Kāwaʻu

Kāwaʻu is common in the native forest. Hiker's are able to identify based on leaves because the veins are prominent at the top which can be the give away. There are both male and female plants of Kāwaʻu and the difference is obvious, it really looks like two different plants.

Background Information

Kāwaʻu is indigenous to the Hawaiian Islands. Ancient Hawaiians used the wood and made into anvils for kapa beating. Today if you look closely, you can find happy faced spiders under leaves. It is known as the Hawaiian Holly and is found usually in the upper wet forest.

Kāwaʻu

There is only one indigenous species of Kāwaʻu called Ilex anomala. However, as mentioned above there are both male and female plants of Kāwaʻu. You can see the difference in both male and female plants in the pictures. One plant seems straight with leaves alternating at the stem. The other plant leaves clusters making it look like a bouquet. The give away for identifying Kāwaʻu is the prominent veins on the leaves. It looks like a spider web of veins.

Kāwaʻu

The flowers of Kāwaʻu are tiny. They are white followed by black seeds. The black seeds look like small blueberries.

Sources:

• Flowering Plants of Hawaii, 221-224
• Hall, p188