Pilo kea

Pilo Kea is a rare plant only found on Oahu and Kauai. According to Stephane at OANRP, told me this species has merged with the Alani when classifying it. It does have features of the Alani such as the fruit on the stem.

Background Information

This rare species of plant is hard to find. I think the one pictures featured below was outplanted, but I'm not sure. It resembles Alani with its horned fruit.

Pilo Kea

Here is a nice picture of the flower and fruit at the same time. As you can see, it looks like the Alani berry. The tree can grow tall over 6 feet. It looks similar to Papala, so seeing the berries fruit would help in identifying the plant.

Pilo Kea

Here is a picture of Erik taking a picture of the Pilo Kea plant. As you can see, you could mistake it for another plant whether it be ti leaf or Papala. This plant was flowering, that helped in the identification. The scientific name is Platydesma variation decurrens. The Ko'olau version has a variation called cornuta.

Source

  • Hawaiian Plant Life 155-156