Fewer trips to the field have become the norm as scientists adapt by working from home and connecting with colleagues.

The National Tropical Botanical Garden, the country’s premier tropical plant research center headquartered in Kalaheo, had a lot of exciting plans for 2020. But instead of traveling around the world for international collaborations, NTBG scientists spent this year exploring their own backyard.

Article posted by Honolulu CivilBeat

And they’re coming back.

By Dr. Nina Rønsted, NTBG Director of Science and Conservation

Building on more than half a century of experience, NTBG has become an international leader in the conservation of endangered tropical plants. Partnering with local, state, federal, and private conservation agencies and organizations, our success stories are possible because our field botanists routinely botanize the mountains and valleys of Hawai‘i, other Pacific Islands, and tropical regions on foot, by helicopter, rappelling over cliffs, and using drones to locate, collect, and bring back important field observations and plant collections.

Maximizing the talents of our dedicated staff, volunteers, and like-minded partners, NTBG propagates and grows rare and endangered plants at our conservation nursery on Kaua‘i. Each year we outplant thousands of endangered and endemic species in our gardens and preserves where we can monitor and protect them. Seeds are collected, studied, and stored in our seed bank, and shared with other conservation bodies.

NTBG has collected or co-collected at least 19 endemic taxa which are believed to be extinct in the wild, but still grow in cultivation. Hawaiian species such as Delissea rhytidosperma, Kadua haupuensis, Kanaloa kahoolawensis, Stenogyne campanulata, and others might have gone completely extinct had it not been for our efforts.

Securing the Survival of the Endangered Endemic Trees of Kaua‘i, Hawai‘i

In recognition of NTBG’s ongoing work, Fondation Franklinia, a Swiss private foundation that supports the conservation of globally threatened trees, funded a new project to conserve the endangered endemic trees of Kaua‘i. The project, called Securing the Survival of the Endangered Endemic Trees of Kaua‘i, Hawai‘i, runs from 2020 through 2022. Because Fondation Franklinia specifically targets the conservation of species in their natural habitat, this gave us a unique opportunity to focus on native trees in need of critical conservation. For this project, eleven species were selected which either previously grew in the Limahuli Valley or which still have a remnant population of less than ten individuals.

Monitoring and Collecting in Limahuli Preserve

Knowledge of the historical occurrence of particular species in the Limahuli Valley comes from more than 40 years of monitoring and collecting by NTBG’s science and conservation team. Through these efforts, we have amassed a wealth of information stored in our herbarium and accompanying databases and in technical reports and scientific publications. Pollen profiles of sediment cores have also provided information about past species occurrences, and GIS mapping and potential habitat range analysis helps guide our understanding of conservation needs and opportunities.

The eleven taxa we are targeting for this project are: two species of Hawai‘i’s only native palm genus, Pritchardia limahuliensis and Pritchardia perlmanii; two sweet scented white Hibiscus, H. kokio subsp. saintjohnianus and H. waimeae subsp. hannerae; three lobeliads associated with pollination by nectar-feeding native honeycreepers, Cyanea hardyi, Cyanea kuhihewa, and Trematolobelia kauaiensis; as well as the lesser known Charpentiera densiflora, one of the few tree species in the Amaranth family (Amaranthaceae); also Ochrosia kauaiensis which is a yellowwood in the dogbane family; the curious Polyscias racemosa which produces a long racemose inflorescence with up to 250 tightly packed flowers; and the charismatic Gardenia remyi, a member of the coffee family (Rubiaceae).

Over the course of the three-year project, NTBG will be collecting and propagating seeds as well as using previous collections from our seed bank to balance the need for substantial seed collection of the few remaining plants. When the new treelets are strong enough, most will be outplanted in the Limahuli Preserve in relatively pristine areas or where weed control is ongoing.

To help protect them from seed predation, additional rat traps are being installed in the area. All of this work draws on many skilled science, conservation, and nursery staff from across NTBG, including the help of a full-time project dedicated KUPU member, Matthew Kahokuloa Jr., as part of the KUPU Conservation Leadership Development Program.

The re-introduction of these endangered, endemic trees to Limahuli Valley, where they once proliferated, will reinvigorate wild populations in the Limahuli Preserve where NTBG staff will be able to monitor them long into the future. Conservation collections will also be retained in NTBG’s seed bank, nursery and McBryde Garden. Mature trees representing several of the species are already thriving in the gardens, for example near the South Shore Visitors Center, where visitors may enjoy them up close.

Simultaneously targeting eleven endangered and endemic tree species is a confident step towards restoration of the diversity of native Hawaiian ecosystems. In the race to conserve Hawai‘i’s native forests, every step is critical. While trees are the major part of the biomass, healthy habitat also includes shrubs and herbs, as well native ferns and mosses, many of which also need a prioritized conservation effort.

Alongside the Fondation Franklinia project, and with the support of our members, collaborators and additional grants, NTBG remains dedicated to helping save as many endangered plant species — trees or otherwise — as possible as we work to protect and restore native ecosystems on Kaua‘i and beyond.

Standing up for Trees     

Trees are the foundation of forest ecosystems. To date, over 60,000 trees have been named and described globally. Since 2015, a Global Tree Assessment campaign, led by Botanical Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, has been assessing the conservation status of the world’s trees. This enormous effort has resulted in the assessment of 45 percent of the world’s trees, roughly 38 percent of which are threatened with extinction. This means more than one in five of the world’s tree species faces extinction.

