E nuʻanuʻa nā pua hihi o Hawaiʻi, i lei mauhili o ka poli.
The creeping flowers of Hawaiʻi grow thickly, as an entangled lei upon the breast – Noah Gomes
For those who arenʻt particularly botanically inclined, weʻll try Go Outside and Pay Attention (Noho i waho a maliu). Four different plants, lāʻau hihi, (plants that entangle, creep and spread) according to Mrs. Pukui mā. They are in the family Convolvulaceae, Morning-glories, and so all are related. None are particularly showy but we aloha them nevertheless.
Pōhuehue is our friend on the sandy beach. Purple flowers, leaves with curved “v” cutouts on their tips, making them look like the hooves of kao (goats). Pōhuehue often hosts tangled masses of yellow-orange kaunaʻoa, another morning-glory. – Photo: Bobby Camara
Pāʻūohiʻiaka, with her delicate pua of pale lavendar looks like a mini-twin of pōhuehue, though with furry leaf undersides. “The skirt of Hiʻiaka,” it’s said, grew over and sheltered Hiʻiakaikapoliopele after she was left on a beach whilst Pele went surfing. – Photo: Alen Cressler
ʻUala is also a morning-glory. Very variable, cooked leaves, palula, are spinachy, and its tubers come in a variety of colors, degrees of moistness, shape, and size. Bulging biceps are ʻuala too. – Photo: Courtesy NTBG
And then Bonamia, sadly, ʻaʻohe inoa Hawaiʻi (it has no known Hawaiian name). Sturdy, often found in dry lee lowlands, mayhaps because it was preyed upon in friendlier climes. It’s critically endangered, but grows vigorously, given a chance. – Photo: David Eickhoff
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