Holiday Recipe Challenge

This holiday season, NTBG is challenging supporters to eat locally-grown, seasonal meals in honor of our fall campaign. No matter where you live, your food choices impact your local economy, ecosystem, and public health. Join us by donating to the Healthy Plants, Healthy Planet campaign to perpetuate the survival of plants, ecosystems, cultural knowledge of tropical regions, and support food security worldwide. Explore the recipes and resources below to get started.

Donate to the Healthy Plants, Healthy Planet campaign today!

Help NTBG continue our work supporting sustainable food systems. All donations made before December 31 will be matched up to $100,000

Holiday Recipe Challenge

Taking us up on our challenge? As you make your holiday grocery lists, consider using locally grown, seasonal ingredients. We’re sharing a few of our favorite recipes below for some inspiration.

Show us what you create! Share your images with NTBG on Facebook @saveplants, and on Instagram and Twitter @ntbg. Use the #ntbgrecipechallenge and be entered to win a prize!

substitute Kalo (taro) for your pumpkin or sweet potato dishes!

Kalo Pie Recipe

This Kalo Pie Recipe is a Hawaiian inspired take on the traditional thanksgiving desert. Guaranteed to be a hit with your friends and family!

substitute for stuffing

Breadfruit (Ulu) Stuffing Recipe

Enjoy this twist on a traditional thanksgiving stuffing!

What to do with your leftovers

Breadfruit Me Ka Hua Salad Recipe

Dress up your leftover wild boar or holiday turkey in this award winning dish!

How to Prepare and Cook Breadfruit

Recipes for…

Breadfruit Appetizers

Recipes for…

Breadfruit Entrees

Recipes for…

Breadfruit Desserts

Impacts of Eating Locally-Grown Food…

  • Reduces Food Miles: Buying local reduces your carbon footprint by reducing air pollution and the use of resources like fuel, water, and single-use packaging.
  • Supports Local Economies: Buying from small farms increases the demand for sustainable practices and grows the local agricultural economy and purchasing power.
  • Increases Demand for Sustainable Farming Practices and Safer Foods: Small farms more readily adopt environmentally friendly practices and contribute to long term ecological sustainability and public health.

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.

State of Hawaii

Breadfruit Locator: https://eatbreadfruit.com/pages/findbreadfruit

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and Farm Locator: https://gofarmhawaii.org/find-your-farmer/


How do Sustainable Food Systems Connect to NTBG’s Mission to Save Plants?

Agroforestry is a method of farming that integrates trees, shrubs, and other plants with crops and/or animals in ways that provide economic, environmental, and social benefits. 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!

Agroforestry produces 10% – 60% more crops than monocrop farming and contributes to the restoration of ecosystem function. Commercial monocrop farming typically destroys ecosystems, requires more resources (water, fertilizer, land) and often require liberal pesticide usage. Small, local farms on the other hand often rebuild crop and insect diversity, use less pesticides, enrich the soil, create havens for wildlife, and produce tastier food. NTBG’s work supporting sustainable food systems directly contributes to perpetuating the survival of plants, ecosystems, and cultural knowledge of tropical regions.

Learning from the Past

The Hawaiians have a saying, “He wa’a he moku, he moku he wa’a,” which roughly translates to “the canoe is an island, and the island is a canoe.” Voyagers survived a nearly three month canoe trip across the sea carrying a botanical toolkit that provided everything they needed for survival. Once they made land, Polynesians carefully incorporated this toolkit into the islands’ environment.

Hawaiians understood the fatal consequences of upsetting the balance of an ecosystem and developed a culture that co-existed with the land and even enhanced ecosystem function. Need proof it works? Using agroforestry techniques and sustainable practices, ancient Hawaiians’ food systems supported nearly half million people on the island of Kauai alone. Today, the County of Kauai has a population around 80,000, imports nearly 90% of its food and native plants occupy only a small percent of the land mass.

Today, NTBG adapts ancestral resource management practices to address contemporary conservation challenges and restore health, function, and resilience to the land we manage. This approach is known as biocultural conservation.

