A living guide to Kauaʻi

Kauaʻi species, habitats and conservation records

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 52 of 58

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  White moho

  Heliocarpus americanus

  White moho (Heliocarpus americanus) is an introduced tree documented as naturalized on Kauaʻi by Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist. Native from Mexico through tropical South America and introduced in Hawaiʻi. It is a fast-growing pioneer of cl

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  Hinahina Kū Kahakai

  Heliotropium anomalum

  A low, mat-forming coastal shrub with narrow to spoon-shaped leaves densely covered in soft silky silvery hairs. Short coiled flower clusters bear small white-to-pale-purple funnel flowers with five or six lobes. Small fruits separate into

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  Tree Heliotrope

  Heliotropium arboreum

  Tree Heliotrope (Heliotropium arboreum) 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 across tropical Indian and Pacific coa

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  Dwarf Umbrella Tree

  Heptapleurum arboricola

  A rounded evergreen shrub with palmately compound leaves. Typically seven to eleven short, glossy green leaflets spread from the end of a shared stalk in an umbrella-like arrangement. Established wild occurrence warrants observations of occ

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  Looking-glass Mangrove

  Heritiera littoralis

  Looking-glass Mangrove (Heritiera littoralis) 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 mangrove, coastal swamp, and

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  Mexican Cypress

  Hesperocyparis lusitanica

  Mexican Cypress (Hesperocyparis lusitanica) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to Mexico through Nicaragua in s

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  Monterey Cypress

  Hesperocyparis macrocarpa

  Monterey Cypress (Hesperocyparis macrocarpa) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to a very small coastal area ne

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  Kauaʻi island-aster

  Hesperomannia lydgatei

  Kauaʻi island-aster (Hesperomannia lydgatei) is a tree recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.

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  Pearl Flower

  Heterocentron subtriplinervium

  An erect subshrub with four-angled stems and ovate-to-elliptic leaves with pinnate veins. Flowers may be white, pink or magenta and have unequal anthers with extended connectives. The fruiting cup is bell-shaped and encloses very small seed

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  Pili grass

  Heteropogon contortus

  pili is a grass in the Kauaʻi vascular and land plants group. Its origin status is indigenous.

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  Kauaʻi hau kuahiwi

  Hibiscadelphus distans

  Kauaʻi hau kuahiwi (Hibiscadelphus distans) is a tree; shrub recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.

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  Hau kuahiwi

  Hibiscadelphus woodii

  Hau kuahiwi (Hibiscadelphus woodii) is a tree recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.

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  Clay hibiscus

  Hibiscus clayi

  Clay hibiscus (Hibiscus clayi) is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands and recorded on Kauaʻi. Shrub or small tree with glossy green, narrowly elliptic to ovate leaves that are entire or toothed toward the tip.

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  Kokiʻo

  Hibiscus kokio

  Kokiʻo (Hibiscus kokio) is a tree; shrub recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.

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  Rock's Hibiscus

  Hibiscus ovalifolius

  A perennial shrub with hairy young stems and rounded, sometimes shallowly lobed, toothed leaves. Solitary flowers have sulfur-yellow flaring petals with maroon bases, a short enclosed staminal column and five large involucral bracts abruptl

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  Sea hibiscus

  Hibiscus tiliaceus

  Sea hibiscus (Hibiscus tiliaceus) is indigenous in the Hawaiian Islands and recorded on Kauaʻi. Sprawling shrub or small tree usually 2–10 m tall, occasionally taller.

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  White Kauai hibiscus

  Hibiscus waimeae

  White Kauai hibiscus (Hibiscus waimeae) is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands and recorded on Kauaʻi. Gray-barked tree 6–10 m tall with branchlets densely covered in fine star-shaped hairs.

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  Barter's Hildegardia

  Hildegardia barteri

  Barter's Hildegardia (Hildegardia barteri) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to West tropical Africa to Camero

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  Japanese Raisin Tree

  Hovenia dulcis

  Japanese Raisin Tree (Hovenia dulcis) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to central and southern China through

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  Hookweed

  Hypnea musciformis

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

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  Hawaiʻi Holly

  Ilex anomala

  Hawaiʻi Holly (Ilex anomala) is indigenous in the Hawaiian Islands and recorded on Kauaʻi. Usually a 3–5 m tree or occasional shrub, sometimes reaching about 12 m.

