A living guide to Kauaʻi
Kauaʻi species, habitats and conservation records
Explore the island’s native and introduced species, habitats, watersheds and conservation work. Each record connects its description, images and sources with the interactive Atlas.
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ʻakoko
Euphorbia celastroides
ʻakoko (Euphorbia celastroides) is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands and recorded on Kauaʻi. Highly variable shrub or small tree 0.4–9 m tall, with prostrate to erect stems that may be hairless or woolly.
ʻAkoko
Euphorbia degeneri
A low, reclining subshrub with gnarled, hairy stems and small bluish-green rounded to kidney-shaped leaves in two ranks. Tiny flower cups occur mostly at branch tips and have green glands without petal-like appendages. Recurved stalks carry
ʻAkoko
Euphorbia eleanoriae
A small, hairless, densely branched shrub with brittle ascending shoots and tiny smooth-edged leaves, gray-green below. Terminal flower cups have purple glands bearing conspicuous white petal-like appendages. The three-angled capsules are g
Kauai spurge
Euphorbia haeleeleana
Kauai spurge (Euphorbia haeleeleana) is a tree recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
ʻAkoko
Euphorbia halemanui
A hairless climbing shrub with opposite elliptic to oblanceolate leaves and smooth margins. Tiny flower cups occur in dense branched clusters or singly and have yellow-green glands. Recurved stalks carry small green capsules with shallowly
Milk-striped euphorbia
Euphorbia lactea
Milk-striped euphorbia (Euphorbia lactea) is an introduced tree treated as naturalized on Kauaʻi by Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist and the 2026 Smithsonian checklist. Current extent is unassessed. A widely cultivated succulent associated wi
Puno puno
Euphorbia leucocephala
Puno puno (Euphorbia leucocephala) is an introduced tree documented as naturalized on Kauaʻi by Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist. Native from southern Mexico through Central America and widely planted in warm climates. Bishop specimens docume
ʻAkoko
Euphorbia remyi
An upright to climbing shrub with opposite smooth-edged elliptic to oblong leaves and angled leaf bases. Small leaf-axil flower cups grow singly or in loose branched cymes and have red-to-purple glands. Recurved capsules mature green to bro
ʻAkoko
Euphorbia sparsiflora
A low ascending subshrub with gray to pale-brown bark and opposite, small, bluish-green leaves with smooth margins. Solitary leaf-axil flower cups have purple glands and red styles. Recurved stalks carry hairless, three-angled green-to-red
Pencil tree
Euphorbia tirucalli
Pencil tree (Euphorbia tirucalli) is an introduced tree treated as naturalized on Kauaʻi by Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist and the 2026 Smithsonian checklist. Current extent is unassessed. A dry-country African species now cultivated and na
Devil's Backbone
Euphorbia tithymaloides
An erect succulent shrub with green zigzag stems and alternate simple, smooth green leaves with pointed ovate blades and entire-to-wavy margins. Terminal flower clusters carry conspicuous bright-red, two-lipped bracts around tiny flowers. I
Eurya degeneri
Eurya degeneri
Eurya degeneri (Eurya degeneri) is a tree; shrub recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
Ānini
Eurya sandwicensis
Ānini (Eurya sandwicensis) is a tree; shrub recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
Heau
Exocarpos luteolus
A green-stemmed shrub that branches most densely toward its tips. It carries both scale-like leaves and larger stalkless elliptic to obovate leaves. Tiny green flowers have five or six petals. Pale-yellow cylindrical drupes sit partly embed
Albizia
Falcataria falcata
Albizia (Falcataria falcata) is an introduced tree documented in Kauaʻi forestry records and invasive-plant management plans. Older names include Falcataria moluccana, Paraserianthes falcataria, and Albizia falcataria. Nitrogen fixation can
Common Fig
Ficus carica
Common Fig (Ficus carica) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to the eastern Mediterranean through Central Asia
Moreton Bay Fig
Ficus macrophylla
Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus macrophylla) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to eastern Australia and Lord Howe Islan
Chinese Banyan
Ficus microcarpa
Ficus microcarpa is native from tropical and subtropical Asia to the western Pacific and introduced in Hawaiʻi. Its naturalization depends on its specific pollinating fig wasp, after which bird-dispersed seeds can establish in walls, trees,
Tibig
Ficus nota
Tibig (Ficus nota) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to northern Borneo and the Philippines in wet tropical fo
Sacred fig
Ficus religiosa
Sacred fig (Ficus religiosa) is an introduced tree treated as naturalized on Kauaʻi by Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist and the 2026 Smithsonian checklist. Current extent is unassessed. Native to the northern Indian subcontinent and parts of
Fern Tree
