#mamaki

In 2018, an invertebrate biologist discovered an unfamiliar black caterpillar feeding on a māmaki plant in Olowalu Valley. Experts confirmed the caterpillar was ramie moth, a species native to Southeast Asia that aggressively feeds on plants in the nettle family, like māmaki. The biologist’s sighting marked the first confirmation of ramie moth in Hawaiʻi and the US.

Gov. Josh Green, M.D., has signed into law Act 242, which strengthens labeling requirements for māmaki tea grown in Hawai‘i. Signed on June 27, 2025, the law became effective on July 1 and prohibits the use of certain words and misleading Hawaiian imagery, place names and motifs on the label of a consumer package that contains or includes tea or dried leaves from the māmaki plant, Pipturus albidus, unless 100% of the tea or dried leaves from the māmaki is grown in Hawai‘i.