Native Plants

Prickly poppy is one of the more conspicuous native plants in the park

Bryan Harry photo

 

As you walk along the coastal trails, keep your eye out for many of the plants that are native to Hawaii. Watch for the fragrant pua maia with its flowers of white which was used for medicine and to help set broken bones. Growing along the lava, you may spot the lavender pohuehue, a native beach morning glory. Walk under the shade of the gracious hala tree, whose leaves are used to weave mats and baskets. Native plants may be either indigenous, meaning that they are found in our island chain as well as other places in the world, or endemic meaning that they are found only in the Hawaiian Islands.