An Eye On Plants – Campanulaceae

Bellflower family

Campanulaceae
Cyanea gibsonii

PHOTO caption/credit: Critically Endangered Cyanea gibsonii, endemic to Lāna‘i. Photo by Steve Perlman

Growing on every continent except Antarctica, Campanulaceae (the bellflower family), with around 85 genera and over 2,300 species, has covered the earth. From Australia’s delicate lavender Campanula and clusters of Asyneuma in the sub-alpine meadows of the Caucasus, to sturdy Lobelia deckenii on the slopes of Kilamanjaro and tiny Cyphocarpus, endemic to Chile’s Atacama desert, Campanulaceae is a vision of diversity.

Lobelia

In Hawai‘i, where a lone colonizing species of Lobelia landed some 13 million years ago, the wide range of micro-habitats, as well as adaptations to seed dispersal and pollination by native animals, allowed it to branch and evolve into Hawai‘i’s most diverse clade (related plant group). An exceptional example of adaptive radiation, Hawai‘i’s Campanulaceae include native Lobelia plus five genera endemic to Hawai‘i: Brighamia, Clermontia, Cyanea, Delissea, and Trematolobelia. The more than 150 endemic taxa are found on all the high Hawaiian islands except Kaho‘olawe.

Among some taxa, the characteristic curved floral tubes indicate possible coevolution with curved-beaked native forest birds — mostly honeycreepers (Drepanididae) — while the long, tubular, fragrant flowers of Brighamia suggest adaptation to moth pollination.

Trematolobelia macrostachys

Along with the loss of Hawai‘i’s native forest birds, genetic exchange and seed dispersal have declined. NTBG Research Biologist Ken Wood recalls frequently seeing Cyanea and Delissea in the 1980s, but says that populations lost in tropical storms often couldn’t reestablish themselves. Today, Hawai‘i’s Campanulaceae, Ken says, are in sharp decline. In addition to storm damage, competition with alien plants, damage from slugs, rats, and ungulates have reduced populations, adding to the problem of genetic inbreeding, resulting in less robust plants.

Over decades, NTBG scientists have discovered, rediscovered, collected, and cultivated Campanulaceae, most famously the moth-pollinated cliff-dwelling genus Brighamia, represented by just two species: Brighamia insignis, endemic to Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau, and the closely related B. rockii, endemic to Lāna‘i, Maui, and Moloka‘i.

NTBG Conservation Biologist Seana Walsh has extensively studied the breeding system and floral biology of B. insignis, and continues to collaborate with staff at Chicago Botanic Garden to conduct molecular studies of genetic diversity within and among ex situ collections.

Cyanea

Another genus, Cyanea, includes some 70 or more fleshy fruit-bearing species such as Cyanea dolichopoda, endemic to the sheer cliffs of windward Kaua‘i, it was discovered and co-described by NTBG staff but is now believed to be extinct.

Cyanea kuhihewa, previously known only from Limahuli Valley, was thought to have been wiped out by Hurricane ‘Iniki (1992). It wasn’t until 2017 that an NTBG-Nature Conservancy team rediscovered it on private land. Seeds were collected and sent to Lyon Arboretum at the University of Hawai‘i where they were grown into plantlets and carried back to Kaua‘i in test tubes for NTBG to grow and outplant in the Limahuli Preserve.

NTBG has also successfully cultivated Cyanea superba (extinct in the wild) and C. rivularis which has been outplanted in Limahuli Preserve. Currently, Living Collections staff are also growing C. sylvestris, C. hirtella, as well as a number of Delissea.

In 2012, NTBG’s Senior Research Botanist, Dr. David Lorence, co-named and described Cyanea kauaulaensis which grows in the mountains of west Maui. Presently, NTBG is also conducting survey work on Kaua‘i with an undescribed perennial single-stemmed Lobelia which may eventually be identified as a new species.

To see Hawai‘i’s Campanulaceae in the wild, hike Kaua‘i’s Pihea trail leading to the Alaka‘i Swamp where you may find multiple Cyanea species as well as Clermontia fauriei or Trematolobelia kauaiensis growing along the trail.