Because of isolation and wide range of climatic zones, Hawai‘i is a global hotspot of botanical diversity. Of the more than 1,360 known native Hawaiian plant species, nearly 90 percent, are unique to the islands. Many species are found only on one island or even a single ridge or valley. Approximately 13 percent of Hawai‘i’s native flora (more than 175 species) are trees. These include Hawaiʻi’s most common and foundational forest trees ʻōhiʻa (Metrosideros polymorpha) which is culturally very important, and koa (Acacia koa).

Hawai‘i also has a high extinction rate with an estimated 10 percent of the flora reported to have gone extinct since the 1840s. Over 50 percent of the species are considered threatened, primarily from the introduction of non-native plants which compete for habitat and destructive animals that eat seeds or foliage.  These threats illustrate the importance of the Fondation Franklinia’s Securing the Survival of the Endangered Endemic Trees of Kaua‘i, Hawai‘i project.

Looking to the Past to Protect Flora of the Future

To protect the food of the future, humans must learn from the past. A secluded garden in Florida preserves a 19th-century culinary curator’s tall tales and botanical introductions, while modern-day NTBG plant hunters in Hawaii use advanced technology to document and save species in biodiversity hotspots. With your help, NTBG is stemming the tide of plant loss and food insecurity. When you donate to the National Tropical Botanical Garden, you’re a part of this critical work that keeps our plants and our planet healthy.

It’s hard to imagine in today’s social media-induced foodie frenzy that the American diet has been anything other than a cultural melting pot of culinary curiosities. However, as Author Daniel Stone writes in his 2018 novel, The Food Explorer: The True Adventures of the Globe Trotting Botanist Who Transformed What America Eats, the same way immigrants came to our shores, so too did our food. 

Before the 20th century, much of what America ate was meat, seafood, leafy greens, beans, grains, and squash – nutritious and hearty, but hardly the colorful, flavorful fruits and vegetables easily acquired from grocery store shelves and farmers markets today. Surprisingly, we have one adventurous, botanizing plant hunter to thank for most of the introduced tropical fruit, nuts, and grains that have become prominent parts of the American diet, and he is closely connected to NTBG. 

David Fairchild was one of the world’s leading plant collectors in the early 20th century. His private residence in Coconut Grove, Florida, is the present-day location of NTBG’s Kampong Garden. With heritage collections of numerous Southeast Asian, Central, and South American fruits, palms, and flowering trees, The Kampong protects Fairchild’s horticultural legacy and many of his original introductions to the US. It also provides a window into the past that inspires today’s plant hunters and food protectors working toward a more resilient future for our plants and planet.

“The greatest service which can be rendered any country is to add a useful plant to its culture.”

Thomas Jefferson

Fairchild, David Fairchild – International Plant Spy and Man of Botanical Intrigue

David Fairchild was born in the late 19th century and grew up in reconstruction-era America. At that time farmers made up most of the country’s workforce and economic opportunity outside of agriculture was sparse. With a fragile post-war economy largely dependent on farming, The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) feared that an invasive species or natural disaster could easily disrupt the nation’s food supply and created a plant pathology division aimed at diversifying the nation’s agricultural offerings.

Fairchild joined the division after receiving his education in horticulture and botany from Kansas College, and traveled the world as part government food spy, part horticulturalist, part adventurer seeking new food and crops for the expanding American economy and diet. After several years of botanical escapades across Europe, Southeast Asia, Central and South America, he became the chief plant collector for the USDA and led the Department of Seed and Plant Introductions vastly increasing the biodiversity of the nation’s food crops.

Fairchild’s Legacy Today

Chances are, at least one of the beverages or meals you consumed today would not have been possible without Fairchild’s introductions. Avocado, mango, kale, quinoa, dates, hops, pistachios, nectarines, pomegranates, myriad citrus, Egyptian cotton, soybeans, and bamboo are just a few of the thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of plants Fairchild introduced to the United States. 

“Fairchild was key to the development of agricultural research and introduction stations around the US and in Puerto Rico. Many of those stations are still current and viable, acting as gene banks for plants he brought into the country,” said Craig Morell, Director of The Kampong. “The Kampong houses some of his early introductions, but these were mostly plants he liked to have in his personal garden. We maintain them today in the same fashion that museums curate and preserve antiquities,” Morell continued.

“Fairchild was key to the development of agricultural research and introduction stations around the US and in Puerto Rico.”

Craig Morell, Director of The Kampong

Fairchild’s work fundamentally changed the American diet and agricultural economy, and his career as a plant hunter, gene banker, and horticulturalist continues to inspire those following in his footsteps today. 

Modern-Day Plant Hunters Protect Biodiversity Hotspots

Hawaii was selected for NTBG’s headquarters because of its status as a biodiversity hotspot. This means that while rich in biodiversity, Hawaii’s flora and fauna are deeply threatened by climate change, invasive species, and human activity. While the rate of species loss continues to accelerate worldwide, 2020 was a banner year for NTBG’s modern-day plant hunters. Our team of scientists discovered previously unknown populations of nine rare and endangered species including, Hibiscadelphus distans; Melicope stonei; Schiedea viscosa; Lysimachia scopulensis; Lepidium orbiculare; and Isodendrion laurifolium. Bolstering biodiversity hotspots not only strengthens our food supply, it also builds resilience and ensures ecosystems continue to sustain life, supply oxygen, clean air and water.

