Hawaii is home to a wide array of stunning plants and flowers. Before and since its founding, natives have also used the vegetation to celebrate their diverse heritage. Since opening their doors 25 years ago, Hui Kū Maoli Ola Native Hawaiian Plant Specialists in Kaneohe, HI, has continued this tradition by transforming homes and businesses with the vibrancy and lushness of native Hawaiian plants.

Here are just a few of the historic cultural uses of Hawaii’s useful flora:

• Koa: With long leaves shaped like sickle blades, Koa was once used to help construct sturdy canoes, paddles and spears. It is known to grow up to 100 feet tall and its red bark was also used to color bark cloth, which is called Kapa.
• Taro: As an earthly representative for Kane, the god Hawaiians considered the creator of life, Taro is another popular native Hawaiian plant. It produces a purplish starch that resembles a potato and is mashed and eaten like one too!
• Ti: Billowy, wide leaves are one of the features of Ti. Because of the leave’s sturdiness, the plant had many uses, such as for the manufacturing of clothes, as wraps for tasty Hawaiian food, as roof thatches, and as plates.
• Wauke: Also known as “paper mulberry,” Wauke has large, three-point leaves that grow in bunches. The plant was a staple for creating amazing cloth, bed coverings, and sacred enclosures in which to wrap deceased ancestors. Like Koa, Wauke’s bark was also used to make Kapa cloth.