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 In ancient Hawai‘i, plants played an important part in all aspect of life. Plants were not only a food source, but were used in medicines, building, clothing, weapons, and as food containers.
The kāhuna were skilled in utilizing the plants around them for medicines and religious ceremonies. The ti plant was used to reduce fevers, while the ginger root was mashed and mixed with salt water for a purification mixture. kō (sugar cane) juice helped make medicines more palatable.
Early Hawaiians used koa wood for building canoes and surfboards, and the wauke for pounding into tapa cloth. Leaves of the ahuhu were crushed and put in tide pools where it made fish an easy prey by immobilizing them.
This garden highlights many of the plants utilized by ancient Hawaiians and has individual markers telling the specific uses. A row of ti plants separates the edible from the non edible plant sections. The medicinal garden is planted under and around 2 Milo trees.
As you enter this collection from the upper road you'll see an'ulu (breadfruit) tree, and beyond it are tall, flowering ko (sugar cane) plants surrounding three fenced kalo (taro) plantings. Hawaiian varieties of mai'a (banana) are planted near the kalo beds, and beyond them are two 'ohi'a 'ai (mountain apple) trees from the South Pacific which fruit twice a year. The ground covers under the sugar cane are varieties of 'uala (sweet potato). These can be recognized by their flowers which resemble miniature morning glories which are closely related.
Our named varieties of 'uala are being grown the traditional way a bit further up the Valley- the tubers grow in loamy soil in low rock cylinders. You can see these by the edge of the grass near the banyan tree.
After walking past the kalo beds you'll see a row of ti plants separating the edible from the non-edible plant sections. A medicinal garden is planted under and around two milo trees, hibiscus relatives with excellent wood brought by the Polynesians. Across the trail in the non-edible section are two calabash trees. These along with the Kona orange tree in the food section did not get to Hawaii until after western contact. The thin-shelled calabash fruit, about 6" in diameter, surprisingly grow right from the bar of the tree. Calabash's gourd-like fruits were used as bowls and made into musical instruments. In this same area is the only type of bamboo early Hawaiians used and the favorite loulu palm species used for thatching.
These herbaceous (non-woody) plants are found in tropical rainforests around the world. With nearly 2,000 species divided into 115 genera, the aroids are one of the largest plant families with an astounding variety of form. They often display striking foliage and unusual flower structures. Many are popular as houseplants for their ability to thrive in shady areas.
Some ground-dwelling herbs have starchy roots, like our edible kalo or taro, Colocasia, a staple for 400 million people of the tropics. Many are climbing vines like the Philodendron with aerial roots for support in addition to their normal ground roots for nutrition. Some climbing aroids have leaves which change in size and shape when they start to climb up a tree. The leaves of the pocket plant, Xanthosoma, act as reservoirs. The monstera, which has a pineapple flavored fruit, has holes in its leaves.
Some epiphytic aroids need no ground roots, deriving all their nourishment from the air. Anthuriums are of this type, found on branches or in leaf litter in the wild, but put in pots when grown commercially as ornamentals.
While there are over 1,400 species, it is often called the pineapple family after the best-known member of the family. Most of these plants are from the West Indies and tropical America, except for Pitcairnia, which is native to West Africa.
The plants range in size from less than one inch, like Tillandsia, to huge plants with flower spikes over 10 feet high, like Puya. In addition, these plants can grow not only at sea level but also up to elevations over 1,400 feet.
Many plants like the pineapple are terrestrial, which grow in the ground. But, others are epiphytes, which grow on tree branches and even on the stems of desert cacti.
This garden is part of Waimea Valley's effort to provide protective cultivation for our rarest native plants, studying propagation techniques and keeping accurate reocrds, all in hope of restoring self-sustaining plant communities for future generations to enjoy.
The Hawaiian Islands are volcanic in origin and more than 2000 miles from the nearest land mass. Plants evolved without the need of stinging hairs or spines for protection, because predators, such as grazing animals, did not exist in these early times. Insects and birds (many of them flightless) dominated. Our only native mammals, the hoary bat and monk seal, had little impact on plant life. The rich flora of Hawai`i is descended from a small number of pioneering ancestors, all of which arrived by wind, wave or wing. Most evolved into new species so that today over 90% of our Hawaiian plants are found nowhere else, the highest rate of endemism in the world.
Many plant species evolved in isolated habitats like a small swamp or gulley. Geothermal activity, rapid` erosion and fierce storms fractured plant communities forcing plants to adapt. Although the early Polynesians cleared land for cultivation, for the most part they co-existed with nature and these important habitats. It was not until the arrival of the Europeans that the delicate balance of nature was disturbed. The process of clearing land for plantations and the introduction of goats, cattle and deer all took their toll on Hawai`i’s plant life.
We have recently extended the Hawaiian flora collection to the area across the road, behind the Kokua Kiosk. Behind the small kalo beds before the first bridge is a tall rock pile planted with Kaua`i endemic plants. The oldest of the tall islands, Kaua`i had more time for plants to specialize and evolve into new species. On the other side fo the bamboo-topped fence are plants endemic to O`ahu. In this area you can see the large bell-shaped flowers of Abutilon sandwicense, only found in the Wai`anae Mountains. Also here are plants of popolo, Solanum sandwicense, related to the tomato. Wild plants of these have become extinct on O`ahu in the time since they were brought into Waimea's protective cultivation. In a cage is a very rare, small carnation relative which naturally occurs only in Diamond Head crater. A seedling from O`ahu's last Gardenia brighamii tree is planted by the bamboo fence, and next to it is the rare kauila, Colubrina oppositifolia, with some of the hardest wood of all the native trees. At the other end of this area is a sprawling beach plant, the `ohai, Sesbania tomentosa. It has silvery leaves with microscopic hairs to withstand the heat and drying winds. This was propagated from the very last plant growing on Kaohikaipu Islet, off the coast from Makapu`u in the southeast. Behind it is the rarest of O`ahu's loulu palms, Pritchardia kaalae, collected on and named for O`ahu's tallest mountain.
Also, please come see our Native Fern Garden; our Hawaiian Hibiscus Garden and our Ethnobotany Collection.
Guam is the largest and southernmost island in the Marianas chain. It lies almost 3,500 miles southwest of Hawai‘i.
The island is only 28 miles long and about 4 to 8 miles wide, with an average rainfall of 85 inches. The highest point on the island is 1,300 feet above sea level. The flora of Guam consists of about 350 native species including ferns, flowering plants and one type of cone-bearing tree. At least 50 of these native species are endangered or threatened, in recent decades by the impact of the brown tree snake, Buigus irregularis, which invaded the island from New Guinea causing bird and insect extinctions which are now having a devastating effect on Gaum's flora.
There are two distinct types of soil on Guam and certain species can survive only in one soil type. The northern half of the island supports mixed vegetation and consists of a raised limestone plateau and wave cut terraces. The southern half is covered with deeply weathered volcanic clay, which supports mostly native grasses and a few small shrubs.
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