Filicium decipiens
Fern Tree (Filicium decipiens) is an introduced tree treated as naturalized on Kauaʻi by Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist and the 2026 Smithsonian checklist. Current extent is unassessed. Native from eastern Africa and Madagascar to southwest
Large Leaf Flemingia
Flemingia macrophylla
A deep-rooted, tussock-forming woody shrub with ribbed, silky young branches and three-part leaves. Large dark-green, pointed leaflets spread from a shared petiole and have silky hairs on their veins. Dense leaf-axil racemes bear small pea
Queensland Maple
Flindersia brayleyana
Queensland Maple (Flindersia brayleyana) is an introduced tree treated as naturalized on Kauaʻi by Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist and the 2026 Smithsonian checklist. Current extent is unassessed. Endemic to eastern Queensland rainforest, fr
Mēhamehame
Flueggea neowawraea
Mēhamehame (Flueggea neowawraea) is a tree recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
White Ash
Fraxinus americana
White Ash (Fraxinus americana) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to eastern Canada through the central and eas
Tropical Ash
Fraxinus uhdei
Tropical Ash (Fraxinus uhdei) is an introduced tree treated as naturalized on Kauaʻi by Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist and the 2026 Smithsonian checklist. Current extent is unassessed. A subtropical montane tree native from Mexico through C
Arizona Ash
Fraxinus velutina
Arizona Ash (Fraxinus velutina) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to the southwestern and south-central United
Liverwort
Frullania spp.
none_recorded is a liverwort in the Kauaʻi mosses and liverworts group. Its origin status is needs taxonomic review.
Hardy Fuchsia
Fuchsia magellanica
A branching shrub with long arching stems and opposite or three-whorled, toothed ovate-to-lanceolate leaves. Solitary hanging flowers have magenta tubes and sepals, dark-purple petals and strongly projecting stamens. The fruit is an ellipso
Nānū
Gardenia remyi
Nānū (Gardenia remyi) is a tree recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
Kāmakahala
Geniostoma degeneri
A shrub with broad elliptic leaves and large cup-like stipules that split quickly. Dense stalkless flower clusters carry orange-yellow tubular corollas with narrow spreading lobes. Large white, slightly fleshy, compressed capsules are keele
Kāmakahala
Geniostoma helleri
An upright or sometimes climbing shrub with smooth elliptic-to-oblanceolate leaves and persistent small stipular cups. Stalked compound flower clusters carry white-to-pale-greenish-yellow urn-shaped flowers with narrow mouths. Whitish-green
Kāmakahala
Geniostoma hirtellum
Kāmakahala (Geniostoma hirtellum) is a tree; shrub recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
Geniostoma imadae
Geniostoma imadae
Geniostoma imadae (Geniostoma imadae) is a tree; shrub recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
Geniostoma lorencianum
Geniostoma lorencianum
Geniostoma lorencianum (Geniostoma lorencianum) is a tree recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
Geniostoma lydgatei
Geniostoma lydgatei
Geniostoma lydgatei (Geniostoma lydgatei) is a tree; shrub recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
Kāmakahala
Geniostoma pumilum
A few-branched shrub with angled or winged young stems, elliptic-to-obovate leaves pale bluish beneath and deciduous stipular cups. Orange tubular flowers have short hairs outside. Small ovoid, three-angled capsules split into three valves
Kāmakahala
Geniostoma tinifolium
Kāmakahala (Geniostoma tinifolium) is a tree; shrub recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
Kāmakahala Lau Liʻi
Geniostoma waialealae
A compact, much-branched, hairy shrub with small concave, wrinkled leaves and rounded leaf tips. Yellow tubular flowers have pale hairs inside. Small ovoid capsules have keels toward the top and two or sometimes three valves. Seeds are brow
Nohoanu
Geranium kauaiense
A low reclining shrub that roots in mossy bog habitat, with reddish-brown stems and small alternate oblong-to-wedge-shaped leaves. The upper leaf surface is smooth, the underside silky, and only the tip bears three to five teeth. Small term
Gliricidia
Gliricidia sepium
Gliricidia (Gliricidia sepium) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to Mexico through Central America to Colombia
Balloonplant
Gomphocarpus physocarpus
An upright shrub with a woody base, pale-hairy shoots and opposite narrow, smooth-edged leaves. Nodding flower clusters have strongly reflexed white petals and white-to-pinkish coronas. Large inflated, nearly spherical follicles have numero
Sea Island Cotton
Gossypium barbadense
A branched shrub with leaves divided into three, five or seven pointed lobes. Large deeply toothed bracts surround yellow flowers with maroon petal bases, which may fade pink or purple. Narrow ovoid pointed capsules have three chambers and
Hawaiian cotton
Gossypium tomentosum
maʻo is a shrub in the Kauaʻi vascular and land plants group. Its origin status is endemic.
