annual displays.

A close relative to Alocasia is Colocasia or Taro. They are known for their heart-shaped leaves and were a staple in the ancient Hawaiian diet.

I didn't catch the name of this vine but just look at how it has grown over that tree! There were pathways in and through it like it was a curtain.

I was taken by the pretty low growing shrub called Clerodendum manificum. The purple and pink shades were just so pretty together.

Odontonema cocoineum is another shrub with showy flowers.

I didn't catch the name on this one but loved the interesting flower and brightly veined leaves.

Speaking of leaves, look at the colorful foliage on this Caricature plant (Graptophyllum pictum)

and this purple Persian Sheild (Strobilanthes dyerianus).

I love the flaming color of these Ruellia chartacea flowers.

It was fun to find this familiar face... I have grown lots of Back eyed Susan (Thunbergia) vines as annuals.

Calliandra emarginata, also known as Pink Powder Puff, was probably the showiest flower we saw. So cool!


I was excited to spot this familiar plant: Morinda citrifolia or Noni. You already know I worked at the Noni gardens, but we were always asked if we grew any Noni fruit. Unfortunately the only Noni tree we had was fake because it doesn't grow in our climate!

The fruit is ugly and it tastes like bile, but they have successfully sold millions of bottles of the drink!

It was fun to show my kids how bananas grow on trees.

Cannas (above) and Gingers (below) are in the same family.



I'll end with a shot of my very own pretty flower in front of Waimea Falls. We actually got a lot of complements on the dollar store flowers we put in the girls' hair. Ha.


While this has been a long post, it has only scratched the surface of the plants growing in Hawaii. I'm grateful (to my parents!) for the opportunity to see this tropical paradise for myself. It was quite literally a dream.