“These discoveries offer new hope for conservation of Hawaii’s endangered rare plants and native forests,” said Nina Rønsted, NTBG Director of Science and Conservation. “These findings also illustrate the importance of investing in science as a vital tool to better understand and protect the natural world,” she continued. 

Like Fairchild, today’s plant hunters are no strangers to thrill and adventure. NTBG botanists have long been known for repelling down sheer cliffs and into steep valleys searching for rare plant life. Today, with the help of drone and mapping technology, NTBG remains at the forefront of tropical plant discovery and conservation.

“Hawaii has been referred to as the extinction capital of the United States,” said Ben Nyberg, NTBG GIS specialist and drone pilot. “It’s home to 45% of the country’s endangered plant population, and we don’t know how climate change and new threats like Rapid Ohia Death will affect these rare plants’ habitats. We are trying to document and collect material as quickly as possible,” he finished.  

“These discoveries offer new hope for conservation of Hawaii’s endangered rare plants and native forests.”

Nina Rønsted, NTBG Director of Science and Conservation

Keeping Watch 

NTBG sets itself apart in the race to save rare and endangered tropical plants. In addition to collecting, categorizing, and seed banking rare plant material, NTBG outplants thousands of rare and endemic species into our gardens and preserves located across the Hawaiian Islands. 

From now through 2022, NTBG will engage in a conservation project called, Securing the Survival of the Endangered Endemic Trees of Kauai supported by Fondation Franklinia. This project will focus on eleven species that either previously grew in the Limahuli Valley or have a remnant population of fewer than ten individuals. Throughout the three-year project, NTBG will collect and propagate seeds and use previous collections from our seed bank to balance the need for substantial seed collection. When the new treelets are strong enough, most will be outplanted in the Limahuli Preserve to monitor and protect them. Alongside the Fondation Franklinia project and with the help of our supporters and collaborators, NTBG remains dedicated to saving as many endangered plant species as possible as we work to protect and restore native ecosystems on Kaua‘i and beyond.

From the outlandish adventures and introductions of a 20th-century plant hunter to modern-day scientists using drones to seek out rare plant life on the steep cliffs and rocky ridges of Kauai, NTBG is learning from the past and leading the way in the fight to protect the future of food, plants, animals, and ecosystems. Learn more and support plant-saving science today. 

Healthy Plants. Healthy Planet.  

NTBG is a nonprofit organization dedicated to saving and studying tropical plants. With five gardens, preserves and research centers based in biodiversity hotspots in Hawaii and Florida, NTBG cares for and protects the largest assemblage of Hawaiian plants. Join the fight to save endangered plant species and preserve plant diversity today by supporting the Healthy Plants, Healthy Planet campaign.

December 15, 2020 (Kalaheo, Hawaii) — Even as the loss of biodiversity and natural habitats accelerates and is worsened by climate change, scientists at the National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG) on Kauai have located previously unknown populations of at least nine species of rare and endangered native Hawaiian plants. NTBG’s Science and Conservation Director, Dr. Nina Rønsted, described the findings as, “a huge step forward in rare plant conservation. For us, this is the best news of the year.” With your help, NTBG is stemming the tide of plant loss. When you donate to the National Tropical Botanical Garden, you’re a part of this critical work that keeps our plants and our planet healthy.

In 2020, NTBG discovered and mapped 11 individual Gouania meyenii plants, a nearly extinct member of the Buckthorn family, reduced to a few plants on Oahu and thought to be gone from Kauai until this new discovery. NTBG and its collaborators at the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Department of Fish and Wildlife and the state of Hawaii’s Plant Extinction Prevention Program, also located two previously unknown Critically Endangered Flueggea neowawraea trees in Kauai’s Waimea Canyon using a spotting scope and a drone.

Additional population discoveries include the Endangered Geniostoma lydgatei, known from less than 200 plants limited to remote sections of Kauai’s wet forests.

Over the course of the year, even as the coronavirus pandemic disrupted human activity on an unprecedented scale, NTBG played a central role in locating populations of other rare plants including: Hibiscadelphus distans; Melicope stonei; Schiedea viscosa; Lysimachia scopulensis; Lepidium orbiculare; and Isodendrion laurifolium — nine species in total.

Rønsted called the population discoveries, “A new hope for conservation of Hawaii’s endangered rare plants and native forests.” She said the findings illustrate the importance of investing in science as a vital tool to better understand and protect the natural world.

“A new hope for conservation of Hawaii’s endangered rare plants and native forests.”

NTBG Science and Conservation Director, Nina Rønsted

This year’s newly discovered populations have been found in isolated, often difficult to reach areas including steep valleys and sheer cliff faces. NTBG is known for its use of roping and rappelling to reach inaccessible rare plants dating back to the 1970s. Since 2017, NTBG has increasingly used drones and other new mapping technology to locate rare and endangered plants so they can be protected and if accessible, seeds can be collected for restoration work.

In 2020, NTBG scientists have been able to continue their work after implementing safety protocols and distancing measures to ensure the safety of staff and partners.  