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  Creeping Indigo

  Indigofera spicata

  A low, sprawling to ascending perennial with a thick rootstock and ridged, partly flattened stems. Pinnate leaves usually have seven small wedge-based, rounded leaflets with appressed hairs. Dense slender racemes bear tiny crimson-red pea f

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  Indigo

  Indigofera suffruticosa

  An erect shrub with pinnate leaves carrying usually nine to seventeen opposite oblong or elliptic leaflets, hairier beneath. Short racemes bear small salmon-pink-to-red pea flowers. Dark-brown narrow pods curve strongly upward and contain f

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  Leptopus Inga

  Inga sertulifera subsp. leptopus

  Leptopus Inga (Inga sertulifera subsp. leptopus) is an introduced tree documented as naturalized on Kauaʻi by Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist. Native from Costa Rica through northern and western South America to the Amazon basin. Subsp. lept

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  Sweet potato

  Ipomoea batatas

  ʻuala is a crop vine in the Kauaʻi vascular and land plants group. Its origin status is polynesian introduction.

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  Beach morning glory

  Ipomoea pes-caprae

  pohuehue is a vine in the Kauaʻi vascular and land plants group. Its origin status is indigenous.

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  Aupaka

  Isodendrion laurifolium

  A few-branched upright shrub leafy toward the shoot tips. Leathery oblong-to-elliptic leaves have conspicuous raised net veins and wavy, remotely toothed margins. Small purple flowers have pale greenish-white outer petal margins. Green, dee

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  Aupaka

  Isodendrion longifolium

  A few-branched upright shrub with long, leathery oblanceolate leaves clustered toward ascending shoot tips. Raised net veins and fine, remote marginal teeth distinguish the leaves. Small purple flowers are followed by purplish, slightly thr

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  Wahine Noho Kula

  Isodendrion pyrifolium

  A branched shrub with young shoots and leaf veins bearing forward-directed hairs. Elliptic-ovate to narrow leaves have fine teeth or nearly smooth margins and short pointed tips. The account describes elongated flower petals but qualifies t

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  Peruvian Jacaranda

  Jacaranda acutifolia

  Peruvian Jacaranda (Jacaranda acutifolia) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to Peru in wet tropical forest. A

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  Oval-leaf Clustervine

  Jacquemontia sandwicensis

  pāʻū o Hiʻiaka is a vine in the Kauaʻi vascular and land plants group. Its origin status is indigenous.

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  Bermuda Cedar

  Juniperus bermudiana

  Bermuda Cedar (Juniperus bermudiana) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to Bermuda in subtropical coastal woodl

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  Mexican Indigo

  Justicia spicigera

  A shrub with ovate-to-elliptic, pointed leaves and open flower clusters from upper leaf axils. Long orange-to-orange-red or mauve-to-pink corollas have a slightly hooded two-lobed upper lip and a curled-back three-lobed lower lip. Two stame

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  Au

  Kadua acuminata

  An arching or climbing shrub with mostly widely spaced, firm, long-pointed leaves and triangular stipules with slender tips. Reduced leaf-axil clusters bear yellow-green tubular flowers whose lobes reflex and roll back at opening. Woody, br

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  Manono

  Kadua affinis

  Manono (Kadua affinis) is a tree; shrub recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.

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  Kadua centranthoides

  Kadua centranthoides

  An erect to sprawling subshrub with firm, often heart-based pointed leaves and strongly raised lower veins. Narrow, interrupted branching flower systems carry fleshy purple-to-violet tubular flowers with greenish throats and reflexed lobes.

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  ʻĀwiwi

  Kadua cookiana

  A very small, many-branched shrub with thread-like leaves only about half to one millimeter wide. The leaf bases join in a sheath and stipules are reduced to narrow pointed ridges. Small clusters carry fleshy white tubular flowers. Tiny top

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  Kopa

  Kadua cordata

  A weakly erect to climbing, usually few-branched subshrub with smooth, often bluish-coated stems and broadly ovate-to-elliptic pointed leaves. Terminal branching clusters are partly obscured by leafy bracts. Fleshy pale-green-to-yellowish o

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  ʻĀwiwi

  Kadua elatior

  A loosely branched low subshrub forming clumps or mats. Thin narrow, often curved leaves taper at both ends, and their bases join into a short sheath. Terminal branching clusters carry white-to-green fleshy tubular flowers. Linear calyx lob

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  Kamapuaʻa

  Kadua fluviatilis

  A climbing shrub with smooth, partly flattened stems and widely spaced pointed leaves bearing conspicuous net veins beneath. Sparse leaf-axil flowers have long stalks, large pointed calyx lobes and white waxy tubular corollas. Woody, strong

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  Kadua flynnii

  Kadua flynnii

  A compact, many-branched shrub with ridged young stems and closely spaced narrow, firm leaves. Strongly ascending veins and raised net veins are conspicuous on both leaf surfaces. Dense clusters carry white-to-greenish-white tubular flowers

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  Kadua foggiana

  Kadua foggiana

  A diffuse, sprawling or climbing subshrub with widely spaced leathery, pointed elliptic-to-ovate leaves and prominent net veins below. Broad branching flower systems bear green-to-yellow-green corolla lobes and usually reddish-purple tubes.

