Rare plants join national display

By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau

Four types of Hawai'i's native plant habitats will move to Washington, D.C., soon to take up temporary residence in the U.S. Botanic Garden Conservatory.

The project of the Kaua'i Native Plant Society will re-create the coastal, wet forest, mesic forest (in between wet and dry) and dryland forests of the Islands. About 60 kinds of plants, some rare and a few endangered, will be the centerpiece of a new exhibit, "Our Nation's Crown Jewels: Rare and Endangered Species of Hawai'i."

The program is aimed at raising public awareness of the plight of native plants, hundreds of which are in danger of extinction.

The U.S. Botanic Garden Conservatory has about 3,000 plants from around the world growing in 10 climate-controlled exhibit areas. Until now, only a handful of those plants have been from Hawai'i.

Among the plants being taken to Washington is the endangered Brighamia insignis, which is sometimes described as looking like a cabbage on a stick and can be found only on rugged cliffs of Kaua'i and Ni'ihau. Another is the rare Big Island hibiscus relative, Kokia dryanarioides, which has large, red blooms with edges that curl and twist.

The plants are coming from gardens and nurseries; none was collected directly from the wild.

They will be on display Aug. 29 to Nov. 23, to coincide with a photographic exhibition of rare Hawaiian plants to be shown at the conservatory. The photos are from the book, "Remains of a Rainbow," by David Liitschwager and Susan Middleton.

Roselle Flora Keli'ihonipua Bailey's hula school, Kahiko Halapa I Hula Alapa'i, will perform at the opening ceremony Aug. 30. The troupe will pay tribute to the plants of Hawai'i through traditional dance, music and song.

The plant program has collaborators from around the country, including the Missouri-based Center for Plant Conservation, the San Francisco-based Endangered Species Project, the National Tropical Botanical Garden, the Lihu'e field office of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service, the University of Hawai'i's Volcano Rare Plant Facility, the Pelea Pacifica Foundation, the Kilauea Point Natural History Association, Haleakala National Park, the Kosasa Family Fund of the Hawai'i Community Foundation, and the Universities of Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Reach Jan TenBruggencate at (808) 245-7825 or jant@honoluluadvertiser.com.