Join as an NTBG Member Today!
Support NTBG by joining, renewing or giving the gift of membership today!
Membership options and renewal
.svg)
Art by Carly Lake
Free Native Plant Adoptions | Boutique Plant Sale | Family Activities
After three months of weather delays, we’re back with a special Grow Aloha Festival on Saturday, November 14! Adopt up to three free native plants, shop our boutique plant sale, plus bring the kids for a fun family activity.
Grow Aloha plant adoptions are free and open to Kauaʻi residents. Plants are available on a first-come-first-served basis. Please note: This festival replaces our regular third-Saturday adoption event for the month of November.
Tours in Lāwaʻi Gardens are available by reservation only. Please visit the McBryde Garden or Allerton Garden webpages to see tour availability and to make a reservation.
Dodonaea viscosa
Beloved for its fruit capsules, ʻaʻaliʻi is often called ʻaʻaliʻi kū makani (wind-resisting ʻaʻaliʻi) for its strength in harsh winds. The ʻōlelo noʻeau, “He ʻaʻaliʻi kū makani mai au; ʻaʻohe makani nāna e kulaʻi,” translates to, “I am a wind-resisting ʻaʻaliʻi; no gust can push me over.” It describes a resilient person who holds strong against difficulties. ʻAʻaliʻi thrives from dry coastal lowlands to wet forests.
Polyscias lallanii
Endemic to Kauaʻi, pōkalakala is a rare and critically endangered tree belonging to the ginseng family. It features a beautiful, sculptural form and produces long, pendulous flower clusters that cascade downward like a fully strung lei. Some may recognize this species by its former scientific names, Munroidendron racemosum or later Polyscias racemosa, and now Polyscias lallanii.
Sesbania tomentosa
Endemic to Hawaiʻi, ʻohai is an endangered plant few people ever encounter. While forms vary across the islands—with most growing as low, sprawling ground cover—this Kauaʻi variation has a more upright form with salmon-colored flowers. Many know the ornamental ʻohai aliʻi (Caesalpinia pulcherrima); despite sharing a name with our native ʻohai, ʻohai aliʻi is not native to Hawaiʻi.
