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Plants of the dry forest
thrive in sun

In this fourth volume of native Hawaiian lei plants for your landscape, we move up from the coastal regions of the islands into the lowland dry forest. Before, this vegetation zone, along with the mesic forest above it, was home to the largest diversity of native plant species.

HUI KU MAOLI OLA Both the seeds and flowers of wiliwili can be strung into lei.

Today it is the most threatened area; only 5 percent of the native lowland dry forest remains, housing Hawaii's greatest number of extinct and endangered species.

The plants of this region are worth cultivating. They do well in areas with lots of sun and require minimal watering.

Trees

» Wiliwili (Erythrina sandwicensis) are beautiful trees that can grow to 20 feet tall or more. Both its seeds and flowers can be strung into leis. The seeds are usually bright orange but can range from yellow-orange to almost orange-maroon. The flowers vary from creamy green to orange-red. The light-colored wood of the wiliwili can be fashioned into a hook-shaped pendant called a lei palaoa wiliwili, which is traditionally fastened around the neck with braids of human hair.

» Alahe'e (Psydrax odorata) is a gorgeous member of the coffee family with glossy leaves and fragrant white flower clusters that become clusters of dark green to black fruit. These attributes make this tree striking, and all can be woven into an equally striking lei.

Koa'a (Acacia koai'a) is similar in appearance to its brother the koa tree, but koa'a is much smaller and is usually found in drier habitats. It is also rarer than koa, limited to only a few islands. The small creamy yellow, pompom-like flowers and sickle-shaped phyllodes (modified stems that replace the leaves in mature plants) can be woven together to make one of the grandest leis you'll ever see.

Next week: More dry-forest lei plants

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