'ohi'a Lehua – Metrosideros polymorpha Native
Native in 4 of Hawaii’s 5 counties. An evergreen tree up to 65 ft for full sun, with late spring flowers.
Hawaii native plants
USDA PLANTS records 16 plants as native to Hawaii (HI) and routinely sold by nurseries. Each one is mapped by county, so you can see which grow wild where you live.
Hawaii native plant list
This list has 16 Hawaii natives that nurseries routinely sell: 4 trees, 5 shrubs, 2 wildflowers, 4 grasses and sedges and 1 vine. The most widespread include 'ohi'a Lehua, Bayhops and Beach Naupaka, each recorded as native in at least 4 of Hawaii's 5 counties. Checked against USDA PLANTS on June 13, 2026.
Beach Naupaka – Scaevola sericea Native
Native in 4 of Hawaii’s 5 counties. An evergreen shrub up to 10 ft for sun or part shade, with showy flowers.
Longleaf Pondweed – Potamogeton nodosus Native
Native in 2 of Hawaii’s 5 counties. A perennial for full sun and wet soil.
Blunt Spikerush – Eleocharis obtusa Native
Native in 4 of Hawaii’s 5 counties. A sedge for full sun.
Bayhops – Ipomoea pes-caprae Native
Native in 4 of Hawaii’s 5 counties. A vine for sun or part shade, with showy flowers.
Koa – Acacia koa Native
Native in 4 of Hawaii’s 5 counties. An evergreen tree up to 110 ft for full sun.
Hawai'i Desert-Thorn – Lycium sandwicense Native
Native in 4 of Hawaii’s 5 counties. A shrub up to 1 ft for sun or part shade, with summer flowers and fall colour.
Common Duckmeat – Spirodela polyrrhiza Native
Native in 1 of Hawaii’s 5 counties. A perennial wildflower for sun or part shade and wet soil, with late summer flowers.
Jamaica Swamp Sawgrass – Cladium mariscus subsp. jamaicense Native
Native in 4 of Hawaii’s 5 counties. A perennial sedge for full sun and wet soil.
Mamani – Sophora chrysophylla Native
Native in 4 of Hawaii’s 5 counties. An evergreen tree up to 40 ft for sun or part shade, with winter flowers and showy fruit.
Hawai'i Hawthorn – Osteomeles anthyllidifolia Native
Native in 4 of Hawaii’s 5 counties. An evergreen shrub up to 12 ft for sun or part shade, with spring flowers.
Seashore Dropseed – Sporobolus virginicus Native
Native in 4 of Hawaii’s 5 counties. A perennial grass for sun or part shade.
Wili Wili – Erythrina sandwicensis Native
Native in 4 of Hawaii’s 5 counties. A tree up to 30 ft for sun or part shade, with summer flowers.
Oahu Riverhemp – Sesbania tomentosa Native
Native in 4 of Hawaii’s 5 counties. An evergreen shrub up to 2 ft for sun or part shade, with showy flowers and showy fruit.
Softstem Bulrush – Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani Native
Native in 3 of Hawaii’s 5 counties. A perennial sedge for full sun and wet soil.
Hawai'ian Cotton – Gossypium tomentosum Native
Native in 3 of Hawaii’s 5 counties. An evergreen shrub up to 6 ft for sun or part shade, with showy flowers and showy fruit.
No plant on this page matches that.
USDA records 2 of these 16 plants as native in fewer than half of Hawaii’s counties. The map on each card shows where. A county with no record may never have been surveyed for that plant, so look at the counties around yours too, or use the county checker for an address-level answer.
Hawaii’s own list regulates 75 plants. None of them is on this page. Hawaii noxious weeds has each one, with the rule cited.
Want to check a plant by photo or county?
Use our “Is it native” tool for free.Compiled from USDA PLANTS, retrieved June 13, 2026. If you spot a plant we have wrong, tell us at [email protected].
