Lawai Garden of the National Tropical Botanical Garden

Isolated on a jagged lava rock spire on the desolate island of Kaho`olawe, the last two plants of a genus never known to science struggled to survive. The eighth island of Hawaii had withstood decades of target-practice bombings. Field botanists, there to survey what plants had survived the onslaught, rushed a sample from this unusual plant off to the research headquarters of the National Tropical Botanical Garden in Lawai, Kauai.

Scientists at NTBG confirmed this extraordinary find was indeed a new genus. At the same time, Garden field collectors were bringing seed back to the nursery at NTBG's Lawai Garden, hoping this plant could be propagated before it was lost forever. Three plants of Kanaloa kahoolawensis are now thriving in the Lawai Garden, giving this genus a chance to multiply in a protected environment.

NTBG field collectors have conducted over 1,200 field explorations throughout Hawaii--the most comprehensive botanical survey of the Hawaiian Islands ever undertaken. Discoveries include 30 new native plant species and the rediscovery of more than 20 species thought to be extinct. But this work reaches far beyond Hawaii. Collecting trips into the wilds of South America, Ecuador, Australia, southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands have enriched the plantings at Lawai and NTBG's other gardens. These living laboratories and classrooms are used by scientists and students and enjoyed by garden enthusiasts from around the world.

One of the first things visitors to the nursery at Lawai notice is the number of red tags on the plants, a badge of courage denoting the plant's endangered status. With no established protocols for growing these plants, Nursery Manager Kerin Lilleeng-Rosenberger has developed techniques to propagate over 500 native Hawaiian species, more than half of which are listed as rare or endangered. "My goal is to find out how to grow and propagate every single native plant," Kerin proclaims.

A small determined group of gardeners take over from Kerin when a plant is ready to go in the ground. Here among 186 acres of plantings exists the largest ex situ collection of native Hawaiian plants. Extensive collections of palms, Rubiaceae, cycads, heliconias, bromeliads, orchids, and flowering trees have been developed over the past 26 years. The canoe garden, featuring the 26 plant species brought to Hawaii by the original Polynesian settlers around 900 A.D., is among Lawai's newest plantings.

In a world where our tropical plant heritage is rapidly being destroyed, the Lawai Garden serves as a botanical "Noah's ark," preserving and protecting these species for ours and future generations.

National Tropical Botanical Garden is a non-profit organization, chartered by the U.S. Congress but funded through donations. Its sites include four gardens and three preserves in Hawaii and one garden in south Florida.

For more information, visit NTBG's website at: http://www.ntbg.org

Gardens of the World Page | Forums | Cyber-Plantsman | Garden Spider's Web

Letters and Comments | Mailing List | Submissions | Technical Problems