Gouania meyenii
Gouania meyenii
An upright to spreading shrub with yellow-brown hairs on new growth and broad ovate leaves with smooth margins. It lacks tendrils. Tiny white flowers have small petals that enclose individual stamens. Fruits carry two or three wings, notche
Limu manauea
Gracilaria coronopifolia
limu manauea is a red alga in the Kauaʻi limu group. Its origin status is indigenous.
Gorilla ogo
Gracilaria salicornia
Species identity and image source are documented. Additional ecological and conservation citations are recommended.
Red Silky Oak
Grevillea banksii
Red Silky Oak (Grevillea banksii) is an introduced tree treated as naturalized on Kauaʻi by Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist and the 2026 Smithsonian checklist. Current extent is unassessed. Native to eastern Queensland woodland and open fore
Silk oak
Grevillea robusta
Grevillea robusta is an Australian tree widely planted in Hawaiʻi for forestry, shade, and ornament. Kauaʻi herbarium records repeatedly document it as an associated nonnative tree in degraded lowland wet and dry-mesic forest, supporting es
Caña Brava Bamboo
Guadua amplexifolia
Caña Brava Bamboo (Guadua amplexifolia) is a post-contact introduced woody bamboo documented on Kauaʻi through cultivation records. Kew accepts the species from central and southern Mexico through Colombia and Trinidad, primarily in the wet
Kākalaioa
Guilandina bonduc
Kākalaioa (Guilandina bonduc) is a tree; shrub; vine / climber recorded on Kauaʻi. It is indigenous to the Hawaiian Islands.
Noni kuahiwi
Gynochthodes trimera
Noni kuahiwi (Gynochthodes trimera) is a tree recorded on Kauaʻi. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
Halimeda
Halimeda discoidea
Species identity and image source are documented. Additional ecological and conservation citations are recommended.
Golden Trumpet Tree
Handroanthus chrysanthus
Golden Trumpet Tree (Handroanthus chrysanthus) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to tropical American forest a
Guayacán
Handroanthus guayacan
Guayacán (Handroanthus guayacan) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to southern Mexico through Central America
Yellow Trumpet Tree
Handroanthus umbellatus
Yellow Trumpet Tree (Handroanthus umbellatus) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to eastern and southern Brazil
Tulipwood
Harpullia pendula
Tulipwood (Harpullia pendula) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to northeastern and eastern Australia in subtr
Harrisia bonplandii
Harrisia bonplandii
A shrubby cactus with green stems bearing three to five weakly defined ribs and spines of similar lengths. Large elongated flowers have green bases and pale-green tubes bearing narrow reddish-brown-to-green scales and reddish hairs. The fru
Wild Yellow Dragon Apple Cactus
Harrisia eriophora
A shrubby cactus with an erect lower trunk and spreading branches. Short spines near shoot tips do not overlap adjacent areoles; longer crowded spines occur near the base. Large elongated flowers have green tubes with broad green scales, so
Kahili ginger
Hedychium gardnerianum
Species identity and image source are documented. Additional ecological and conservation citations are recommended.
