All posts by T. Beth Kinsey

Edible Hawaiian Plants, Graminoids, Inconspicuous Flowers, Inconspicuous Hawaiian Flowers, Introduced Plants, Perennials, Poaceae - Grass Family

Setaria palmifolia – Palmgrass

Setaria palmifolia - Palmgrass, Palm Grass, Broadleaved Bristlegrass, Hailans Pitpit, Short Pitpit, Highland Pitpit

Setaria palmifolia - Palmgrass, Palm Grass, Broadleaved Bristlegrass, Hailans Pitpit, Short Pitpit, Highland Pitpit (inflorescence)

Setaria palmifolia - Palmgrass, Palm Grass, Broadleaved Bristlegrass, Hailans Pitpit, Short Pitpit, Highland Pitpit (leaf)

Setaria palmifolia - Palmgrass, Palm Grass, Broadleaved Bristlegrass, Hailans Pitpit, Short Pitpit, Highland Pitpit

Plant Name

Scientific Name: Setaria palmifolia

Synonyms: Panicum palmifolium, P. palmaefolium

Common Names: Palmgrass, Palm Grass, Broadleaved Bristlegrass, Hailans Pitpit, Short Pitpit, Highland Pitpit

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial

Growth Habit: Graminoid

Hawaii Native Status: Introduced. This naturalized ornamental grass and food plant is native to Asia.

Flower Color: Inconspicuous

Height: 3 to 6 feet (1 to 2 m) tall

Description: The single-bristled flower spikelets are in lax, flexible, open panicles on tall, slender stalks. The flowers are followed by small, light brown caryopses (grains). The leaves resemble those of seedling palms and have stiffly haired sheaths and large, green, plicate (pleated), fusiform (wide in the middle and tapering at both ends) leaf blades. The culms (grass stems) are erect and they emerge from a short rhizome.

Here in Hawaii, Palmgrass is a weed in wet and mesic (moderately wet) forested areas from low to middle elevations.

Special Characteristics

Edible – The young, unopened, sheath-enclosed flower shoots are edible, but they are much better in the cultivated "Pitpit" varieties of this plant, which are grown for food. The cereal grain is also edible, but it is small.

Classification

Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Liliopsida – Monocotyledons
Subclass: Commelinidae
Order: Cyperales
Family: Poaceae – Grass family
Genus: Setaria P. Beauv. – bristlegrass
Species: Setaria palmifolia (J. Koenig) Stapf – palmgrass

More About This Plant

Hawaii County Distribution Map

Cultivated Plants, Lamiaceae - Mint Family, Perennials, Purple and Blue Flowers, Purple and Blue Hawaiian Flowers, Shrubs

Rotheca myricoides – Blue Butterfly Bush

Rotheca myricoides - Blue Butterfly Bush, Butterfly Clerodendrum, Blue Glory Bower, Blue Glorybower, Blue Cat's Whiskers

Rotheca myricoides - Blue Butterfly Bush, Butterfly Clerodendrum, Blue Glory Bower, Blue Glorybower, Blue Cat's Whiskers

Plant Name

Scientific Name: Rotheca myricoides

Synonyms: Clerodendrum myricoides, C. ugandense

Common Name: Blue Butterfly Bush, Butterfly Clerodendrum, Blue Glory Bower, Blue Glorybower, Blue Cat's Whiskers

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial, Evergreen

Growth Habit: Shrub

Hawaii Native Status: Cultivated. This ornamental garden plant is native to East Africa.

Flower Color: Blue or violet

Height: Up to 10 feet (3 m) tall

Description: The butterfly-shaped, up to 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide flowers have long, curved stamens, 4 pale blueish white side petals and a longer, cupped, blue or violet lower petal. The flowers are followed by small, shiny, red to black, up to 4-lobed fruit. The variable leaves are green, opposite or in whorls of 3 or 4, and narrowly elliptic or egg-shaped. The upper stems are hairy or hairless and green to dark purple-red in color. The lower stems are woody and branched. The plants can be propagated by stem cuttings.

Classification

Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Asteridae
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae – Mint family
Genus: Rotheca Raf. – mint
Species: Rotheca myricoides (Hochst.) Steane & Mabb. – blue butterfly bush

Canoe Plants, Dioscoreaceae - Yam Family, Edible Hawaiian Plants, Fragrant Hawaiian Flowers and Plants, Green Flowers, Hawaiian Fruit or Cones, Herbs and Forbs, Introduced Plants, Perennials, Poisonous Hawaiian Plants, Purple and Blue Flowers, Vines, White Flowers

Dioscorea bulbifera – Air Yam

Dioscorea bulbifera - Air Yam, Air Potato, Bitter Yam, Aerial Yam, Potato Yam, Hoi, Pi`oi

Dioscorea bulbifera - Air Yam, Air Potato, Bitter Yam, Aerial Yam, Potato Yam, Hoi, Pi`oi (bulbil or aerial tuber)

Dioscorea bulbifera - Air Yam, Air Potato, Bitter Yam, Aerial Yam, Potato Yam, Hoi, Pi`oi (leaf)

Dioscorea bulbifera - Air Yam, Air Potato, Bitter Yam, Aerial Yam, Potato Yam, Hoi, Pi`oi

Plant Name

Scientific Name: Dioscorea bulbifera

Synonym: Dioscorea latifolia

Common Names: Air Yam, Air Potato, Bitter Yam, Aerial Yam, Potato Yam, Hoi, Pi`oi

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial

Growth Habit: Vine, Herb/Forb

Hawaii Native Status: Introduced. This naturalized Polynesian canoe plant and weed is native to Africa, Asia, and Australia.