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  Kadua knudsenii

  Kadua knudsenii

  A diffuse, climbing or drooping shrub with sharply ridged stem internodes and widely spaced broad pointed leaves. Terminal branched panicles bear fleshy green corolla lobes on reddish-purple tubes; the lobes have conspicuous narrow tip appe

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  Kadua tryblium

  Kadua tryblium

  A few-branched arching climber that can root where stems contact the ground. Long leathery leaves are green above and irregularly purple-marked beneath. Large stipules fuse around the petioles into water-collecting cups that tear as shoots

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  Mother of Thousands

  Kalanchoe daigremontiana

  An erect to leaning succulent subshrub, usually unbranched, with opposite thick triangular-to-lanceolate leaves blotched purple beneath. Notched leaf edges produce many small rooted plantlets that detach. Hanging bell flowers have green-to-

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  Lavender Scallops

  Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi

  A succulent subshrub with opposite, evenly spaced, broad obovate lavender-gray leaves and scalloped margins. Small plantlets arise mainly in the marginal notches of damaged or fallen leaves. Hanging flowers have inflated violet-flecked caly

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  Hybrid Mother of Millions

  Kalanchoe × houghtonii

  A usually unbranched succulent subshrub arising from Kalanchoe daigremontiana and K. delagoensis. Narrow lanceolate leaves fold upward lengthwise, with green upper surfaces and purple-brown blotches beneath. Marginal crenations bear numerou

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  Taiwanese Rain Tree

  Koelreuteria elegans subsp. formosana

  Taiwanese Rain Tree (Koelreuteria elegans subsp. formosana) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to Taiwan in war

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  Kauai tree cotton

  Kokia kauaiensis

  Kauai tree cotton (Kokia kauaiensis) is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands and recorded on Kauaʻi. Tree 5–10 m tall with very large, palmately divided leaves 12–25 cm wide, usually with seven or nine deep lobes and a heart-shaped base.

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  Lantana

  Lantana camara

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

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  Trailing Lantana

  Lantana montevidensis

  A low, unarmed, mat-forming subshrub with sprawling stems that root at ground-contacting nodes. Small ovate-to-narrow leaves have rough wrinkled upper surfaces and scalloped-toothed margins. Leaf-axil stalks carry rounded heads of lilac-to-

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  Round Pepperweed

  Lepidium orbiculare

  A small, much-branched perennial shrub with smooth dark-purple young branchlets and green, slightly fleshy leaves crowded near shoot tips. Tiny flowers have four white spoon-shaped petals and six projecting stamens. Flattened round seeds ar

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  ʻĀnaunau

  Lepidium owaihiense

  An ascending to weakly erect subshrub with thick, slightly fleshy spoon-like to oblanceolate leaves. Coarse teeth occur mainly in the upper two-thirds of the leaf margins. Terminal flower racemes develop elliptic-to-rounded flattened fruits

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  ʻĀnaunau

  Lepidium serra

  A small, many-branched shrub with thin elliptic-to-narrow leaves crowded at shoot tips. Sharp marginal teeth extend to the leaf base. Branched flower racemes produce small, roughly round flattened fruits that are wider than long and lack a

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  Mānuka

  Leptospermum scoparium

  Mānuka (Leptospermum scoparium) 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 southeastern Australia, New Zealand, and th

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  Leadtree

  Leucaena leucocephala

  Leucaena leucocephala is a tropical American nitrogen-fixing tree widely introduced for forage, shade, and revegetation. It forms persistent seed banks and dense stands on disturbed dry ground, roadsides, and coastal lowlands, where it can

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  White moss

  Leucobryum spp.

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

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  Chinese Privet

  Ligustrum sinense

  Ligustrum sinense is native from China to Vietnam and Taiwan and is invasive in parts of its introduced range. Bird-dispersed fruit, shade tolerance, and dense branching let it dominate forest edges, stream corridors, and disturbed understo

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  Chinese Fan Palm

  Livistona chinensis

  Chinese Fan Palm (Livistona chinensis) 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 southern Japan to southeastern Chi

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  Lobelia niihauensis

  Lobelia niihauensis

  none_recorded is a shrub in the Kauaʻi vascular and land plants group. Its origin status is endemic.