In The Garden Guest Writers

---

Hardy vine does well as ground cover

Description: A climbing vine with very pubescent, trifolate leaves (three leaflets comprising a single leaf) and striking purple flowers. The flowers are similar to those of pea-flowers such as 'ohai (Sesbania tomentosa) but are a bright purple and have a white spot at the base of the petal and keel. After the flowers are pollinated, large seed pods with three to nine tan seeds, about an inch in diameter, develop on the inside.

HUI KU MOALI OLA 'Awikiwiki looks lovely on a trellis, fence or growing along the trunk of a sturdy tree.

Distribution: This endemic plant is found in the dry forest of Lanai, Maui and Hawaii. It can easily be seen when driving on the dirt road to South Point on the Big Island, where it grows mostly as a beautiful ground cover in one of the harshest conditions in Hawaii.

Cultural uses: The flowers and seeds of this spectacular vine are strung into extraordinary leis. The color of the flowers ranges from almost all white with splashes of purple to deep purple, depending on which island they are on.

Landscape uses and care: This is a hardy plant; it does well in full sun and needs little watering once established. It does fine on a trellis, chain-link fence or on another tree but also does well as a ground cover. This is a beautiful vine that doesn't take over the host plant it climbs, unlike many introduced, invasive vines such as ivy gourd, maunaloa, maile pilau, banana poka and other passion fruit vines. 'Awikiwiki is available at the Home Depot for a limited time for about $8.

More info: Many people are familiar with the plant called maunaloa (Canavalia cathartica), which is used to make maunaloa leis; what most don't realize is that maunaloa is a non-native, highly invasive alien weed that is smothering our low-land forest plants. It can be seen taking over other plants from Waimanalo all the way to Naalehu on the Big Island. 'Awikiwiki is the original flower for the maunaloa-type lei and is not invasive, as well as not common.

---