Presently, NTBG has more than 612,000 seeds from 370 accessions representing all six native genera in storage. Some of those seeds will be used to establish a breeding program for Brighamia rockii which represent populations no longer extant on Moloka‘i. NTBG will try to germinate those accessions to grow B. rockii and cross-pollinate plants by hand to produce genetically diverse seeds that can be shared with the Plant Extinction Prevention program for outplanting in a restoration site on Moloka‘i, the plant’s home island.

brighamia insignis
Brighamia insignis

Kalo Pie Recipe

Ready to make some local food swaps for your holiday meal? Kalo (taro or Colocasia esculenta) is a great local substitute for your favorite pumpkin and sweet potatoes recipes.

This Kalo Pie Recipe is a Hawaiian inspired take on a traditional desert and is guaranteed to be a hit with your friends and family! If you don’t live in Hawaii, consider purchasing pumpkin or sweet potato varieties from your local farmers market or CSA as an alternative to store bought, canned puree.

Kalo Pie Recipe

Ingredients

Filling
  • 1.5 lbs of taro, diced into ½ inch cubes. (Substitute purple sweet potato varieties like Ube or Okinawa if you do not have access to taro)
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1, 14 oz can of full fat coconut milk
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 4 tbsp of flour
Pie Crust
  • 5 oz of roasted macadamia nuts, ground
  • 3 tbsp of butter, melted
  • ½ cup panko bread crumbs
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 2 tbsp flour
Topping (optional)
  • ½ cup sweetened coconut flakes
  • ¼ cup of macadamia nuts, chopped
  • Whipped cream

Step 1

Add diced taro cubes to a large pot of boiling water. Cover and cook until taro is translucent and fork tender, about 15 – 20 minutes. First time cooking with taro? Check out steps 1-3 of this wikihow page for some important tips. 

chopped taro

Step 2

While the taro cooks, preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine all pie crust ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl. Mix until combined. Pour into a 9 inch pie dish and press firmly to evenly distribute the pie crust mixture into the bottom of the pie dish. Bake the crust until golden brown, 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside. Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Step 3

Drain the cooked taro and discard the water. Add taro, sugar, and vanilla to a blender and mix until smooth and fluffy. If you don’t have a blender, you can use a potato masher or hand mixer. Transfer taro mixture to a large mixing bowl. Add coconut milk and eggs, mixing until all ingredients are well incorporated. Add salt and flour and mix until combined.

Pour taro filling over cooked pie crust. Bake for 45 minutes – 1 hour at 350 degrees Fahrenheit or until pie is cooked through and the center no longer jiggles. Remove pie and let cool to room temperature before decorating.

Kalo (taro) Pie

Step 4

While the pie cools, toast ½ cup of sweetened coconut flakes and chopped macadamia nuts in a non-stick pan over medium heat, stirring frequently. Top pie completely cooled pie with toasted nuts and coconut. Pipe whipped cream along the edges of the pie right before serving. Slice and enjoy! 

Kalo (taro) Pie

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

Taro Cultivation

Did you know that kalo is one of the world’s oldest cultivated crops? Ancient voyagers traveled to Hawai’i with a sophisticated botanical toolkit which included bananas, coconut, turmeric, sugar cane, sweet potatoes, breadfruit, kalo and more.

Kalo is believed to have the greatest life force of all foods. According to the creation chant (Kumulipo), kalo grew from the first-born son of Wakea (sky father) and Papa (earth mother). Their son, Haloa-naka, was stillborn and out of his buried body grew the kalo plant, also called Haloa, which means “everlasting breath”.

The species is thought to be a native of India. However, it was in Hawai’i that the cultivation of kalo reached its most sophisticated level. Ancient kalo terraces (loi) can be seen in the Hanalei Valley, Kaua’i, and the remains of others are found in remote areas, now uninhabited, such as the Na Pali Coast of Kaua’i.

