KᾹMAKAHALA (LABORDIA HEDYOSMIFOLIA)

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS

• erect to sprawling shrubs up to 6 feet tall
• leaves oppositely arranged on stems, in pairs
• leaves whitish-green beneath, much lighter than upper surface
• flowers yellow

TRADITIONAL HAWAIIAN USES

• none described in the standard references

HAWAIIAN RAIN FOREST ECOLOGY

• found in nearby park forests and natural area reserves protected from pigs
• tends to grow from soil and nurse logs low in forest understory
• vulnerable to animal disturbance and plants like kahili ginger
• may have occurred in Niaulani before the kahili ginger invasion
• being restored by VAC staff through plantings

Small seedling of the shrub KᾹMAKAHALA (LABORDIA HEDYOSMIFOLIA) inside of the Niaulani Rain Forest

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