Laukahi: The Hawaiʻi Plant Conservation Network

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Laukahi: The Hawaiʻi Plant Conservation Network

Protecting native Hawaiian plants through coordinated conservation!

07/01/2026

The Nahelehele Dry Forest Collaborative met last week! Thanks everyone for joining us! We all got to know each other a bit better and the precious places and plants you all work so hard to protect.

Didn't make it? No problem! Please reach anytime so we can keep you in the loop. Stay tuned! More updates on the way!

We've been featuring the amazing plants in Hawaiian dry forests. Today we're looking at Naio, sometimes referred to as the “false sandalwood”. Naio has a wide distribution range within the Hawaiian Islands being able to live from sea level to over 7,000 feet. It can exist in many different ecosystems from costal, dry forests, wet forest, and even subalpine environments. One threat Naio faces are thrips which are a sap sucking insect that scars the plants surfaces leading to often lethal damage.

PC: Kara Polhemus

06/18/2026

Diverse dry forests once thrived in many low rainfall areas of Hawai‘i Island and played a vital role in the life of the Hawaiian people. A little over 100 years ago, broad expanses of healthy forest stretched across the landscape of Hawai‘i. Due primarily to anthropogenic (human) impacts, only a small number of scattered dry forest remnants survive today. If you work on restoring dry forests, please reach out to us! The Nāhelehele Dry Forest Collaborative will be meeting on June 24th at 11am. We'd love to see you there!

One of our favorite plants in the dry forest is ʻIlima, indigenous to the Hawaiian islands. It's often found along the coast or in dry to mesic ecosystems. In coastal ecosystems, it presents as a low-lying shrub but in other climates it can grow to upwards of 5 feet tall. It is an important plant for the Nalo Meli Maoli (Hawaiian Yellow-face Bee; Hylaeus). 🐝

🌺 In the Malvaceae family, it is a relative of Hibiscus and the Maʻo (Gossypium tomentosum / Hawaiian cotton).

06/11/2026

Oh hi! Do you work with ʻohai? Or other dry forest species? Then please join the Nāhelehele Dry Forest Collaborative on June 24th at 11am! 🌱Contact us for details! 🐛

ʻOhai is one of many amazing native species that make the Hawaiian dry forest special! ʻOhai resides in coastal and dryland ecosystems and is ferderally listed as an endangered species. The silvery hairs on it’s leaves helps to reflect light and protect it from exposure to the sun. ʻOhai is part of the pea family (Fabaceae) and fixes nitrogen in soil around it.

Photo credits: Kara Polhemus

06/03/2026

Endemic plants and insects call the Hawaiian dry forest home, which is one of the rarest habitats in the world.

ʻAkoko inculdes several endemic species in the genus Euphorbia. It has multiple common names inculding: ʻekoko, koko, and kōkōmālei. ʻAkoko are diverse and exist in many climates from coastal to dry and mesic forests.

ʻAkoko is the host plant to the endemic ʻūmiʻi ʻakoko (Dictyophorodelphax swezeyi), a native leafhopper. Dictyophorodelphax has a long head that holds it digestive organs. This helps it to process the latex-like sap of the ʻAkoko and filter the toxins it produces.

If you work to conserve these species, please join the Nāhelehele Dry Forest Collaborative on June 24th at 11am! Contact us for details!
🦋 Do it for the bugs! 🪰

Photo credits: Kara Polhemus

05/28/2026

Hawaiʻi’s dry forests are one of the rarest habitats in the world and are home to many diverse species that are now threatened or endangered. Because of various impacts from invasive species and humans, experts estimate that only 5% of Hawaiʻi’s dry forests remain in scattered remnants and more than 25% of the native species that live in these ecosystems are on the federal endangered species list.

Dry forests can be categorized as receiving less than 50 inches of rainfall per year and often exist on the islands leeward sides. These low rainfall habitats exist at varying elevations from coastal strand to high elevation māmane forests. Some native plant species that live in dry forests include: alaheʻe, wiliwili, ʻūlei, ʻohai, kauila, uhiuhi, ʻilima, aʻaliʻi, etc. Many of these plants held importance to Native Hawaiians and were/are used for practical, medicinal, and cultural reasons.

The Nāhelehele Dry Forest Collaborative (NDFC) focuses on restoration and protection of the remaining dry forest areas and its native species. Laukahi is proud to provide meeting support to the NDFC - working to connect stewards of dry forest habitats all around the Hawaiian islands with each other. If you or your organization works with dry forest habitat and are interested in the NDFC, please contact Laukahi at [email protected] or send us a message!

