Pono Plant access to important plants

Wiliwili

Erythrina sandwicensis

status: see notes

The signature tree of Hawai'i's vanishing dry forest, and a survival story. Wiliwili is the only coral tree native to Hawai'i. It was nearly wiped out by an invasive gall wasp after 2005, then pulled back by seed-saving and a biocontrol wasp. It grows easily from its bright seeds, which is exactly why community seed drives kept it alive, and why it belongs in a plant-access mission.

Status

Endemic to Hawai'i and not federally listed, but its dry, leeward forest is among the most endangered habitat in the islands, and the species was hit hard by the invasive Erythrina gall wasp before a biocontrol wasp helped it recover.

Native range

Endemic to Hawai'i, in dry, leeward forest on the main islands, generally below about 2,000 feet.

Propagation

  • seed, scarified before sowing for high germination
  • also vegetative

Under the mist

Our hypothesis, not established: Wiliwili germinates readily from scarified seed, so seed is the honest first route rather than the mist bench. We would only bring it to the bench to test rooting cuttings, and would call that a trial.

Access

  • Nursery-propagated only, never wild-collected.
  • Endemic but unlisted and non-invasive, so it is legal to grow and share as nursery stock.
  • Any plant leaving Hawai'i goes through USDA and Hawai'i Department of Agriculture inspection first, with no soil on the roots.

How to obtain: waitlist

Wiliwili is the tree of the leeward country, the dry side where little else makes it. It is the only coral tree native to Hawai'i, and its dry-forest home is some of the most threatened land in the islands.

After 2005 an invasive gall wasp nearly finished it. What saved it was two things at once: people collecting and banking its bright seeds, and a biocontrol wasp that targeted only the pest (DLNR).

That is the lesson we like in it. The plant came back because its seed is easy and people bothered to grow it. Access and survival turned out to be the same act (Plant Pono).

Sources