20th century monoculture made Kalo very susceptible to diseases. Approximately 87 of the more than 400 documented varieties still exist today, with slight differences in height, stalk color, leaf or flower color, size, and corm type. At our Limahuli Garden, staff are restoring an ancient system of more than a dozen kalo lo‘i which archaeologists say is over 800 years old. This colorful plate of kalo is the result of their work!

Flora of the Marquesas Islands Vol. 1 and Vol. 2

Flora of the Marquesas Islands, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 Now Available

NTBG is pleased to announce that we have published a major work — the Flora of the Marquesas Islands, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, which is now available for purchase directly through NTBG. This multi-decade project was spearheaded by NTBG’s Senior Research Botanist Dr. David Lorence and Dr. Warren Wagner, a Research Botanist and Curator of Botany with the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. The Flora of the Marquesas is a collaboration between NTBG, the Smithsonian Institution, Délégation á la Recherche de la Polynésie Française, and other partners.

This two volume hardbound color book set offers a complete account of all the plants found in The Marquesas Island. Of the 826 vascular plant species recorded, 331 species are native, with the remainder being human-introduced. Nearly half of the native flora (47%) is endemic to the Marquesas and includes 100 ferns and lycophytes. Volume 1 of this two-volume work includes an introduction to the Marquesas Islands, lycophytes, ferns, monocots, and exsiccatae.

Flora of The Marquesas Islands, Volume 1 Lycophytes, Ferns, and Monocots by David H. Lorence and Warren L. Wagner. 415 pages, $60 + tax and shipping.

Flora of The Marquesas Islands, Volume 2 includes dicots, a list of cultivated plants, a list of all literature cited, and an index to both volumes. Comprising 722 pages with 256 color figures and line drawings, volume 2 is available for $70 + tax and shipping. 

Flora of the Marquesas Islands, 2 volume bundle set is now available for $100 + tax and shipping.

To purchase, please contact Dr. David Lorence at lorence@ntbg.org.


The Marquesas Islands are a volcanic archipelago of 12 main islands and numerous islets situated within the Polynesia-Micronesia biodiversity hotspot, an epicenter of the current global extinction crisis. Stemming from extensive fieldwork, this book conveys a characterization of the extant floristic diversity, including 85 recently described species, original illustrations, illuminating photos, and critical conservation considerations. This work imparts a foundational knowledge of the flora as a vital component towards preserving biodiversity of the Marquesas Islands.

Pi’ilanihale Heiau

Two decades after restoration, reflections on Pi‘ilanihale Heiau Rising

By Chipper Wichman, Ph.D., FLS, NTBG President with Mike Opgenorth, Director of Kahanu Garden and Preserve

This is a story of restoration, reconciliation, and respect. It’s the story of how NTBG grew as an organization, mended old fences, and built new relationships. This is the story of the restoration of the Pi‘ilanihale Heiau, Hawai‘i’s largest ancient stone structure and a place of deep cultural and spiritual importance. 

The Pi‘ilanihale Heiau is a registered National Historic Landmark and, more importantly, it is the piko (cultural center) of Kahanu Garden on the Hāna Coast of Maui’s north shore.

In the late 1990s, the Kahanu-Uaiwa-Matsuda-Kumaewa family, who along with Hāna Ranch, had gifted the land where Kahanu Garden was started, had grown frustrated because NTBG had not completed restoration of the heiau within the originally agreed to time frame.

In February 1997, I was serving as Director of the Limahuli Garden and Preserve on Kaua‘i’s north shore when news came of the sudden passing of NTBG’s director Dr. William Klein. Within days, the Garden’s Chairman of the Board of Trustees called and asked if I would accept the role of Kahanu Garden Director in addition to my duties as Limahuli Garden Director.

As both gardens were in remote communities on different islands, the decision was not easy. Simply commuting from Hā‘ena on Kaua‘i to Hāna on Maui would be demanding, but beyond the travel logistics, there was the question of addressing the complicated and strained relationship that had developed between the Garden and the Hawaiian community in Hāna over the past decade. 

