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.
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Brush Box
Lophostemon confertus
Brush Box (Lophostemon confertus) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through cultivation records. Native to eastern Australian subtropical forest, rainforest margins, and moist open forest. On Kauaʻi it is documented in
Primrose Willow
Ludwigia octovalvis
A robust erect-to-spreading shrub or perennial herb with many branches and alternate narrow, smooth-edged leaves. Yellow flowers have four sepals and eight stamens. Long thin-walled fruits open irregularly and contain numerous tiny seeds wi
ʻŌhelo Kai
Lycium carolinianum
The Hawaiian form, historically Lycium sandwicense, is a low spreading shrub with stiff pale-barked branches and small fleshy spoon-shaped leaves with rounded tips and smooth margins. Solitary leaf-axil flowers are whitish, bluish or pink,
Lysimachia barcae
Lysimachia barcae
Lysimachia barcae is a Critically Endangered shrub found nowhere outside Kauaʻi. Field conservationist Nicolai Barca discovered the species, and Kenneth Wood and Warren Wagner named it in his honor in 2025.
Lehua Makanoe
Lysimachia daphnoides
A low clumping shrub with reddish-brown bark and sticky rusty hairs on young stems and leaf margins. Narrow leathery leaves closely overlap and taper to pointed tips. Solitary dark-purple-to-burgundy bell flowers have six or seven lobes. Ro
Lysimachia filifolia
Lysimachia filifolia
none_recorded is a shrub in the Kauaʻi vascular and land plants group. Its origin status is endemic.
Lysimachia glutinosa
Lysimachia glutinosa
An erect to sprawling shrub with reddish-brown bark and sticky but hairless young shoots. Alternate broad oblanceolate-to-elliptic leaves have smooth margins and pointed tips. Fragrant solitary cream bell flowers have five to ten lobes. Thi
Kolokolo Kuahiwi
Lysimachia hillebrandii
A sprawling shrub with many short lateral shoots, reddish-brown bark and rusty hairs on young growth. Alternate elliptic-to-ovate leaves have pointed tips and become nearly hairless. Solitary reddish-purple-to-burgundy bell flowers show dar
Lysimachia iniki
Lysimachia iniki
A woody shrub with hanging hairy green branches and closely spaced, nearly round, upward-cupped leathery leaves with heart-shaped bases. Solitary funnel flowers have six or seven lobes, white above and dark red below, with red staminal fila
Lysimachia kalalauensis
Lysimachia kalalauensis
A few-branched sprawling or climbing shrub with reddish-brown bark and rusty hairs on young shoots. Alternate elliptic leaves have smooth margins and pointed tips. Solitary bell flowers have seven or eight green corolla lobes, purplish-red
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Liverwort
Marchantia spp.
none_recorded is a liverwort in the Kauaʻi mosses and liverworts group. Its origin status is needs taxonomic review.
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
Guinea grass
Megathyrsus maximus
Species identity and image source are documented. Additional ecological and conservation citations are recommended.
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
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
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
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
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,
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
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
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
Mokihana
Melicope anisata
Mokihana (Melicope anisata) is a tree; shrub recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
Uahiapele
Melicope barbigera
Uahiapele (Melicope barbigera) is a tree recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
Kuaemoa
Melicope clusiifolia
Kuaemoa (Melicope clusiifolia) is a tree; shrub recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
Pilo ʻula
Melicope cruciata
Pilo ʻula (Melicope cruciata) is a tree recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
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,
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
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.
Melicope iolensis
Melicope iolensis
Melicope iolensis (Melicope iolensis) is a tree recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
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
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.
Melicope macropus
Melicope macropus
Melicope macropus (Melicope macropus) is a tree; shrub recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
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
Melicope ovata
Melicope ovata
Melicope ovata (Melicope ovata) is a tree recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
Melicope pallida
Melicope pallida
Melicope pallida (Melicope pallida) is a tree recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
Melicope paniculata
Melicope paniculata
Melicope paniculata (Melicope paniculata) is a tree recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
Alani
Melicope peduncularis
Alani (Melicope peduncularis) is a tree; shrub recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
Hairy Melicope
Melicope puberula
Hairy Melicope (Melicope puberula) is a tree; shrub recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
Alani
Melicope quadrangularis
Alani (Melicope quadrangularis) is a tree; shrub recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
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
Pilo kea
Melicope spathulata
Pilo kea (Melicope spathulata) is a tree; shrub recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
Alani
Melicope stonei
Alani (Melicope stonei) is a tree recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
Alani wai
Melicope waialealae
Alani wai (Melicope waialealae) is a tree; shrub recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
Alani
Melicope wawraeana
Alani (Melicope wawraeana) is a tree recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
Molasses grass
Melinis minutiflora
Species identity and image source are documented. Additional ecological and conservation citations are recommended.
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
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
