New plant discoveries celebrated during Native Plant Month
The discovery of five new plant species and the rediscovery of several species that were thought to have been lost are detailed in the new Rare Plant Program 2025 Island Highlights report. This gives enthusiasts for Hawaiian plants a great deal to celebrate during April’s Native Plant Month observance.
The report was produced by the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) Rare Plant Program and the Plant Extinction Prevention Program (PEPP). PEPP is a collaboration of DLNR and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit.
New Discoveries
The five new plant species were discovered in recent years on Kauaʻi during remote explorations by PEPP and the National Tropical Botanical Garden and were formally announced in 2025. These plants are found nowhere else on Earth. Some, like Lysimachia barcae, a delicate shrub with a stunning purple flower, have fewer than a dozen individuals known to exist.
Rediscoveries
Five species on Lānaʻi have been rediscovered after decades with no sightings. Botanists had feared these plants might no longer be alive on Lānaʻi.
On Oʻahu, a species of haʻiwale was found for the first time since 1943.
On Hawaiʻi Island, individuals of two critically rare species of ʻoha wai and makou have been found. Previously, botanists were aware of just one remaining individual of this species of ʻoha wai in the wild, and no remaining wild individuals of this species of makou.
“We celebrate Native Plant Month every year in April, but this year is special,” said DLNR DOFAW Botanist Matt Keir. “Discovering new species and expanding what we know about Hawaiian plants means that there is literally more to celebrate.”
The annual report also highlights many of the challenges native plants in Hawaiʻi are facing, including the presence of hoofed animals and infestations of coconut rhinoceros beetles on multiple species of loulu (native fan palms).
DOFAW, PEPP and partner groups are deploying new tools to advance plant conservation work, including drones that can be used both for remote monitoring and the collection of plant specimens.
Pritchardia bakeri, DOFAW staff working with the Plant Extinction Prevention Program on Oʻahu shown holding loulu fruit. PC: Susan Ching, Oʻahu Division of Forestry and Wildlife via DLNR- Geniostoma imadae On Kauaʻi, a plant of a newly described species named after local botanist Clyde Imada with a single orange flower. PC: Adam Williams, Kauaʻi Division of Forestry and Wildlife via DLNR
- Pritchardia maideniana DOFAW staff working with the Plant Extinction Prevention Program on Hawaiʻi Island collecting from a loulu.PC: Jodie Rosam, Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund via DLNR
- Clermontia pyrularia DOFAW staff working with the Plant Extinction Prevention Program on Hawaii Island standing next to a recently found plant of Clermontia pyrularia. Chelsea Ranan, Hawaiʻi Island Plant Extinction Prevention Program via DLNR
- Kadua st-johnii. Dried fruit capsules of Kadua st-johnii, a rare species being restored on Kauaʻi. PC: Ken Wood, National Tropical Botanical Garden via DLNR.
- Cyrtandra waiolan.i A flowering plant of the recently rediscovered Cyrtandra waiolani on Oʻahu. PC: Susan Ching, Oʻahu Division of Forestry and Wildlife via DLNR
The full report is available at https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/ecosystems/rare-plants/
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