Wagner, Warren L., Derral R. Herbst and S. H. Sohmer. 1999. Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai'i (Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum Special Publication, 2 Vol. Set). Honolulu, HI
Flora of Hawaii:
Distribution Native range unknown, but possibly indigenous to the Himalayas, southeastern Asia, Malesia, and northern Australia, widely spread by early human migrations. In the Hawaiian Islands, a Polynesian introduction on Ni`ihau, Kaua`i, O`ahu, Moloka`i, Lana`i, Maui, Hawai`i.
Habit Shrubs 2-3.5 m tall, stems unbranched or few branched.
Leaves Leaves green, relatively thin, lanceolate to oblong elliptic, usually 40-80 cm long, 8-16 cm wide, apex acuminate with a mucronate tip, base cuneate; petioles usually 10-18 cm long.
Flowers Flowers in paniculate inflorescences ca. 20-30 cm long, each one sessile, subtended by 3 small bracts; tepals white, the outer ones tinged pink, 8-15 mm long, becoming strongly reflexed.
Fruit Fruit rarely formed. Chromosomes 2n = ca. 152. Many leaf color variants in cultivation. Fruit is rarely formed in Polynesian cultivars with large green leaves.
Development of the Consortium of Pacific Herbaria and several of the specimen databases have been
supported by National Science Foundation Grants (BRC 1057303,
ADBC 1304924
and ADBC1115116).
Data Usage Policy. Continued support provided by the Symbiota Support Hub, a domain of iDigBio (NSF Award #2027654).
Copyright 2015 University of Hawai‘i.