A living guide to Kauaʻi

Trees, Plants, Algae & Limu of Kauaʻi

Explore the island’s native and introduced species, habitats, watersheds and conservation work. Each record connects its description, images and sources with the interactive Atlas.

Page 8 of 13

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  Lysimachia pendens

  Lysimachia pendens

  A small, delicately hanging, many-branched shrub with tan hairs on young shoots. Closely spaced narrow lanceolate leaves taper at both ends and are brown-hairy beneath. Solitary red flowers have five to seven broad corolla lobes and hairy s

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  Lysimachia scopulensis

  Lysimachia scopulensis

  A branching shrub with red-to-green stems and firm, nearly succulent alternate leaves. The narrow spoon-like blades have internal glands and tips that curve backward. Solitary red bell flowers usually have six broad lobes. Rounded capsules

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  Lysimachia venosa

  Lysimachia venosa

  A shrub with brown ridged bark and well-spaced alternate leathery, oblanceolate leaves. The sessile leaves taper to pointed tips and have slightly rolled margins. Solitary flowers have six or seven parts and long narrow calyx lobes; the cor

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  Loosestrife

  Lythrum maritimum

  A slender, much-branched shrub with small, nearly stalkless, oblong leaves, generally opposite but sometimes alternate on fast-growing shoots. Solitary leaf-axil flowers have green tubes, purple petals and six slightly projecting stamens. S

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  Small-fruited Macadamia

  Macadamia ternifolia

  Small-fruited Macadamia (Macadamia ternifolia) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to southeastern Queensland in

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  Large-leaved Macaranga

  Macaranga grandifolia

  Large-leaved Macaranga (Macaranga grandifolia) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to the Philippines to norther

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  Parasol leaf tree

  Macaranga tanarius

  Parasol leaf tree (Macaranga tanarius) is an introduced tree treated as naturalized on Kauaʻi by Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist and the 2026 Smithsonian checklist. Current extent is unassessed. Native from tropical and subtropical Asia to t

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  Malachra alceifolia

  Malachra alceifolia

  An erect, stiffly branched subshrub with hairy stems and broad ovate leaves, sometimes shallowly lobed. Short-stalked flower heads are partly enclosed by folded pale bracts with green veins and heart-shaped bases. Yellow petals surround a y

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  False Mallow

  Malvastrum coromandelianum

  A tough, often low shrub with hairy reddish stems and ovate-to-narrow leaves bearing impressed veins and serrate margins. Small orange flowers grow singly or in small groups in leaf axils and near shoot tips. Dry wheel-like fruits have eigh

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  Turk's Cap

  Malvaviscus penduliflorus

  A shrub with pointed lanceolate-to-ovate, toothed leaves and hairs along young stems and flower stalks. Hanging solitary or clustered flowers have a tubular calyx, several narrow spoon-shaped involucral bracts and long red or occasionally w

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  Mango

  Mangifera indica

  Mango (Mangifera indica) is an introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi by Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist and the 2026 Smithsonian checklist. Its checklist classification is naturalized; current extent is unassessed. Native from the Indian subc

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  Cassava

  Manihot esculenta

  Cassava (Manihot esculenta) is an introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi by Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist and the 2026 Smithsonian checklist. Its checklist classification is naturalized; current extent is unassessed. A domesticated Neotropic

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  Ceará Rubber Tree

  Manihot glaziovii

  Ceará Rubber Tree (Manihot glaziovii) is an introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi by Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist and the 2026 Smithsonian checklist. Its checklist classification is naturalized; current extent is unassessed. Native to seas

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  Liverwort

  Marchantia spp.

  none_recorded is a liverwort in the Kauaʻi mosses and liverworts group. Its origin status is needs taxonomic review.

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  Brazilian Bower Plant

  Megaskepasma erythrochlamys

  A robust shrub with very large pointed ovate-elliptic leaves and coarse marginal teeth. Elongated terminal flower clusters carry conspicuous reddish-purple ovate bracts. White corollas age pale pink and have erect hooded upper lips and down

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  Guinea grass

  Megathyrsus maximus

  Species identity and image source are documented. Additional ecological and conservation citations are recommended.

