A Guide to the Plants of Mauna Kea

Mauna Kea is home to many unique and rare plant species. In the upper regions of these slopes, you will find a mixture of specimens native to the Hawaiian islands, invasive species, and some plants found only in the harsh climate of Mauna Kea. Below are some of the most common plant species found in this diverse environment.

Species: Vaccinium reticulatum
Common Name: 'Ohelo, 'Ohelo 'ai, Hawaiian Huckleberry, Hawaiian Blueberry, Hawaiian Cranberry

Vaccinium reticulatum, or Ohelo as it's commonly known, is a small (usually less than 3' tall) endemic shrub. Ohelo occurs naturally mostly between 2,000' and 10,000' elevation on Mauna Kea. A pioneer species, Ohelo is well adapted to the volcanic environment in Hawaii, and is often seen growing on recent lava flows and cinder beds.

The oval shaped leaves are tough and leathery and range in size from 3/8" to 1 Ľ". The single flowers grow out of the bases of the leaves. The flowers are red, yellow, yellow with red stripes, or greenish yellow. They are about Ľ” long, tubular, and have 5 petals and 10 stamens. Flowering occurs throughout the year, but is most abundant from April to September.

Ohelo berries, usually about Ľ" in diameter and red, orange or yellow in color, are edible, and are often made into jam. They are also a major food source for Hawaii's native goose, the Nene.

Species: Geranium cuneatum, subspecies hololeucum
Common Name: Hinahina

Geranium cuneatum, subspecies hololeucum, or Hinahina as it's commonly known, is one of four subspecies found in Hawaii, and is native to the Hawaiian Islands. In Hawaiian "hinahina" means silver (Silversword plants are known as Ahinahina). If you check the undersides of the leaves, especially on a plant that's away from the road and not coated in dust, you'll note the silvery pubescence from which the name comes. Hinahina are the only woody geraniums in the world.

Before the eradication of many of the feral sheep and goats on the mountain, there were very few of the hinahina around as they are eagerly browsed by the feral ungulates. It's one of the upper vegetation margin plants that has really come back strong since the removal of most of the sheep and goats.

Species: Verbascum thapsus
Common Name: Mullein

Mullein, a biennial herb originally native to Europe and Asia, is now also widely distributed over most of North America. It grows well in the porous cinder soils on the slopes of Mauna Kea. It can be found thriving on the slopes of the cinder cones all around the Visitor Information Station (VIS) on Mauna Kea.

Mullein was originally brought to America by settlers who used the plant medicinally to treat coughs and diarrhea and as a respiratory stimulant for the lungs when smoked. A methanol extract from common mullein has been used as an insecticide for mosquito larvae.

Species: Sophora chrysophila
Common Name: Mamane

Mamane is a large shrub or medium sized tree that can grow up to a height of about 50’. Pea-like yellow flowers form loose bunches at the base of leaves or the ends of branches. Orange seeds form inside pods, and are sometimes collected and used to make leis.

Mamane seeds are the primary food source of the palila (Loxioides bailleui), an endangered Hawaiian bird species. Mamane forests on Mauna Kea have become degraded by browsing pressure from introduced goats and sheep. In recent years federally mandated eradication of feral herbivores has improved the condition of Mamane trees by reducing browsing by goats and sheep.

Species: Styphelia tameiameiae
Common Name: Pukiawe

Pukiawe, a small shrub usually less than 4 feet tall, thrives on the loose, dry cinder soils around the Visitor Information Station up to about 11,000 feet elevation on Mauna Kea. It is a food source for the Hawaii state bird, the nene.

The small red, white or reddish white berries are not edible by humans, but they are sometimes collected and strung into leis. In ancient times Hawaiians crushed the berries to make a dye for tapa cloth, and also sometimes used the leaves to treat headaches and colds. Hawaiian ali’i, or royalty, sometimes made small fires of dried pukiawe branches and leaves. It was believed that bathing in the smoke of a Pukiawe fire would cloak the mana of the ali’i, and allow him to move freely amongst commoners.

As you are driving from the Visitor Information Station (VIS) up towards the summit of Mauna Kea, Pukiawe is one of the last plants that you will see near the upper limits of vegetation on the mountain.

Species: Oenothera stricta
Common Name: Chilean Evening Primrose

The Chilean Evening Primrose is an introduced species which has become naturalized on Mauna Kea. Its yellow flowers can be seen blooming near the Visitor Information Station and Hale Pohaku. It is also found on road sides and in other disturbed areas near Mauna Kea State Park and Waikii Ranch over towards the Kona side of the island.

Oenothera stricta is thought to be native to South America. It’s said that it originally made its way from Chile to England in the pocket of a ship’s surgeon around 1790. It’s unknown how the plant was introduced to the Hawaiian Islands.

