Hibiscus is a flowering plant that has a strong association with Hawaii. It is part of the Hawaiian Airlines logo and is found on aloha shirts and hats and car decals. But before these commercial uses, hibiscus was common in Hawai’i’s gardens as shrubs and hedges.
The native plants in the Hibiscus genus include five endemic and one indigenous species. There are several flower colors, and they occur in dry to wet forests on all the main islands.
The official flower of the State of Hawai’i is a hibiscus, named Hibiscus brackenridgei. The Hawaiian name for this genus is aloalo, and the Hawaiian name for this particular species is ma’o hau hele. The color is a bright yellow and often has a red center. This hibiscus is endangered, as are most of the native hibiscus. Nonetheless, they are very easy to grow. This plant looks best when trimmed to encourage side-branching, so do you know someone with this plant who will give you some trimmings? You can then easily root the green tops and end up with several plants in a month or two.
If you would like to have a showy flower, easy to grow and with the gratification of helping an endangered Hawaiian plant, then ma’o hau hele or any of the aloalo is the one for you.
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