Family: GOODENIACEAE
Genus: Scaevola
Species: taccada
Species Author: (Gaertner) Roxb.
Vernacular: Naupaka, Naupaka Kuahiwi, Ohe Naupaka, Huahekili Uka, Pepaahekili, Naupaka Kahakai, Aupaka, Huahekili, Naupaka Kai, Remek - Pohnpeian [Eperiam 96]
Synonyms: (See Wagner for complete list)
Scaevola taccada is a dense, spreading shrub that generally grows up to 3 meter in height. The light green leaves are somewhat succulent with a waxy covering and are alternately arranged along the stem. The blades are elongated and rounded at the tips, 5 to 20 cm long and 5 to 7 cm wide and the edges are often curled downward. The flowers are white or cream colored, often with purple streaks, 8 - 12 mm long, and have a pleasant fragrance. They have an irregular shape with all five petals on one side of the flower making it appear to have been torn in half. The flowers grow in small clusters from the leaf axils near the ends of the stems. The fruits of Scaevola taccada are fleshy berries. They are white, oblong, and about 1 cm long. The seeds are beige, corky and ridged. The inside of the fruit is spongy or corky and the fruits are buoyant. They can float for months in the ocean and still germinate after having been in salt water for up to a year. One study showed that the seeds germinated best after 250 days in salt water. (National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG). 1994. Naupaka. In Native Hawaiian plant information sheets. Lawai, Kauai: Hawaii Plant Conservation Center. National Tropical Botanical Garden. Unpublished internal papers.) (Rauch, Fred D., Heidi L. Bornhorst, and David L. Hensley. 1997. Beach Naupaka, Ornamentals and Flowers.) (Wagner, Warren L., Darrel R. Herbst, and S. H. Sohmer. 1990. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawai'i.) (Bornhorst, Heidi L. 1996. Growing native Hawaiian plants: a how-to guide for the gardener.)
The pleasantly fragrant flowers and the seeds are used for making leis in Hawai'i.
Scaevola taccada naturally occurs on tropical and subtropical coasts from the Indian ocean eastward to Hawai`i. Naupaka is common in hot dry coastal areas on most of the Hawaiian islands except for some of the Northwest islands. (Wagner, Warren L., Darrel R. Herbst, and S. H. Sohmer. 1990. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawai'i.)
Flourishing along the coastline, the myth-inspiring Naupaka grows a unique half-flower, causing ancient Hawaiians to believe that it is the incarnation of an ancient lover separated from its mate. There are many versions of the story of the Naupaka flower and how it came to look as if it were torn in half. In one version, the Princess Naupaka is forbidden to marry her true love, a fisherman. As they part ways forever, she takes a flower from the lei on her head, and tears it in half, symbolizing their separation. She returns to the mountains where she grew up and the fisherman returns to the sea. (Koob, Gregory A. 2000. Lovers Separated: the Beach and Mountain Naupaka.)
We currently have 79 herbarium specimens for Scaevola taccada in our collection. Click on any specimen below to view the herbarium sheet data.
- 045072 - collected by J. B. Pollock in 1923
- 012443 - collected by Harold St. John in 1934
- 012440 - collected by F. R. Fosberg in 1934
- 012430 - collected by F. R. Fosberg in 1934
- 012431 - collected by Harold St. John in 1934
- 012452 - collected by Harold St. John in 1934
- 012439 - collected by Harold St. John in 1934
- 012428 - collected by Harold St. John in 1934
- 012439 - collected by Harold St. John in 1934
- 012434 - collected by Harold St. John in 1934
- 026629 - collected by F. R. Fosberg in 1934
- 012441 - collected by Harold St. John in 1934
- 026628 - collected by F. R. Fosberg in 1934
- 023953 - collected by F. R. Fosberg in 1946
- 022808 - collected by F. R. Fosberg in 1946
- 023266 - collected by F. R. Fosberg in 1946
- 022795 - collected by F. R. Fosberg in 1946
- 023351 - collected by E. Y. Hosaka in 1946
- 024328 - collected by F. R. Fosberg in 1946
- 023765 - collected by F. R. Fosberg in 1946
- 022809 - collected by F. R. Fosberg in 1950
- 059802 - collected by C. R. Long in 1965
- 059801 - collected by C. R. Long in 1965
- 059799 - collected by C. R. Long in 1965
- 059800 - collected by C. R. Long in 1965
- 023781 - collected by Michael Evans in 1965
- 041517 - collected by Michael Evans in 1966
- 022794 - collected by S. A. Hardy in 1967
- 073303 - collected by Art Whistler in 1970
- 031691 - collected by Derral Herbst in 1972
- 031692 - collected by Derral Herbst in 1972
- 045160 - collected by Derral Herbst in 1972
- 022827 - collected by M.-H. Sachet in 1973
- 073304 - collected by Art Whistler in 1973
- 073300 - collected by Art Whistler in 1973
- 073298 - collected by Art Whistler in 1974
- 073299 - collected by Art Whistler in 1975
- 073302 - collected by Art Whistler in 1980
- 073301 - collected by Art Whistler in 1980
- 025879 - collected by Porter P. Lowry II in 1985
- 059810 - collected by Art Whistler in 1985
- 059806 - collected by Art Whistler in 1985
- 059811 - collected by Art Whistler in 1985
- 023952 - collected by F. R. Fosberg in 1985
- 059803 - collected by Art Whistler in 1986
- 059804 - collected by Art Whistler in 1986
- 017981 - collected by Jacques Florence in 1990
- 073306 - collected by Art Whistler in 1990
- 016507 - collected by Jacques Florence in 1991
- 017979 - collected by Jacques Florence in 1991
- 073305 - collected by Art Whistler in 1994
- 004911 - collected by David H. Lorence in 1994
- 042828 - collected by Art Whistler in 1995
- 023681 - collected by Art Whistler in 1995
- 024610 - collected by Tim Flynn in 1997
- 034647 - collected by Michael J. Balick in 1997
- 024651 - collected by Tim Flynn in 1997
- 023706 - collected by K. R. Wood in 1997
- 023731 - collected by K. R. Wood in 1997
- 047461 - collected by Art Whistler in 1998
- 043452 - collected by A. Raynor in 2001
- 034732 - collected by David H. Lorence in 2001
- 035270 - collected by David H. Lorence in 2001
- 052956 - collected by Michael J. Balick in 2002
- 087516 - collected by M. J. Balick in 2002
- 046217 - collected by A. Dores in 2002
- 046140 - collected by A. Dores in 2003
- 054616 - collected by P. Emos Eperiam in 2006
- 054680 - collected by Relio Lengsi in 2006
- 055522 - collected by Relio Lengsi in 2006
- 049094 - collected by Roberta Lee in 2007
- 049062 - collected by Michael J. Balick in 2007
- 087754 - collected by David E. Brussell in 2008
- 066419 - collected by David E. Brussell in 2008
- 068051 - collected by Nancy Vander Velde in 2009
- 093262 - collected by Gregory M. Plunkett in 2016
- 093161 - collected by Gregory M. Plunkett in 2019
- Unassigned - collected by Elliot Gardner in 2022
- Unassigned - collected by Adam M. Williams in 2023
