Naupaka Kahakai

Naupaka Kahakai grows everywhere on the coast and even is used for landscaping. I see a ton on the Mililani Town on ramp. There seems to be different varieties or subspecies of Beach Naupaka, some have really long leaves and some have different color flowers.

Background Information

Commonly referred to as Beach Naupaka, it is indigenous to Hawaii and occurs in many islands in the South Pacific and even the tropics. It is important to note that there is one endemic shoreline Naupaka which will be mentioned below. Naupaka is important in Hawaiian Mythology. Hawaiians also used it as a antiseptic and dyes. Today it is mainly used for landscaping.

Beach Naupaka

Beach Naupaka is also known as Naupaka Kahakai. It is a very versatile plant and can grow anywhere, even what appears to be on sand. This species is the common scaevola sericia. I took this picture at Allan Davis Beach which starts at the same trailhead as the Makapu'u Lighthouse trail.

Beach Naupaka

This Beach Naupaka was taken at Nimitz Beach in Ewa. It looks a little different than the sericia species, but I'm not too sure. This particular species has rounder form at the top of the leaf. On a side note, Naupaka flowers seem to bloom year round.

Beach Naupaka

As mentioned earlier, Naupaka seems to grow anywhere. Here it appears to be growing out of a rock or sand at Kaena Point.

Dwarf Naupaka

Here is a treat. This Naupaka is called Dwarf Naupaka. The species is scaevola coriaca. It is located on the Waihe'e Coastal Dunes on Maui and not much elsewhere. It is rare in the wild and even at the Waihe'e Coastal Dunes, it was very hard to find.

Dwarf Naupaka

All Beach Naupaka are indigenous, except for this one. I'm not sure if this is considered Beach Naupaka, but it was located on the coast, so that is what I'll call it.

When we went to the Waihe'e Coastal Dunes in October 2018, initially, we didn't find it. While walking back, Jared asked me to ID a plant, I said Pohinahina, then I looked again and said, "there it is". Dwarf Naupaka! There is also some in cultivation at Wailea Point.

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