Working independently and in collaboration with state and federal agencies and organizations such as Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Forestry and Wildlife, the Plant Extinction Prevention Program, and The Nature Conservancy – Hawaii, and others, NTBG has made significant contributions to plant conservation in Hawaii and the greater Pacific region since it was established by a Congressional Charter in 1964.

Learn more about the work of the National Tropical Botanical Garden at www.ntbg.org.

For media inquiries, contact: media@ntbg.org

We are sharing a few simple banana recipes you can make and share this holiday season. These dishes were adapted from Hawaiian Cookbook by Roana and Gene Schindler. Buy ingredients from your local farms and farmer’s markets when possible to make these dishes even better!

Share your completed dishes with us on social media! Be sure to tag @ntbg on Instagram.

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Banana (Maia) Pudding Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups coconut milk (or cow’s milk)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup raisins (optional)
• 1 tablespoon chopped macadamia nuts
• 3 medium-size ripe bananas, mashed

Cooking Instructions

• Step 1: Scald milk in the top of a double boiler or thick-bottomed saucepan.
• Step 2: Once the milk is scalding, add sugar, raisins, nuts, and bananas. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Remove from heat.
• Step 3: Divide into individual serving dishes, distributing fruit evenly. Cool and refrigerate. Serve with a dollop of red jam, jelly, or whipped cream. We topped with Papaya Vanilla Jam from Monkeypod Jam, a small preservery and bakery located on Kauai.

Drunken Bananas (Maia Ona) Recipe

Ingredients

• 6 small, firm bananas
• 1/2 cup rum mixed with 2 teaspoons lemon juice. We used Kōloa Kauaʻi Spice Rum
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3/4 cup flaked coconut or chopped nuts (almonds, macadamia, walnuts)
• Neutral oil for frying like vegetable oil

Cooking Instructions

• Step 1: Soak whole bananas in rum and lemon juice for about 1 hour. Turn frequently.
• Step 2: Dip bananas in egg and roll in coconut or chopped nuts.
• Step 3: Heat 1/2 inch of oil in a skillet on low and fry bananas slowly until brown on all sides and tender. Drain on paper toweling and serve hot.

Share your completed dishes with us on social media! Be sure to tag @ntbg on Instagram and use the hashtag #ntbgrecipechallenge for a chance to win a prize.

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Banana History

After making this discovery, Dr. Kepler phoned Kamaui Aiona, former director of NTBG’s Kahanu Garden and Preserve, managing a small collection of banana varieties. The two returned to the wild patch, collected a pair of young specimens, and returned them to the garden collection where they are still growing. Today, Kahanu’s maia collection exceeds 30 varieties and is one of the most diverse in the State of Hawaii. This collection is essential to the safeguarding the world’s most popular tropical fruit.

A rare collection of bananas at Kahanu Garden safeguards species diversity and the world’s favorite tropical fruit

The world’s most popular tropical fruit is one of the most susceptible to disease. NTBG’s Kahanu Garden maintains a collection of rare bananas that is a safeguard preserving plant diversity of this important tropical food crop and your breakfast. With your help, NTBG is stemming the tide of plant loss and food insecurity. When you donate to the National Tropical Botanical Garden, you’re a part of this critical work that keeps our plants and our planet healthy.

It is a story that is all too common in 2020. A mysterious disease quietly spreads far and wide before its life-threatening symptoms appear. By the time the disease is identified, it’s impossible to stop and takes a heavy toll. While familiar, this story is not about the present COVID-19 pandemic but rather a fungus wreaking havoc on banana crops worldwide and threatening the existence of the most widely consumed Cavendish variety. 

If you ate a banana today, chances are you were able to easily acquire it from a local supermarket or cafe. It probably looks and tastes just like every other banana you have ever purchased, and you could find one just like it from nearly any grocer or roadside fruit stand on the planet. This is because monoculture crops of Cavendish bananas account for 47% of global banana production and 99% of bananas cultivated for commercial export.

Monoculture is a form of agriculture focused on growing one type of crop at a time. In the case of Cavendish bananas, not only are they the primary variety cultivated for commercial consumption and trade, the crops are genetically identical. This means that every Cavendish banana you have eaten is a clone of one that came before it. While monoculture does offer the benefit of efficiency and scale, it also increases the risk of disease and crop vulnerability. In other words, if a disease affects one plant, it can affect them all. Banana farmers and barons of the early 20th century are no stranger to the vulnerabilities of banana monoculture. Until the mid 20th century, the Gros Michel variety of banana was the most popular, commercially available variety. Still, fungus all but wiped it out in the 1950s, replaced by today’s heartier, or so thought, Cavendish variety. 

A race with no end in sight

Tropical Race 4 (TR4), also known as Fusarium Wilt or Panama Disease, is a soil-borne fungus that enters banana plants from the root, blocks water flow throughout the plant, and causes it to wilt. At present, TR4 cannot be controlled with fungicide or fumigation and has been found in banana-growing regions across Asia, Africa, Australia and was discovered in South America, where most commercial bananas are produced in 2019. 