Flower Color: Pale green (female), White aging to purple (male)

Flowering Season: Late summer, Early fall

Height: Climbing up to 100 feet (30 m) tall

Description: The plants are dioecious with male and female flowers on separate plants, however these plants rarely bloom. When present, the tiny flowers are in slender, pendent spikes or panicles at the leaf axils. The female flowers are followed by seed capsules that are only winged on the basal side. The leaves are large, green, hairless, untoothed, alternate, palmately veined from the leaf base, long-petioled, and broadly heart-shaped. The slender, twining, hairless, green to purple-flecked stems climb to the left (clockwise), are round to slightly angled in cross section, and have no spines. Rounded, up to 5 inch (13 cm) in diameter, potato-like bulbils (aerial tubers) are formed on the stems at the leaf axils. The plants sometimes also have small underground tubers. Even when the plants are not producing seeds, they can be propagated by both the bulbils and tubers.

Here in Hawaii, Air Yam grows in disturbed mesic (moderately wet) forests at lower elevations.

The similar Uhi or Water Yam (Dioscorea alata) has opposite leaves and stems that climb to the right (counterclockwise), while Pi`a or Fiveleaf Yam (D. pentaphylla) has compound leaves with 3 to 5 leaflets.

Special Characteristics

Canoe Plant – Ancient Polynesians carried this plant to Hawaii in their canoes. They called it Hoi or Pi'oi and its poisonous if not properly prepared bulbils were eaten only in times of famine.

Edible – The bulbils are poisonous, but they can become edible if well-rinsed in running water, boiled, and properly prepared by someone experienced with them. There are also more edible cultivated varieties. The other two yam species found here in Hawaii are not poisonous and are much better choices for eating.

Fragrant – The male flowers are fragrant.

Poisonous – The very bitter underground tubers and the improperly prepared bulbils are poisonous.

Classification

Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Liliopsida – Monocotyledons
Subclass: Liliidae
Order: Liliales
Family: Dioscoreaceae – Yam family
Genus: Dioscorea L. – yam
Species: Dioscorea bulbifera L. – air yam

More About This Plant

Hawaii County Distribution Map

Annuals, Brown and Drab Hawaiian Flowers, Dull-colored Flowers, Edible Hawaiian Plants, Euphorbiaceae - Spurge Family, Hawaiian Fruit or Cones, Herbs and Forbs, Inconspicuous Flowers, Inconspicuous Hawaiian Flowers, Introduced Plants, Perennials, Poisonous Hawaiian Plants, Red Flowers, Shrubs, Subshrubs, Trees

Ricinus communis – Castor Bean

Ricinus communis - Castor Bean, Castorbean, Castor Oil Plant, Palma Christi

Ricinus communis - Castor Bean, Castorbean, Castor Oil Plant, Palma Christi (fruit and male flowers)

Ricinus communis - Castor Bean, Castorbean, Castor Oil Plant, Palma Christi (fruit and female flowers)

Ricinus communis - Castor Bean, Castorbean, Castor Oil Plant, Palma Christi

Ricinus communis - Castor Bean, Castorbean, Castor Oil Plant, Palma Christi (seeds)

Plant Name

Scientific Name: Ricinus communis

Common Name: Castor Bean, Castorbean, Castor Oil Plant, Palma Christi

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Annual, Perennial, Evergreen

Growth Habit: Tree, Shrub, Subshrub, Herb/Forb

Hawaii Native Status: Introduced. This naturalized weed and medicinal plant is native to Africa.

Flower Color: Inconspicuous, red female flowers, tan male flowers

Height: Up to 16 feet (5 m) tall, but usually less

Description: The plants are monoecious with separate male and female flowers on the same plant. The up to 1 foot (30 cm) long inflorescences contain both male and female flowers and are located at the stem tips. The small female flowers are located at the tips of the inflorescences and have red stigmas. The tan-colored male flower clusters are located at the base of the inflorescences. The female flowers are followed by clusters of spiny, rounded, trilobed, 3-seeded, green or red seed capsules that turn a dark red-brown color and explode open when dry. The shiny, grayish to beige seeds are mottled with dark brown and resemble spotted dog ticks in size, shape and markings. The leaves are large, prominently veined, green, purplish, or dark reddish in color, alternate, lopsidedly peltate with stout, reddish stalks, and palmately lobed with usually 7 to 11 point-tipped, sharply toothed lobes. The stems are erect, branched or single-stemmed, hairless, greenish red to brown in color, hollow to pithy, and woody at the base. The plants are weedy and fast-growing.