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  Bracelet Honey-myrtle

  Melaleuca armillaris

  Bracelet Honey-myrtle (Melaleuca armillaris) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to southeastern Australia in co

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  Crimson Bottlebrush

  Melaleuca citrina

  Crimson Bottlebrush (Melaleuca citrina) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to eastern and southeastern Australi

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  Hillock Bush

  Melaleuca hypericifolia

  Hillock Bush (Melaleuca hypericifolia) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to southeastern Australia in coastal

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  Willow Bottlebrush

  Melaleuca lophantha

  Willow Bottlebrush (Melaleuca lophantha) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to Queensland and New South Wales i

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  Broad-leaved paperbark

  Melaleuca quinquenervia

  Broad-leaved paperbark (Melaleuca quinquenervia) is an introduced tree treated as naturalized on Kauaʻi by Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist and the 2026 Smithsonian checklist. Current extent is unassessed. Native to New Guinea, New Caledonia,

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  Prickly Paperbark

  Melaleuca styphelioides

  Prickly Paperbark (Melaleuca styphelioides) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to eastern Australia in subtropi

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  Malabar Melastome

  Melastoma malabathricum subsp. malabathricum

  Malabar Melastome (Melastoma malabathricum subsp. malabathricum) is an introduced tree documented as naturalized on Kauaʻi by Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist. The accepted subspecies belongs to a wet-tropical Asian species complex and occurs

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  Chinaberry / Pride of India

  Melia azedarach

  Melia azedarach is native from tropical and subtropical Asia to northern and eastern Australia and is introduced in Hawaiʻi. It readily escapes cultivation, spreads by seed, and resprouts after cutting or disturbance; dense stands can devel

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  Mokihana

  Melicope anisata

  Mokihana (Melicope anisata) is a tree; shrub recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.

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  Uahiapele

  Melicope barbigera

  Uahiapele (Melicope barbigera) is a tree recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.

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  Kuaemoa

  Melicope clusiifolia

  Kuaemoa (Melicope clusiifolia) is a tree; shrub recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.

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  Pilo ʻula

  Melicope cruciata

  Pilo ʻula (Melicope cruciata) is a tree recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.

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  Alani

  Melicope degeneri

  A small shrub with dense yellow-brown felt on new growth and opposite leathery elliptic leaves. Leaves are rounded or shallowly notched at the tip and hairy beneath, especially along the midrib. Small axillary flower clusters are reported,

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  Alani

  Melicope feddei

  A sprawling, prostrate or erect shrub with reddish-brown young branches and opposite, smooth, gland-dotted elliptic leaves. Leaves are rounded to shallowly notched at their tips. Small resinous flower clusters occur in leaf axils. Reddish-g

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  Alani

  Melicope haupuensis

  Alani (Melicope haupuensis) is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands and recorded on Kauaʻi. Tree about 8 m tall with finely appressed-hairy new growth.

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  Melicope iolensis

  Melicope iolensis

  Melicope iolensis (Melicope iolensis) is a tree recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.

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  Pilo ʻUla

  Melicope kavaiensis

  A shrub with wand-like stems and yellow-brown hairs on young growth. Opposite, widely spaced leathery leaves are broad, brittle and rounded to notched at the tip, with arched veins near the margin. Hairy axillary clusters carry separate flo

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  Alani

  Melicope knudsenii

  Alani (Melicope knudsenii) is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands and recorded on Kauaʻi. Medium-sized tree 3–13 m tall with a smooth gray trunk and densely yellow-brown to olive-brown woolly young growth.

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  Melicope macropus

  Melicope macropus

  Melicope macropus (Melicope macropus) is a tree; shrub recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.

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  Alani

  Melicope nealae

  A sprawling shrub with densely felted new growth and opposite leathery elliptic-to-obovate leaves, usually notched at the tip. Lower leaf surfaces bear hairs and arched marginal veins. Small leaf-axil flower clusters are reported, but flora

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  Melicope ovata

  Melicope ovata

  Melicope ovata (Melicope ovata) is a tree recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.

