Family Rubiaceae

Coffee Family

HAWAII - ENDEMIC

Gardenia brighamii  

Koko Crater, Oahu

NANU or NA'U

Small endangered tree from dry forests of Oahu to Hawaii.  Flower about 2 inches in diameter.  Only a few wild plants remaining but widely cultivated.

Kadua acuminata   

Manoa Cliffs Trail, Oahu

AU

Endemic vine- shrub in mesic to wet forests of the main Hawaiian Islands.  Flowers yellow or green.  Variable morphology.

Psychotria mariniana   

Domatia, Pauoa Flats, Oahu

Wa'ahila ridge, Oahu

 

Wa'ahila ridge, Oahu

KOPIKO

Common shrub or tree in mesic to wet forests from Kaua'i to Maui.  Thick shiny leaves have 3mm pits called domatia at the base of each vein and a prominent petiole.  Fruits are orange when ripe.

Psychotria kaduana   

Wa'ahila ridge, Oahu

KOPIKO KEA

Common shrub or small tree in mesic to wet forests from Kaua'i to Maui.  Thick shiny leaves may have tiny domatia 0.5mm at the base of each vein and lack a prominent petiole.

Psychotria kaduana x mariniana   

Wa'ahila ridge, Oahu

KOPIKO

Occasional hybrids occur in the southern Ko'olau mountains.  Leaves have larger domatia of P. mariniana, lacking petioles as in P. kaduana.

Psychotria hathewayi   

Koko Crater, Oahu

KOPIKO

Small tree in occasional in mesic & dry forest of Oahu's Wai'anae Mountains.  Flowers have hair on the corolla & calyx.

Coprosma montana   

Haleakala, Maui

PILO

Shrub or small tree often a dominant component of subalpine shrubland on East Maui & Hawaii.  


HAWAII - INDIGENOUS

Psydrax odoratum

UH Manoa, Oahu

 

Koko Crater, Oahu

Hoomaluhia, Kaneohe, Oahu

ALAHE'E

Common shrub or small tree in dry & mesic forests of the Main Hawaiian Islands.  Glossy leaves.  Fruits are black when ripe.  Native to the Pacific basin from New Caledonia & Micronesia east to Hawaii & the Tuamotus.  Formerly known as Canthium odoratum.


HAWAII - POLYNESIAN CULTIVATED / NATURALIZED

Morinda citrifolia

UH Manoa, Oahu

INDIAN MULBERRY    NONI

Small tree found in coastal areas, lava fields, dry, and mesic forests.   Brought to Hawaii by early Polynesian settlers and now naturalized.  Foul-smelling bitter fruit is used medicinally, roots & bark for dye.  Noni juice is touted as a homeopathic remedy.  One fruit contains roughly half the Vitamin C of an Orange (I'd choose the orange).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noni


HAWAII - NATURALIZED

Coffea arabica

Kona, Hawaii

ARABIAN COFFEE

Small tree native to Ethiopia & Yemen.  Cultivated in Hawaii & naturalized in wet alien forest.  Source of 'Kona Coffee'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffea_arabica

Spermacoce assurgens

Waimanalo, Oahu

BUTTONWEED

Woody herb common in lawns & disturbed areas.  Native from Florida to Tropical South America.

Hedyotis corymbosa

Bellows AFB, Oahu

HEDYOTIS

Small herb in disturbed mesic areas.  Flowers 2mm wide.  Native of Africa but widely naturalized.


HAWAII - CULTIVATED

Gardenia taitensis

UH Manoa, Oahu

TAHITIAN GARDENIA    TIARE

Ornamental shrub native to Melanesia but cultivated throughout the Tropical Pacific.  Flower about 4 inches in diameter.  Official flower of Tahiti.

Mussaenda erythrophylla

UH Manoa Campus

MUSSAENDA 'QUEEN SIRIKIT'

Ornamental shrub from SE Asia with numerous cultivars.  Pink 'flowers' are actually sepals or colored bracts, true flowers are small & yellow.

Ixora spp.

UH Manoa, Oahu

IXORA

Ornamental shrubs from South Asia.

Randia sp.

UH Manoa Campus

RANDIA

Ornamental shrub from Australia.

 

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