Bananas are the world’s most popular tropical fruit. In fact, the average American consumes more than 26 pounds of banana every year. While not exactly a staple of the American diet, bananas are one of the most economically important food crops worldwide and responsible for an annual trade industry of more than $4 billion, only 15% of which is exported to the United States, Europe, and Japan. What is particularly devastating about the fungus’ potential to overrun our most popular variety is that most bananas are consumed by people in developing countries where affordable food sources and nutrient-rich calories can be hard to come by. With a great demand for bananas and monoculture crops highly susceptible to TR4 and other fungi, scientists are racing the clock to develop new disease-resistant bananas, but looking to history is likely where the answer lies.

Bananas with a legendary past and promising future

Long before westerners arrived in Hawaii, ancient Polynesians voyaged to the islands in double-hulled sailing canoes. To sustain life throughout their journey, and once they reached their destination, they brought a selection of at least two dozen species of plants for food, clothing, structure, medicinal and cultural purposes. These plants are commonly referred to as “canoe plants,” and even though they were introduced to the island, they are an essential part of Hawaii’s cultural history.

Banana or maiʻa in Hawaiian are canoe plants introduced and planted in some of the most idyllic and enchanting places throughout the islands. One ancient story described a banana patch so large you could get lost trying to find your way around it growing deep in Maui’s Waihoi Valley. The story caught the attention of naturalist Dr. Angela Kay Kepler in 2004, and a botanical adventure ensued. Determined to find the legendary banana field, Dr. Kepler hired a helicopter to survey the valley. Sure enough, growing along the Waiohonu River banks, was the largest wild-growing traditional Hawaiian Banana Patch.  

“The number of early varieties is a fraction of what it once was, and research to verify each is ongoing. Kahanu Garden serves as a haven where they can be preserved and shared for future generations.”

Mike Opgenorth, Kahanu Garden Director

After making this discovery, Dr. Kepler phoned Kamaui Aiona, former director of NTBG’s Kahanu Garden and Preserve, managing a small collection of banana varieties. The two returned to the wild patch, collected a pair of young specimens, and returned them to the garden collection where they are still growing. Today, Kahanu’s maia collection exceeds 30 varieties and is one of the most diverse in the State of Hawaii. 

“In recognition of the threat of losing indigenous crop diversity, NTBG recently adopted a strategic goal to collect and curate all extant cultivars of Hawaiian canoe plants,” said Mike Opgenorth, current Director at Kahanu Garden. “The number of early varieties is a fraction of what it once was, and research to verify each is ongoing. Kahanu Garden serves as a haven where they can be preserved and shared for future generations.” he continued.

Feeding the world starts at home

Today, Kahanu Garden is carrying on the critical work of protecting banana diversity and Hawaii’s botanical heritage and re-introducing these important varieties to local food systems. “Existing commercial varieties do not exhibit the resiliency to combat these new diseases,” said Opgenorth. “It is so important that other banana varieties remain available so that we can defend irreplaceable genetic diversity that will help feed the world,” he finished. 

Feeding the world starts at home for NTBG and Kahanu Garden. Together with partners at Mahele Farm, the organizations are working together to provide for the isolated Hana Maui community and share the traditional plant knowledge of Hawaii’s kupuna (elders).

“Over the past ten years, weʻve launched ourselves into the Hawaiian-style study of maia,” said Mikala Minn, Volunteer Coordinator at Mahele Farm. “As small farmers dedicated to feeding our community, the crop variety was a perfect fit for our weekly food distributions. As we shared the fruit and learned the best ways to prepare each type, stories from our kupuna came to light. This personʻs papa would put them in the imu, half-ripe. Another kupuna grew up eating them boiled and mashed. Others made poʻe, a kind of maiʻa poi.,” he continued. Mahele Farm distributes approximately 50 pounds of fresh produce to kupuna at the Hana Farmers market every week and helps maintain a small collection of Hawaiian bananas at the Hana Elementary school.

“This personʻs papa would put them in the imu, half-ripe. Another Kupuna grew up eating them boiled and mashed. Others made poʻe, a kind of maiʻa poi.”

Mikala Minn, Volunteer Coordinator at Mahele Farm

Today’s agricultural and botanical problems are complex, but looking to the past, protecting plant diversity, and encouraging local farmers, schools, and even home gardeners to diversify is an excellent and effective step in the right direction. 

Healthy Plants. Healthy Planet.  

NTBG is a nonprofit organization dedicated to saving and studying tropical plants. With five gardens, preserves and research centers based in Hawaii and Florida, NTBG cares for and protects the largest assemblage of Hawaiian plants. Join the fight to save endangered plant species and preserve plant diversity today by supporting the Healthy plants, healthy planet campaign.

For centuries, breadfruit has been a vital food crop throughout Oceania. Voyagers carried planting material from the nutrient-rich fruit-bearing tree across the Pacific. Countless generations of farmers have cultivated breadfruit for its versatile, starchy fruits from Southeast Asia and the Pacific, to the Caribbean, Africa, and beyond. Since 2003, when the National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG) established the Breadfruit Institute, interest and awareness for the attractive, long-lived, high-yield tree crop has spread around the world.

The Breadfruit Institute, based at NTBG headquarters in Hawaii, has assembled the world’s largest and most diverse collection of breadfruit varieties (more than 200 trees representing around 150 varieties) on Maui and Kauai. In 2017, with funding from the Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Patagonia Provisions, the Breadfruit Institute began a bold initiative to transform the existing breadfruit research orchard in the McBryde Garden on Kauai into a regenerative organic breadfruit agroforest (ROBA).