Species: Senecio madagascarensis
Common Name: Fireweed

Senecio madagascarensis is a non-native plant which grows well in disturbed areas on road sides and pastures, and can be found near the Visitor Information Station and along the road leading from Hale Pohaku to the summit of Mauna Kea.

Fireweed is particularly troublesome for ranchers as it contains a pyrrolizidine alkaloid which can cause liver damage in humans and livestock. Sheep and goats seem to have a higher tolerance to grazing fireweed, but there have been reports of cattle dying as a result of repeated exposure to the plant.

Species: Heterotheca grandiflora
Common Name: Telegraph Weed, Telegraphweed

Telegraph Weed, an annual to short-lived perennial in the Asteraceae family (Sunflower Family), is originally native to California. It can be found growing near the Visitor Information Station (VIS) on Mauna Kea as well as along the roadway leading from the VIS to the summit. Telegraph Weed is considered an invasive species in Hawaii.

When crushed, the leaves, stems and flowers of Telegraph Weed emit a strong smell of camphor similar to its relative, Heterotheca subaxillaris, also known as Camphor Weed. Tiny, little hairs on the leaves and stems of Telegraph Weed reflect sunlight, and are believed to have evolved to preserve the valuable moisture inside the plant allowing it to grow well even in relatively dry areas like Mauna Kea.

On Mauna Kea’s dry, cindery soils around the VIS at an elevation of around 9000’ Telegraph Weed grows to a maximum height of 3-4’. At lower elevations in its native California, Telegraph Weed is said to reach heights of 6 feet or more.

Species: Argyroxiphium sandwicense ssp. sandwicense
Common Name: Silversword, ‘Ahinahina

The silversword, classified as an endangered species since 1986, is in the Asteracea or Sunflower Family. The Mauna Kea silversword is a member of the silversword alliance, a group of Hawaiian endemic plants that scientists believe all evolved from a single plant species that probably originated in North America several million years ago.

The Silversword gets its name from its leaves which are shaped similar to daggers and are covered with many layers of silvery hairs. The leaves grow in bunches called rosettes which can measure up to 2 feet in diameter. At maturity the Silversword produces a 6 foot tall flowering stalk with hundreds of flowers. Since silverswords sometimes grow for up to 40 years before flowering, it is relatively rare to see a silversword in bloom.

In the late 18th century ship captains visiting Hawaii intentionally introduced sheep and goats to the island. By the 1930s the feral ungulate population numbered around 40,000 animals on Mauna Kea. These feral sheep and goats eagerly browsed the tender leaves of the Mauna Kea Silversword, driving the plant to the verge of extinction.

Since the 1970s the State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources has eradicated many of the feral ungulates on the mountain, and begun reintroducing the Mauna Kea Silversword, first in fenced in exclosures similar to the one at the east end of the Visitor Information Station parking lot, and later in unfenced areas.

Species: Stipa Cernua
Common Name: California Needlegrass, Nodding Stipa, Nodding Needlegrass

Stipa cernua, an introduced grass native to California, can be found growing around the Visitor Information Station (VIS) on Mauna Kea. Stipa cernua is a very drought tolerant grass, used by some landscapers on the Mainland in xeriscape installations. It is said that Native Americans in California used to burn Stipa cernua in the mountains to facilitate its regrowth of tender young shoots which they then “grazed” on their hands and knees.

Species: Rumex giganteus
Common Name: Pawale, Uhauhako

Rumex giganteus or Pawale, as it’s known in Hawaiian, an endemic species in the Polygonaceae family is found in a wide range of habitats on most of the Hawaiian Islands.

In Hawaiian culture Pawale is often used as a medicinal plant. Over the years Pawale has been used to treat leprosy, tuberculosis, skin diseases, heart disease, as a reproductive aid, and to purify the blood.

On Mauna Kea Rumex giganteus can be found growing on the rocky slopes above Hale Pohaku up to around 12,000’ elevation.

Species: Dubautia ciliolata, subspecies glutinosa
Common Name: Kupaoa, Na`e na`e

Dubautia ciliolate, ssp. glutinosa is a member of the Asteraceae or Sunflower family. Along with the Mauna Kea Silversword, Dubautia ciliolate belongs to the Silversword Alliance, a group of Hawaiian endemic plants that scientists believe all evolved from a single plant species that probably originated in North America several million years ago. This species is known to sometimes interbreed with Silverswords.

Species: Stenogyne rugosa
Common Name: Little Leaf Stenogyne, Native Mint

Stenogyne rugosa is an endemic mint species in the Lamiaceae Family. It can be found growing under mamane trees in the fenced in area at the east end of the Visitor Information Station’s parking lot.

The characteristic smell and taste of mint is usually a deterrent to browsing by goats, sheep, cows and other herbivores. However when the first mint plants arrived in Hawaii there were no animals here to eat them. Over the course of thousands and thousands of years, the endemic Hawaiian mint species gradually lost their minty flavor, because it was no longer needed for protection.