The Garden’s promise to restore the heiau was the primary reason the property was given to NTBG and we had not fulfilled our commitment. Although the task before us was daunting, my wife Hau‘oli and I felt as though a voice was calling us to accept the challenge and make things pono (right). Recognizing this unique opportunity to reconcile our relationship with the Hāna community and reassess the role of the Garden, I agreed to become the director. By accepting the position, I knew I was committing to oversee the completion of the heiau restoration, a project that could take three to five years and which would require significant fundraising. 

But the biggest challenge was finding the right people to work on this massive project. I immediately thought of Francis Palani Sinenci who I’d met years earlier when he visited Limahuli Garden with a group of Maui elders. After having seen how Francis, who was born and raised in Hāna, interacted with the community and could conduct the traditional protocols of a Hawaiian warrior, I knew Francis had the passion, dedication, and cultural foundation needed to restore Pi‘ilanihale Heiau. 

From the outset, Francis and I agreed it was critical for the heiau to be restored by stone masons who were from Hāna. Working with thousands of lava rocks, many weighing a hundred or more pounds, was physically grueling, but embracing this kuleana (responsibility) was also culturally empowering and fulfilling. 

Francis put together a crew of men from Hāna that included Jack Kahanu-Uaiwa, and Tony Helekahi, along with two of Francis’s brothers, Peter and Sebastian (Igot). The stone masons worked closely with archaeologists Dr. Yosihiko Sinoto of Bishop Museum and Dr. Eric Komori from the Hawai‘i State Historic Preservation Division.

The restoration of the heiau, with lava rock walls rising 50 feet on the north side, was based on a five-phase plan developed by Dr. Sinoto and bolstered by a quarter century’s worth of initial restoration work conducted by Francis Kikaha Lono, affectionately called “Uncle Blue.” 

Uncle Blue was the first employee hired by NTBG to work at Kahanu Garden in 1972 and a direct descendant of the paramount Mōʻī (High chief or King) Piʻilani who lived on Maui in the 1500s. It is Pi‘ilani who is credited with completing a major phase of the heiau’s construction. He is also revered as establishing peace across the island of Maui during his reign.

Pi‘ilanihale Heiau, which had been damaged by decades of grazing cattle trampling the site and the unchecked spread of wild vegetation, was badly in need of restoration. And even as dedicated as Uncle Blue and his family were to rebuilding dry stack lava rocks walls, the effort would require the help of a full crew.

As Uncle Blue, Francis, and the crew began the monumental task before them, they carefully employed traditional cultural protocols when removing rubble, locating niho (foundation stones), and rebuilding the terrace walls. When the crew needed scaffolding, they built their own from material in the garden. As the months passed, the pace of work quickened and the crew’s connection to their ancestors and the heiau strengthened.

Francis noted that only with laulima (many hands) could an undertaking of this scale be successful. In restoring the heiau, he said, he could complete the fifth major stage of Hawaiian life (teaching, farming, building, combat, and heiau restoration) which was the final ‘aho (lashing), that bound together a long life of cultural practices.

For Francis and the others, the restoration was not simply a job. The work was a manifestation of their cultural pride and a physical demonstration of their respect for their ancestors. Fueled by a quiet, inner pride, their work advanced at a rate no one could have foreseen and, in less than a year’s time, the restoration was complete.

On April 10, 1999, Hāna’s community gathered to celebrate the completion with traditional protocols and the chanting of the sacred genealogy of high chief Piʻilani, culminating an effort that had begun nearly 30 years earlier. Today, some two decades after the restoration, we see how the project gave rise to a new period of growth and success. The restored heiau rises high above Kahanu Garden and the surrounding landscape, a silent symbol that reminds us of the sacredness of this most special of places.

Reflecting on all that has been achieved since the restoration, Kahanu Garden and Preserve Director Mike Opgenorth described the garden as a place cared for by generations of those dedicated to aloha ʻāina (deep love of the land). “There is no mistake we are guided by those who came before us. The heiau restoration was the most significant accomplishment since NTBG began stewardship of Kahanu Garden,” Mike said. “We will continue to care for the heiau in perpetuity and increase awareness of the biological and cultural resources that surround us. There is so much to still learn about Piʻilanihale Heiau and all that grows here.”

