USING NATIVE HAWAIIAN PLANTS IN LANDSCAPING WILL PROMOTE AWARENESS AND CREATE NEW DEPOSITS OF NATIVE FLORA Plant local!  We know there’s debate about how strongly native Hawaiian species like `ohi`a lehua should be emphasized in local landscaping projects.  Often plants are chosen based on availability, popularity, ease of growth and economics.  Here’s another consideration that hits closer to home.  Hawaii’s native plants face a multitude of threats in their natural environments (fueling our infamous title of “endangered species capitol of the world”).  Use of native species in landscaping efforts will not only showcase and promote an awareness of the unique beauty of Hawaiian flora, but done wisely can also create “repositories” of genetic stock.  However, given the findings of our research and related studies on the evolution and biogeography of Hawaii’s flora, we strongly urge the landscape industry to keep native species as local to their source as possible and leave genetic introductions to conservation managers. Hawai`i is an unprecedented natural laboratory for experiments in local adaptation and speciation (the... ...

The ‘Iliahi tree (Sandalwood) is a rem­­arkable, valuable, and fascinating plant that can play a vital role in native landscapes. ‘Iliahi trees (Santalum spp.) are hemi-parasitic and require a host plant to help them grow.  Their shallow roots graft onto roots of other plants through a sucker-like organ called haustoria which enable them to take nourishment from the host (or multiple hosts). That would seem like a big disadvantage for the host plant, but the reality is more complex and there may be shared benefits.  It could be that ‘Iliahi was an essential part of the mesic forests of Hawaii as a unifying element helping to balance resources. Four species of Sandalwood are listed as endemic to Hawaii, including Santalum ellipticum, S. freycinetianum, S. haleakalae, and S. paniculatum.  ‘Iliahi has few insect pests, is drought tolerant (particularly S. ellipticum), has attractive reddish new leaves and flowers (particularly S. freycinetianum), and has a slow to moderate growth rate with ultimate height varying between species and planting locations. Historic records and other... ...

Thanks to a grant from Kaulunani Urban & Community Forestry Program and the efforts of Lester Inouye and Drew Braley of Lester Inouye & Associates, Kawananakoa Middle School now has 24 new native trees growing on campus. “This has really been a huge coordination effort between us and the school,” Lester commented, “but I have to say, I’m very happy with the results.” The entire student body (880 students) of sixth, seventh, and eighth graders attended lectures about the importance of trees and training on how to plant trees given by industry leaders from Landscape Industry Council of Hawaii (Chris Dacus), The Outdoor Circle (Mary Steiner), American Society of Landscape Architects Hawaii Chapter (Dr. Andy Kaufman and Drew Braley), Kaulunani Urban and Community Forestry Program (Jackie Ralya and Teresa Trueman-Madriaga), the nursery industry (Rick Barboza), Aloha Arborist Association (Steve Nimz and Carol Kwan), and the City and County of Honolulu’s Division of Urban Forestry (Stan Oka and Brandon Au), during the three weeks prior to the tree planting.  Those same industry... ...