Based on the traditions of agroforestry (food forests) practiced throughout the Pacific and elsewhere, the Breadfruit Institute developed the ROBA, a sustainable living model of how a long-lived tree crop like breadfruit can be integrated with a multitude of other edible and ornamental plants to increase productivity while integrating existing resources to enrich the soil and sequester carbon.

Plants such as bananas, taro, sugar cane, ginger, citrus, understory row crops, and others are being grown alongside mature breadfruit trees, producing an abundance of food that can feed people year-round while at the same time, creating more favorable conditions for the surrounding breadfruit trees which produce seasonally.

Through its many partnerships and collaborations, NTBG and the Breadfruit Institute have changed the trajectory of this centuries-old tree crop, infusing new enthusiasm and an interest shared by farmers, chefs, nutritionists, educators, non-governmental organizations, and communities around the world seeking to improve food security, soil health, and environmental conditions.

For five years, Patagonia Provisions has supported the work of the Breadfruit Institute in demonstrating how breadfruit agroforestry can help nourish people and the planet. Now, in collaboration with a breadfruit growers’ cooperative in Costa Rica assisted by the Breadfruit Institute, Patagonia Provisions has produced an exciting new breadfruit cracker that will allow this tropical crop to be easily shipped, shared, and enjoyed no matter where you live.

This delicious, healthful cracker is the latest example of how an ancient, traditional tropical food crop is adapting to meet the needs of the global community. The cracker also illustrates the incredible potential of breadfruit and the important role agroforestry and regenerative organic agriculture can have in creating a healthier, hunger-free planet.

To learn more about breadfruit and agroforestry, and how you can experience and connect with the Breadfruit Institute and National Tropical Botanical Garden, visit https://ntbg.org/breadfruit/.

Thanks to a chance encounter in graduate school, Diane Ragone, Ph.D., director of the Breadfruit Institute at NTBG, dedicated her life to documenting and preserving a nutritious, starchy, and storied fruit of the Pacific. Breadfruit, or ulu as it is known in Hawaii, may be the key to preventing the loss of traditional and culturally significant food crops and stabilizing food and economic security in the tropics. NTBG and the Breadfruit Institute are stemming the tide of plant loss and food insecurity with your help. When you donate to the National Tropical Botanical Garden, you’re a part of this critical work that is keeping our plants and our planet healthy.

A Chance Encounter

In 1981, Diane Ragone, a horticulturist interested in tropical fruit, moved to the Hawaiian Island of Oahu for graduate studies at the University of Hawaii in the Horticulture Department. After a chance encounter and single taste of the nutritious, starchy, and storied fruit, commonly known as breadfruit or ulu in Hawaii, Diane decided to make it the subject of a term paper. “The history of breadfruit was so interesting to me because of how widely it was grown throughout the Pacific Islands and how important it was culturally and as a food staple for so many Pacific Islanders for centuries,” she said.  

“The history of breadfruit was so interesting to me because of how widely it was grown throughout the Pacific Islands and how important it was culturally and as a food staple for so many Pacific Islanders for centuries.”

Dr. Diane Ragone, Director, the Breadfruit Institute

History and Botanical Interests

Breadfruit originated in New Guinea and the Indo-Malay region and was spread throughout the vast Pacific by voyaging islanders. Europeans discovered breadfruit in the late 1500s and were delighted by a tree that produced prolific, starchy fruits that resembled freshly baked bread in texture and aroma when roasted in a fire.

Sir Joseph Banks, who sailed on HMS Endeavour with Captain Cook to Tahiti in 1769, recognized the potential of breadfruit as a food crop for other tropical areas. He proposed to King George III that a special expedition be commissioned to transport breadfruit plants from Tahiti to the Caribbean. This set the stage for one of the grandest sailing adventures of all time – The ill-fated voyage of HMS Bounty under the command of Captain William Bligh.

What is little known is that Captain Bligh returned to Tahiti on the aptly named HMS Providence to continue the breadfruit voyage. Several Tahitian varieties, and an unknown variety from Timor, were successfully introduced to the Caribbean in 1793. While many accounts dismiss this epic plant introduction as a failure because the islands’ population did not initially accept this new crop as a food, subsequent centuries have proved the value of breadfruit to the Caribbean and other tropical areas.

A renewed interest in breadfruit emerged in the 1920s and 1940s after World War II when botanists and scientists realized that many traditional food crops and cultivation practices were at risk of disappearing from the Pacific Islands. “Plant introductions were of particular interest to me, so I approached my research from the angle of collection, conservation, and documentation of breadfruit diversity,” said Dr. Ragone. “It was fascinating for me to learn that there were places in the Pacific that had documented 50, 60, even a hundred varieties of breadfruit,” she continued.

In 2003 Diane established the Breadfruit Institute to promote the conservation, study, and use of breadfruit for food and reforestation and is a global leader in efforts to conserve and use breadfruit diversity to support regenerative agriculture, food security, and economic development in the tropics. 

Food Security and Economic Opportunity

Compared to an annual field crop, breadfruit trees are easy to plant and can produce anywhere from 300 to 1,200 pounds of starchy, nutritious food every year for decades. Breadfruit grows in tropical regions worldwide, which have some of the highest instances of food insecurity and poverty anywhere. 85% of the places around the world where hunger and poverty are most acute, breadfruit can grow. This makes breadfruit an incredible resource for bolstering food security and creating economic opportunity for the farmers and families where it is needed most. 