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  Melicope pallida

  Melicope pallida

  Melicope pallida (Melicope pallida) is a tree recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.

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  Melicope paniculata

  Melicope paniculata

  Melicope paniculata (Melicope paniculata) is a tree recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.

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  Alani

  Melicope peduncularis

  Alani (Melicope peduncularis) is a tree; shrub recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.

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  Hairy Melicope

  Melicope puberula

  Hairy Melicope (Melicope puberula) is a tree; shrub recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.

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  Alani

  Melicope quadrangularis

  Alani (Melicope quadrangularis) is a tree; shrub recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.

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  Pilo Kea Lau Liʻi

  Melicope rostrata

  An erect, few-branched, palm-like shrub with long narrow leaves concentrated toward ascending shoot tips. Numerous lateral veins run almost perpendicular to the midrib and join an arched marginal vein. Small flower clusters occur in and bel

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  Pilo kea

  Melicope spathulata

  Pilo kea (Melicope spathulata) is a tree; shrub recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.

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  Alani

  Melicope stonei

  Alani (Melicope stonei) is a tree recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.

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  Alani wai

  Melicope waialealae

  Alani wai (Melicope waialealae) is a tree; shrub recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.

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  Alani

  Melicope wawraeana

  Alani (Melicope wawraeana) is a tree recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.

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  Molasses grass

  Melinis minutiflora

  Species identity and image source are documented. Additional ecological and conservation citations are recommended.

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  Melochia

  Melochia umbellata

  Melochia (Melochia umbellata) is an introduced tree treated as naturalized on Kauaʻi by Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist and the 2026 Smithsonian checklist. Current extent is unassessed. An introduced, naturalized pioneer of disturbed tropica

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  ʻohiʻa lehua

  Metrosideros polymorpha

  ʻohiʻa lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha) is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands and recorded on Kauaʻi. Extremely variable plant ranging from a prostrate shrub to a tall tree, with bark usually rough, fissured and flaking, though sometimes smooth

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  Kauaʻi bottlebrush

  Metrosideros waialealae

  Kauaʻi bottlebrush (Metrosideros waialealae) is a tree; shrub recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.

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  Uhiuhi

  Mezoneuron kavaiense

  Uhiuhi (Mezoneuron kavaiense) is a tree; shrub recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.

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  Miconia

  Miconia calvescens

  Miconia calvescens is a tropical American wet-forest tree and one of Hawaiʻi’s highest-priority invasive plants. DLNR states that populations occur on Kauaʻi, and the Kauaʻi forest plan records survey and control near a state forest reserve

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  Lace Fern

  Microlepia strigosa

  palapalai is a fern in the Kauaʻi vascular and land plants group. Its origin status is indigenous.

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  Sensitive Plant

  Mimosa pudica

  A creeping to sprawling prickly subshrub with bipinnate leaves that close when touched. Each leaf has one or two pairs of pinnae carrying many small narrow leaflets. Rounded flower heads look pink to lavender because of their long staminal

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  Spanish Cherry

  Mimusops elengi

  Spanish Cherry (Mimusops elengi) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to South and Southeast Asia to northern Aus

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  Tree Daisy

  Montanoa hibiscifolia

  Tree Daisy (Montanoa hibiscifolia) is an introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi by Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist and the 2026 Smithsonian checklist. Its checklist classification is naturalized; current extent is unassessed. Native from Mexic

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  Firetree

  Myrica faya

  Firetree (Myrica faya) is a Macaronesian tree introduced in Hawaiʻi; Morella faya remains a widely used older name. Root symbioses allow it to fix nitrogen and alter nutrient-poor soils in ways that favor other weeds. HISC identifies it as

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  Noni

  Morinda citrifolia

  Noni (Morinda citrifolia) is a Polynesian-introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi by Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist and the 2026 Smithsonian checklist. Its checklist classification is Polynesian-introduced; current extent is unassessed. A stra

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  White Mulberry

  Morus alba

  White Mulberry (Morus alba) is an introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi by Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist and the 2026 Smithsonian checklist. Its checklist classification is naturalized; current extent is unassessed. Native to temperate and