In the Garden
Rick Barboza
HUI KU MAOLI OLA
'Awikiwiki be available next week at Home Depot for about $6.
Awikiwiki
LATIN NAME
Canavalia hawaiiensis
Awikiwiki is the original flower for the "Maunaloa"-style lei. Many people are familiar with the plant called Maunaloa (Canavalia cathartica), often mistaken for orchids, which is used to make Maunaloa lei, but what people don't realize is that Maunaloa is a non-native, highly invasive alien weed that is smothering our lowland forest plants.
It can be seen taking over other plants in Waimanalo, all the way down to Na'alehu on the Big Island and pretty much everywhere else in the state. 'Awikiwiki is not invasive like Maunaloa. In fact, it is not common anywhere. If you insist on using Maunaloa it would be a good idea to gather all the flowers from the wild to prevent it from producing seed and spreading further.
Description: A climbing vine with slightly pubescent, trifolate leaves (three leaflets comprising a single leaf) and striking purple flowers. The flowers are similar to those of pea flowers like the 'Ohai (Sesbania tomentosa), but are a bright purple and have a white spot at the base of the corolla. After the flowers are pollinated, large seed pods with three to six reddish brown seeds about an inch in diameter develop on the inside.
Distribution: This endemic vine is found in the dry forest of Lanai, Maui and Hawaii. It can easily be seen when driving down the dirt road to South Point on the Big Island where it grows mostly as a beautiful ground cover.
Cultural uses: The flowers and seeds of this spectacular vine are strung into extraordinary lei.
Landscape uses and care: This is a hardy plant that does well in full sun and can handle little watering once established. It does fine growing up a trellis, chain-link fence or another tree but also does well as a ground cover.
Gardening Calendar