“Even in Hawaii, it’s hard to be a farmer and make enough money to pay your bills.”

Noel Dickinson, NTBG Research Technician

“Even in Hawaii, it’s hard to be a farmer and make enough money to pay your bills,” said Noel Dickinson, Research Technician at National Tropical Botanical Garden. “What we are trying to demonstrate with the Regenerative Organic Breadfruit Agroforest in McBryde Garden is a way for farmers and individuals in Hawaii and tropical regions around the world to diversify and utilize all of their land with ulu as the backbone of their system,” she continued. 

Regenerative Organic Breadfruit Agroforestry (ROBA)

Agroforestry is a farming method that integrates trees, shrubs, and other plants with crops or animals in ways that provide economic, environmental, and social benefits. In 2017, NTBG’s Breadfruit Institute established a two-acre Regenerative Organic Breadfruit Agroforestry demonstration in McBryde Garden with funding from the Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Patagonia Provisions. The demonstration garden contains more than 100 plant species and varieties, which are monitored weekly for production. In 2020, the ROBA demonstration has produced more than 6,000 pounds of fresh food, approximately 20,000 meals, which has been donated to staff, volunteers, and organizations mitigating food insecurity on Kauai during the pandemic.

“One pound of breadfruit feeds 2-4 people,” said Kelvin Moniz, Executive Director of the Kauai Independent Food Bank. “We calculate it by assuming people are putting 2-4 oz. of starch on their plate during a meal. With the breadfruit from NTBG and some other local sources, we handed out one ulu per car and were able to give away more than 200 during one Friday afternoon distribution,” he concluded. 

“At first, people were really surprised that we had ulu at the Food Bank, and gradually they have started to ask for it more and more. It is great to see the desire for ulu increase and all of the different ways people are preparing and sharing it with their families.”

Kelvin Moniz, Kauai Independent Food Bank

Nutritionally breadfruit compares favorably with other starchy staple crops commonly eaten in the tropics, such as taro, plantain, cassava, sweet potato, and rice. It is a good source of dietary fiber, iron, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium with small amounts of thiamin, riboflavin, and niacin. Breadfruit is gluten-free and a complete protein, providing all of the essential amino acids necessary to human health. “At first, people were really surprised that we had ulu at the Food Bank, and gradually they have started to ask for it more and more,” said Kevin. “It is great to see the desire for ulu increase and all different ways people are preparing and sharing it with their families,” he finished.

Learning from the Past to Farm for the Future

Breadfruit has long been a staple crop and a critical component of traditional agroforestry systems throughout Oceania. There is so much we can learn and apply today from how it has been cultivated throughout history. “Breadfruit agroforestry typifies regenerative agriculture as indigenous people of the tropics have practiced it for centuries,” said Dr. Ragone. “They had no outside inputs, only organic resources provided by the land and sea, so every part of the agroforestry system interacted and worked together to rebuild and add nutrients back into the soil,” she continued. Unlike other starchy food crops, breadfruit does not require annual soil tilling and provides more significant carbon sequestration benefits for the environment, which helps mitigate climate change. 

“What is most dear to my heart is local abundance. We need to diversify agriculture in tropical regions, and breadfruit is an important staple crop that can do that while providing local and community self-sufficiency and food security.”

Dr. Diane Ragone, Director, the Breadfruit Institute

Over the last decade, more than 100,000 breadfruit trees have been planted in Hawaii and around the globe thanks to the efforts of The Breadfruit Institute and partners in its Global Hunger Initiative such as the Hawaii Homegrown Food Network, Trees That Feed Foundation, Cultivaris, and many more. Now that individuals, families, and farms have more access to breadfruit, so do entrepreneurs who can develop novel food and products, leading to economic growth. “What is most dear to my heart is local abundance,” said Dr. Ragone. “We need to diversify agriculture in tropical regions, and breadfruit is an important staple crop that can do that while providing local and community self-sufficiency and food security.”

Healthy Plants. Healthy Planet.  

From its origins in Oceania to historical expeditions, botanical introductions, and conservation efforts, breadfruit has been on an incredible journey to the modern world. Thanks to generous supporters, partners, and volunteers like you, NTBG and the Breadfruit Institute will continue to study, fuel economic growth, and drive agricultural innovation with breadfruit. 

Want to get involved? Donate to the Healthy Plants. Healthy Planet campaign to support NTBG science, research, and conservation efforts today and learn more about opportunities to visit and volunteer. “My husband and I are avid gardeners and learned about the wonders of breadfruit during a visit to McBryde Garden in 2015,” said Anne Cyr, NTBG volunteer. “A later trip to St. Kitts and the West Indies broadened our understanding of breadfruit’s importance, and we signed up to volunteer at the Breadfruit Institute during our next visit to Kauai. We planted taro, harvested, and weighed lots of breadfruit and learned so much! We can’t wait to get back and work beneath the beautiful and bountiful trees again,” she exclaimed. 

Give now to support food security and check out these resources, entrepreneurs, and partners for more information on breadfruit.