The same list as a table
| Plant | Scientific name | Type | Light | Native counties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 'ohi'a Lehua | Metrosideros polymorpha | Tree | Full sun | 4 of 5 |
| Bayhops | Ipomoea pes-caprae | Vine | Sun or part shade | 4 of 5 |
| Beach Naupaka | Scaevola sericea | Shrub | Sun or part shade | 4 of 5 |
| Blunt Spikerush | Eleocharis obtusa | Sedge | Full sun | 4 of 5 |
| Common Duckmeat | Spirodela polyrrhiza | Wildflower | Sun or part shade | 1 of 5 |
| Hawai'i Desert-Thorn | Lycium sandwicense | Shrub | Sun or part shade | 4 of 5 |
| Hawai'i Hawthorn | Osteomeles anthyllidifolia | Shrub | Sun or part shade | 4 of 5 |
| Hawai'ian Cotton | Gossypium tomentosum | Shrub | Sun or part shade | 3 of 5 |
| Jamaica Swamp Sawgrass | Cladium mariscus subsp. jamaicense | Sedge | Full sun | 4 of 5 |
| Koa | Acacia koa | Tree | Full sun | 4 of 5 |
| Longleaf Pondweed | Potamogeton nodosus | Perennial | Full sun | 2 of 5 |
| Mamani | Sophora chrysophylla | Tree | Sun or part shade | 4 of 5 |
| Oahu Riverhemp | Sesbania tomentosa | Shrub | Sun or part shade | 4 of 5 |
| Seashore Dropseed | Sporobolus virginicus | Grass | Sun or part shade | 4 of 5 |
| Softstem Bulrush | Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani | Sedge | Full sun | 3 of 5 |
| Wili Wili | Erythrina sandwicensis | Tree | Sun or part shade | 4 of 5 |
Where this comes from
- Native range
- USDA PLANTS county distribution layer, the same records behind the county checker.
- Sold by nurseries
- USDA PLANTS plant characteristics, Commercial Availability “Routinely Available”. It is a national flag, so a plant here can still be hard to find at a garden centre near you.
- Plant details
- USDA PLANTS: growth habit and duration from the plant profile; shade and wet-soil tolerance, bloom period, mature height and showy flowers, fruit or fall colour from the plant characteristics.
- Left out
- Any plant a state regulates as invasive or noxious, or that GRIIS flags as invasive in the lower 48, even where it is native. So is any species USDA records as both native and introduced in the lower 48, because the form nurseries sell is usually the introduced one.
- Photos
- Public domain, CC0, CC BY and CC BY-SA, credited under each photo.
- Citation
- USDA, NRCS. The PLANTS Database (https://plants.usda.gov), retrieved June 13, 2026. National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC USA.
Questions
What plants are native to Hawaii?
This page lists the 16 plants that USDA PLANTS records as native to Hawaii and routinely available from nurseries: 4 trees, 5 shrubs, 2 wildflowers, 4 grasses and sedges and 1 vine. They are a small part of Hawaii's native flora, chosen because you can buy them. Each one carries a map of the Hawaii counties where USDA records it growing wild.
What trees are native to Hawaii?
This page lists 4 trees native to Hawaii that nurseries routinely sell. The most widespread include 'ohi'a Lehua, Koa and Mamani, each recorded as native in at least 4 of Hawaii's 5 counties.
What shrubs are native to Hawaii?
This page lists 5 shrubs native to Hawaii that nurseries routinely sell. The most widespread include Beach Naupaka, Hawai'i Desert-Thorn and Hawai'i Hawthorn, each recorded as native in at least 4 of Hawaii's 5 counties.
What wildflowers are native to Hawaii?
This page lists 2 wildflowers native to Hawaii that nurseries routinely sell. The most widespread include Longleaf Pondweed and Common Duckmeat, each recorded as native in at least 1 of Hawaii's 5 counties.
Is my plant native to Hawaii?
Search this page by common or scientific name. A plant missing from it can still be native to Hawaii: the page lists only natives that nurseries routinely sell, and it leaves out any plant a state regulates as invasive. For a county-level answer on any plant, enter its name in Ezina's checker. Every answer links the record it came from.
Is a plant native to Hawaii native everywhere in Hawaii?
Not necessarily. USDA records nativity county by county, and 2 of the 16 plants on this page are recorded as native in fewer than half of Hawaii's 5 counties. A county with no record may simply never have been surveyed for that plant, so read each card's map as where the plant is known to grow wild rather than as a boundary.
Grow natives easily with Ezina
How it works
We provide the tools you need to succeed.
010.1Identify
Add a plant
Snap a photo or type the name. Ezina matches it to a library of about 40,000 species and starts a care plan tailored to your zone, the local weather, and the time of year.
010.2Care
Get a care plan
A schedule built from local rain, temperature, and sun, not a fixed weekly cadence. You get a single notification when a plant actually needs water. Easily add treatments for diseases and pests.
010.3Plan
Explore new options
Our garden planner Dig helps you understand what works best for your location and makes suggestions based off your long term goals.
Add a plant
Snap a photo or type the name. Ezina matches it to a library of about 40,000 species and starts a care plan tailored to your zone, the local weather, and the time of year.
Get a care plan
A schedule built from local rain, temperature, and sun, not a fixed weekly cadence. You get a single notification when a plant actually needs water. Easily add treatments for diseases and pests.
Explore new options
Our garden planner Dig helps you understand what works best for your location and makes suggestions based off your long term goals.
Compiled from peer-reviewed research, USDA documentation,
and direct scientific observation across the United States.