Although many of these remaining dry forest habitats are small it is through the work of these organizations, stewards, and countless volunteers that these places, and the species that call them home, are able to continue to exist. If you are interested in Hawaiʻi’s dry forests or the NDFC please check out their website at: https://www.drylandforest.org/

Photo credit: Kara Polhemus

04/23/2026

Check it out! alliance member and Laukahi were invited to Hawaii News Now Sunrise on Sunday morning! 🎥 📰 We talked about the Hawaii Conservation Alliance's efforts to preserve native Hawaiian ecosystems with the Status of Conservation Report and to protect native plants through Laukahi's Plant Promise fundraiser. 🌺 Mahalo to for helping us tell our story and celebrate Earth Day and Native Plant Month! 🌏

💚 Please help us reach our fundraising goal of $14,000 during Native Plant Month. We recommend a donation of $10 to highlight each unique species in the native flora of Hawaii. No worries if you can't donate - help us by sharing our story on social media! Mahalo! 💚

Links in bio
HNN segment 🌱 https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2026/04/19/hawaii-conservation-leaders-release-snapshot-native-eco-systems-whats-risk/
Plant Promise 🌱 https://laukahi.org/plant-promise/
Status of Conservation Report 🌱 https://www.hawaiiconservation.org/our-work/effective-conservation/

04/16/2026

💚 Easy to give, Fun to follow! 😁
For just $10, add your favorite plant to our leaderboard during our fundraiser, Plant Promise. Throughout Native Plant Month, watch your plant climb the board!
https://laukahi.org/plant-promise

We suggest a $10 donation so everyone can join in the fun and help us reach our goal of $14,000. Hawaiʻi is home to 1400 native plants and your $10 donation represents our promise to protect every single one.

2 favorite plants are rising to the top!
🌿 Lehua maknoe (Lysimachia daphnoides), a beautiful gem from Kauaʻi, has the most donors so far! Vote for lehua makanoe to keep it at the top!
🌳 ʻŌhiʻa lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha) has the most votes in donated dollars. I think this amazing tree enchants all of us in its many many forms and moʻolelo. Vote for ʻōhiʻa lehua if it's your favorite!

💚 Mahalo! 💚
PC Lysimachia daphnoides: Natalie Tangalin, IUCN Red List Assessment.

04/08/2026

Itʻs Native Plant Month. Hawaiʻi is home to almost 1400 kinds of native plants! Protecting them takes all of us working together.

We’re honored to work alongside partners across Hawaiʻi as part of the Laukahi Network. This Native Plant Month, we invite you to support Plant Promise, a fundraiser that helps connect people, knowledge, and conservation efforts for native plants statewide.

Donate today and vote for your favorite native plant. (We may or may not be partial to our dry forest friends!😜)

Learn more and get involved:
https://laukahi.org/plant-promise/

04/06/2026

🌱 Your share = growing Plant Promise
💚 Love native plants? Help them thrive:
📣 Share Plant Promise

Laukahi needs your help! Help us reach more people during Native Plant Month by sharing this post on Plant Promise. Plant Promise represents the Laukahi Network’s promise to protect and conserve each unique plant species together. Protecting Hawaiʻi’s native plants takes all of us working together, which includes you!

The more people who see it builds a stronger community and Network for plant conservation in Hawaiʻi. Let’s grow this together 💚
https://laukahi.org/plant-promise/

Photos: The special people in the Laukahi Network, celebrating our 10 year anniversary! PC: Laukahi.
The incredible plants that need your help! PC: PEPP Plant Extinction Prevention Program

03/31/2026

Celebrate Native Plant Month with Plant Promise!

Hawaiʻi is home to almost 1400 kinds of native plants! Protecting them takes all of us working together. Help us celebrate Native Plant Month throughout April by participating in Plant Promise, Laukahi’s online fundraiser. Help us fundraise $14,000, or $10 for each species. This represents our promise to protect and conserve each of them through Laukahi. You can help in 3 ways!

💚 Donate
📈 Vote for your favorite plant when you donate and watch it climb the leaderboard!
🗣 Tell your friends and share on social media!

Your support strengthens the Laukahi Network—connecting conservation partners and coordinating efforts to protect native plants statewide.

🔗 Link in bio to donate and vote https://laukahi.org/plant-promise/

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