Additional Resources

An Interview with the Mother of the Breadfruit Movement, Hawaii Public Radio
Breadfruit Institute
Breadfruit Agroforestry Guide
Patagonia Provisions Agroforestry Partners
Global Hunger Initiative
Hawaii Homegrown Food Network
Maui Breadfruit Company

Dr. Dave Lorence, NTBG Senior Research Botanist

The United Nations has declared 2020 as the International Year of Plant Health. In recognition of this timely and timeless theme, and with the understanding that the health that all life on this planet is dependent on plant health, David Lorence discusses how NTBG contributes to protecting and advancing plant health.

Protecting plant health can help alleviate hunger, reduce poverty, safeguard the environment, and boost economic development. However, protecting plant health depends on correctly identifying and naming plant species. If we don’t know the correct names of plants, how can we know what we are conserving? This applies to all plants, not only to those cultivated for food, fiber, medicine, or as beautiful ornamentals, but also countless less well-known species that are essential to the health of natural ecosystems.

As our planet’s biodiversity faces a grave, growing risk, centers of research excellence in systematics like NTBG have vital role to play. Natural history and plant collections in particular, play a crucial role in research, education, and public outreach. Collections of plant specimens (herbaria) are the foundation for all studies of plant diversity and evolution. A herbarium is a critical resource for biodiversity, ecological, and evolutionary research studies. Herbaria, like other natural history collections, are the essential resources for taxonomy (naming and classification) and the study of biodiversity. A herbarium is like a library, but differs in that the information is stored in a biological form as pressed, dried, and accurately identified plant specimens.

A herbarium is a primary data source of dried and labeled plant specimens that are arranged for easy retrieval access and archival storage. Herbaria may be digitized (as we do at NTBG), making the label data and even images of the specimens available online through databases.
 
Collectively, herbarium specimens provide enormous economic and scientific returns to society and are irreplaceable resources that must be preserved for future generations. All fields of biological science, from the level of molecular biology to ecosystem science and species conservation, are dependent on natural history collections, not just for application of names, but as the basis for referencing all aspects of biodiversity. These are but a few of the ways that herbaria, and the work we do, help promote plant health.”

Add a sustainable and tropical twist to your Thanksgiving stuffing recipe by making a simple swap from bread to breadfruit (ulu or Artocarpus altilis). Not only is it a delicious and nutritious switch, but when you use ulu in your Thanksgiving meals, you support agriculture, food, and economic security in the tropics. This tropical take on the traditional side dish also includes quinoa, which was introduced to the United States world-renowned botanist, David Fairchild, whose former residence serves as the location of NTBG’s Kampong Garden today. This tasty dish also includes macadamia nuts, celery root, onion, and garlic. Add your favorite sausage to spice things up.

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Ulu Stuffing Recipe

*notes on preparing and cooking breadfruit…We recommend cooking your breadfruit ahead of time! You can even steam a whole, unpeeled breadfruit in a pressure cooker or roasted in an oven to make peeling and slicing easier. Refer to our cooking page for tips. You can also peel and cube raw breadfruit and pan fry with the vegetables the day of. The raw breadfruit will be crispier on the outside, like home fries, whereas the pre-cooked breadfruit will add a softer, more bread-like texture to the dish which works wonderfully in a stuffing! The point at which you add the breadfruit to the pan depends on whether you choose to cook it ahead of time so pay close attention to the directions below to get the desired result.

Cooking Instructions

Step 1

Cook quinoa according to package directions. Set cooked quinoa aside in a large mixing bowl.

Step 2

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan on medium-high heat. If you are using the optional raw breadfruit, plantains and/or sausage, add to the pan first and cook, stirring frequently until browned. Once browned, add the garlic, onions, and celery or celery root to the pan. Cook on medium, continuing to stir frequently, until veggies are fork tender, about 15 minutes. Once the veggies are softened, add the steamed breadfruit (if you did not use raw breadfruit), poultry seasoning and salt, stir to coat evenly.  See the notes on preparing and cooking breadfruit above for more information.

Step 3

Add the cooked veggies to the quinoa in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine. Mix in chopped parsley, macadamia nuts and olive oil and toss until everything is evenly distributed. Serve and enjoy!

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Breadfruit History

“regarding food, if a man plants 10 (breadfruit) trees in his life he would completely fulfill his duty to his own as well as future generations…”

Complex carbohydrates are the main source of energy with low levels of protein and fat and a moderate glycemic index. It is also gluten free. 100 g fresh fruit provides 102 calories. Breadfruit is a good source of dietary fiber, iron, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium with small amounts of thiamin, riboflavin, and niacin.

The trees are traditionally used and are a major component in mixed cropping agroforestry systems. Breadfruit creates a lush overstory that shelters a myriad of useful plants including yams, kava, noni, bananas and sweet potatoes.

One of the highlights of the McBryde Garden is NTBG’s Regenerative Organic Breadfruit Agroforestry (ROBA) project which acts as a living classroom and 2-acre demonstration project. The data that is collected by our ROBA team is used to advise local farmers on best practices and techniques. This year, our team was able to ground proof ROBA’s productivity and display breadfruit agroforestry’s ability to support community resilience in times of need. So far, over 6,000 lbs. of breadfruit has been donated to local food banks on Kauai!

Additional Breadfruit Resources and Recipes

Community Supported Agriculture

Wondering how to sign up for a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) subscription or where you can buy breadfruit in Hawaii? Check out the links below to find a source near you.