Kauaʻi record · kba_plant_nestegis_sandwicensis
Olopua
Nestegis sandwicensis
Open this record in the interactive Atlas
About Olopua
Olopua (Nestegis sandwicensis) is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands and recorded on Kauaʻi. Tree to 8 m, exceptionally taller, with thick corrugated bark.
Kauaʻi evidence
Taxonomy, nativity, island-level occurrence, growth form, names, and source conservation assessments are documented in the 2026 census audit. Broader ecology and conservation recommendations still require claim-level source review. Generated imagery is not occurrence evidence.
Names and classification
- Scientific name
- Nestegis sandwicensis
- Common names
- Hawaiian olive · Hawaiʻi olive · olopua
- Hawaiian names
- Olopua · Pua · Ulupua
- Other names
- olopua · Nestegis sandwicensis · Notelaea sandwicensis · Gymnelaea sandwicensis · Olea sandwicensis · Osmanthus sandwicensis · Hawaiian olive · Hawaiʻi olive · Pua · Ulupua
- Family
- Oleaceae
- Order
- Lamiales
- Record type
- Species or taxonomic group
Kauaʻi occurrence and status
- Kauaʻi occurrence
- Recorded on Kauaʻi
- Origin
- Endemic
- Conservation status
- Smithsonian checklist assessment: Apparently Secure; U.S. source status: No Status
- Evidence date
- 2026-10-05
- Evidence limits
- Island-level occurrence is retained; finer locality is intentionally withheld. Growth-form tags describe the taxon across its range, not a measured Kauaʻi population. Checklist source statuses are not a new legal-status determination.
Habitat and ecology
- Habitats
- Dry to mesic forest
- Food and resource needs
- Light, water, nutrients, and suitable soil or substrate
- Reproduction
- Viable propagules and suitable establishment conditions
- Shelter
- Suitable soil, substrate, and vegetation structure
- Growth form
- Tree
Threats and conservation
- Threats
- Fire, invasive grasses, ungulates, habitat loss
- Conservation actions
- Fencing, weed control, dry forest restoration
- Monitoring
- Fencing, weed control, dry forest restoration
- Data gaps
- Additional ecological and conservation citations are recommended
Process and seasonal context
- Seasonal timing
- Not assessed
- Seasonal description
- Olopua (Nestegis sandwicensis) is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands and recorded on Kauaʻi. Tree to 8 m, exceptionally taller, with thick corrugated bark.
Sources and further reading
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Starr_060225-6117_Nestegis_sandwicensis.jpg
- https://doi.org/10.5479/si.32124043
- https://naturalhistory2.si.edu/botany/hawaiianflora/speciesdescr.cfm?genus=Notelaea&species=sandwicensis
- https://naturalhistory2.si.edu/botany/hawaiianflora/result2.cfm?epithet1=&genus=Nestegis&rank1=&species=sandwicensis
