HONOLULU — It’s official.Gov. Ben Cayetano recently signed into law legislation passed by this year’s state Legislature making purple Kaua’i’s color, and making white Ni’ihau’s official color. The mokihana berry from the native tree (pelea anisata) by way of this
HONOLULU — It’s official.Gov. Ben Cayetano recently signed into law
legislation passed by this year’s state Legislature making purple Kaua’i’s
color, and making white Ni’ihau’s official color.
The mokihana berry from
the native tree (pelea anisata) by way of this law is the island’s official
lei-making material, while the pupu, also known as the momi, laiki, and
kahelelani, is “established and designated as the official lei material of the
island of Ni’ihau,” according to the legislation.
While the Territorial
Legislature established years before statehood the pua aloalo, or native yellow
hibiscus, as the official flower of the state, to promote unity, loyalty and
feelings of pride among the territory’s residents, no record could be found
officially designating the individual island’s flowers as their official
flowers.
That’s all been changed.
The native yellow hibiscus (Hibiscus
brackenridgei A. Gray), also known as the pua aloalo or ma’o-hau-hele, is now
by law the official state flower.
While the Kamehameha Day parade pa’u
(mounted) units have traditionally assigned various colors and flowers to their
units depending on the islands they represented, this is the first official
governmental recognition of those colors.
The state public library system
has listed these flowers and colors to represent the islands of Hawai’i, and
private schools and the state Department of Education teach these flowers and
colors as being associated with the Hawaiian islands.
Also, many songs have
also been composed about the Hawaiian islands and the flowers and colors
associated with them, such as “Na Lei Hawai’i,” “Pupu o Ni’ihau,” “Beautiful
‘Ilima” (for O’ahu), and many others.
Since territorial times, Ni’ihau has
been included to be represented by the color white and the pupu
shell.
The other islands and their colors and flowers follow: O’ahu: golden
yellow, pua ‘ilima from the native dodder shrubs (sida fallax); Big Island:
red, ‘ohi’a lehua (metrosideros macropus M. collina), also known as the pua
lehua; Maui: pink, lokelani, also known as the damask rose (rosa damascena);
Moloka’i: green, pua kukui, also known as the candlenut tree (aleurites
moluccana); Lana’i: orange, kauna’oa, also known as the native dodder (cuscuta
sandwichiana); Kaho’olawe: gray.