Here in Hawaii, Castor Bean grows in sunny, disturbed areas and along roadsides in dry to mesic (moderately wet) areas at low to middle elevations.

Special Characteristics

Edible – Castor oil, which is extracted from the oily seeds, is used as a laxative and as a labor-inducer. The non-yellowing oil is also used in cosmetics. Although the oil from the seeds is safe to consume, the seeds themselves are deadly poisonous and should never be eaten.

Poisonous – The seeds are extremely poisonous to both humans and animals and should be kept away from young children and livestock. The seeds contain the deadly toxin ricin. Castor Bean, along with Rosary Pea (Abrus precatorius), are two of the most poisonous plants in the World.

Classification

Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Rosidae
Order: Euphorbiales
Family: Euphorbiaceae – Spurge family
Genus: Ricinus L. – ricinus
Species: Ricinus communis L. – castorbean

More About This Plant

Hawaii County Distribution Map

Hawaiian Fruit or Cones, Herbs and Forbs, Native Plants, Onagraceae - Evening Primrose Family, Perennials, Subshrubs, Yellow Flowers, Yellow Hawaiian Flowers

Ludwigia octovalvis – Mexican Primrose-willow

Ludwigia octovalvis - Mexican Primrose-willow, Narrow-leaf Water-primrose, Seedbox, Willow Primrose (flower)

Ludwigia octovalvis - Mexican Primrose-willow, Narrow-leaf Water-primrose, Seedbox, Willow Primrose

Ludwigia octovalvis - Mexican Primrose-willow, Narrow-leaf Water-primrose, Seedbox, Willow Primrose (fruit)

Plant Name

Scientific Name: Ludwigia octovalvis

Synonyms: Jussiaea angustifolia, J. clavata, J. octofila, J. scabra, J. suffruticosa var. octofila, Ludwigia octovalis

Common Names: Mexican Primrose-willow, Narrow-leaf Water-primrose, Seedbox, Willow Primrose

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial

Growth Habit: Subshrub, Herb/Forb

Hawaii Native Status: Native (indigenous)

Flower Color: Yellow

Height: Up to 13 feet (4 m) tall, but usually much less

Description: The flowers emerge singly from the leaf axils and stem tips and have 4 broad, yellow, often notch-tipped petals and 4 green, lance-shaped or egg-shaped sepals. The flowers are followed by elongated, cylindrical, 8-ribbed seed capsules tipped with 4 calyx lobes (the former sepals). The leaves are green, alternate, and lance-shaped to narrowly egg-shaped. The stems are green to sometimes brownish and woody at the base, upright, well-branched, and variably hairy.

Here in Hawaii, Mexican Primrose-willow grows in wetlands and other moist areas at lower elevations.

Classification

Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Rosidae
Order: Myrtales
Family: Onagraceae – Evening Primrose family
Genus: Ludwigia L. – primrose-willow
Species: Ludwigia octovalvis (Jacq.) P.H. Raven – Mexican primrose-willow

More About This Plant


Hawaii County Distribution Map

Convolvulaceae - Morning-glory Family, Introduced Plants, Perennials, Vines, White Flowers, Yellow Flowers, Yellow Hawaiian Flowers

Ipomoea obscura – Obscure Morning-glory

Ipomoea obscura - Obscure Morning-glory

Ipomoea obscura - Obscure Morning-glory

Plant Name

Scientific Name: Ipomoea obscura

Synonym: Convolvulus obscurus

Common Name: Obscure Morning-glory

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial

Growth Habit: Vine

Hawaii Native Status: Introduced. This naturalized plant is native to tropical Africa, Asia, and the South Pacific.

Flower Color: Pale yellow, White

Height: Up to 10 feet (3 m) long if uncoiled, but less than this in actual height

Description: The funnel-shaped, solitary or grouped flowers are white or pale yellow with a darker yellow 5-pointed star shape and have a dark purple throat and 5 green, hairless to lightly hairy, egg-shaped sepals. The flowers are followed by rounded, hairless, point-tipped seed capsules with reflexed sepals. The leaves are green, alternate, hairless to sparsely hairy, and either heart-shaped or oval-shaped. The stems are slender, twining or trailing, and almost hairless to sometime hairy.

Here in Hawaii, Obscure Morning-glory is weedy and grows in dry, open, disturbed areas at low elevations.

Classification

Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Asteridae
Order: Solanales
Family: Convolvulaceae – Morning-glory family
Genus: Ipomoea L. – morning-glory
Species: Ipomoea obscura (L.) Ker Gawl. – obscure morning-glory

More About This Plant

Hawaii County Distribution Map