Flowers and Plants of Hawaii

The Hawaiian quilts are traditionally made to represent a variety of plants and flowers growing in the Hawaiian Islands. Until recently, they were all hand cut, hand stitched and hand appliquéd into these beautiful, one-of-a-kind works of art.

Click Here to See this Fine Example of an
Anthurium Hawaiian Quilt

Bougainvillea is another imported species that we thank the Spanish for. They were first introduced to Hawai'i by Father Alexis John Augustine Bachelot, a catholic priest, when he brought the plant with him in the early 1800's.

The thorny vine grows with a variety of brilliant colors as you will see below and thrive with very little care. I love seeing their rich and vibrant hues of purples, pinks, magentas, oranges, fuchsia, reds, greens, yellow and white growing over stone walls or along the edges of peoples homes while driving around the Big Island of Hawaii.

The odd thing about the Bougainvillea is that it has modified leaves, or bracts, that are actually the colorful parts that look like blossoms. The flowers are actually tiny white flowers that grow hidden within the bracts.

Photo by ePut

The Canna lily is not a true lily. It is a genus of 19 different species of flora. The Cannas are related to the Zingiberales species that include the banana, ginger, marantas, heliconias, and strelitzias.

Here is an odd thing about canna lilies. They are a tropical plant and yet they are considered to be a perennial. They flourish in Hawaii and can be seen growing wild on all of the islands, yet they are only suppose to grow well in zones 7 - 10. Hawaii is zoned 11 - 12. I have also spotted them all over Upstate New York, which is a zone 5. What this tells me is that they are a very hardy plant that can due well just about anywhere.

The canna lily comes in a variety of colors including creme, yellow, red, apricot, orange and many other hues and shades that are a combination of these basic colors. They can also be seen as cream colored flowers with orange freckles. The genus originally came to Hawaii from Bolivia in South America. Canna lilies are are often called "Indian Shot", as their seeds are small, round, and hard like the lead shot that was used for shotguns in the late 1800 and early 1900.


In Hawaii, the seeds are used to fill the feathered gourds called uli uli. These gourds are used as musical instruments that accompany many of the Hawaiian hulas. When you shake the uli uli to the beat of the music, the seeds make a rattling sound.

The root, or rhizome, of the calla lily is edible and is used as a thickener in food just like cornstarch and arrowroot. It Hawaii it is also used for cattle and pig feed, where it is harvested 4-8 months after planting just for that purpose, although you will see it as an ornamental flower on every island in many gardens.

In Thailand, Vietnam, China and the Philippine Islands, the starch is used to make cellophane noodles.

Just about every part of the plant is edible. The seeds, leaves and roots are used in Hawaiian medicine; the young shoots can be stir-fried and eaten as a green; Latino countries fry the immature seeds and eat them in tacos; and in South American countries the roots are cooked as a starch staple and eaten much the same way we eat poi in Hawaii.

Photo from Wikimedia Commons
"Bird-of-Paradise" gets its name from its unique flower, which resembles the head of a brightly colored tropical bird. It is also called the crane flower. This slow growing, evergreen perennial is native to the subtropical coasts of southern Africa and is widely grown in warm regions. It is salt tolerant and will grow in most soils, but it thrives in rich soils with good drainage. The plant tends to produce more warm regions." ~ University of Hawaii Manoa Campus
Click this Link to Download a Free PDF Bird of Paradise to get more information on the variety of species found in Hawaii

Click Here to See:
Vintage Hawaii "ALOHA" Flowers Tiki Bar Sign

Photo from Wikipedia taken by Frank Schulenburg at the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, Big Island, Hawaii