Before the restoration of Pi‘ilanihale Heiau
After the restoration of Pi‘ilanihale Heiau

NTBG at the Forefront of Using Drone and GIS Technology

Learn how NTBG is at the forefront of using drone and GIS technology to advance rare plant conservation and discovery in Hawaii’s extreme terrain. NTBG’s Ben Nyberg sits down for an extensive interview on the latest episode of the In Defense of Plants podcast. Listen here.

Ben Nyberg with drone.

Plant Health by Diane Ragone

Dr. Diane Ragone, NTBG’s Breadfruit Institute Director

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, Diane Ragone discusses how NTBG contributes to protecting and advancing plant health.

Diane Ragone w Ulu on Tree, Photo Credit: Jim Wiseman

Breadfruit is a valuable source of delicious food providing many nutrients essential for human health. This long-lived tree contributes to the health and well-being of humans and the environment in countless ways. The majestic tree, with its large, glossy leaves and globular fruit, is both beautiful and calming. For many, it evokes fond childhood memories of home gardens and yards that contained but a single tree. There the families gathered in its shade, sharing meals made of this versatile fruit.
 
Gardens and farms planted with breadfruit benefit from lush canopies providing shade to other plantings and the ground below while producing abundant leaf litter that builds soil health and fertility. On hillsides, breadfruit trees develop dense, tangled roots that support them on slopes. Their dense canopy provides a buffer against heavy tropical downpours and, with the interlocking roots, reduces runoff and erosion while creating pockets of nutrient-rich soil where other plants thrive.
 
The work of NTBG’s Breadfruit Institute is the embodiment of “Protecting Plants, Protecting Lives,” the theme of the International Year of Plant Health 2020. Central to our work is the preservation of 150 varieties of breadfruit from 34 Pacific Islands, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Honduras. These trees are grown in field gene banks at Kahanu Garden on Maui and McBryde Garden on Kaua‘i. Many of the varieties we have collected were grown for centuries in their home islands, but changing lifestyles and climate change have led to dramatic declines and, in some cases, a complete disappearance.
 
Years of research in our conservation collection have allowed us to better understand breadfruit diversity and key characteristics such as seasonal productivity and nutritional attributes. This research informs our ongoing initiatives and international collaborations to promote the planting of high-quality breadfruit varieties around the world. Our goal is to advance greater food security, regenerative agriculture and agroforestry, and to create a source of income and financial stability that will cultivate healthy, resilient communities and environments.”

Global Strategy for Plant Conservation progress review

Nina Rønsted, Ph.D., Director of Science and Conservation

A new report on the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), suggests that while the 16 targets of the ambitious plan to protect global plants are unlikely to be met by 2020 as planned, countries have made considerable progress towards achieving many of them.

Plant Conservation Report 2020: www.cbd.int/gbo5/plant-conservation-report-2020

Limahuli Preserve is a biodiversity hotspot that contributes to the global strategy for Plant Conservation

The Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) was originally adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity at its sixth meeting (COP-6) in 2002 in recognition of the critical importance of plants as the basis of all life on earth.

The Strategy’s 16 targets, organized around five objectives were the first targets for biodiversity conservation to be adopted at the global level by the international community. Through the strategy, the plant conservation community has been able to engage with and contribute to the development of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, to be agreed in 2021 in China.

The five objectives to achieve the strategy aim to ensure that (I) Plant diversity is well understood, documented and recognized, (II) Plant diversity is urgently and effectively conserved, (III) Plant diversity is used in a sustainable and equitable manner, (IV) Education and awareness about plant diversity, its role in sustainable livelihoods and importance to all life on earth is promoted, and (V) The capacities and public engagement necessary to implement the Strategy have been developed.

Successful achievements include establishment of a World Flora Online providing baseline information of the worlds 350,000 currently known species of vascular plants and mosses (Target 1 – online flora of all known plants). Significant progress has also been made through The Global Tree Assessment, which aims to have completed IUCN Red List assessments for all the world’s 60,000 tree species by 2020 (Target 2 – assessment of the conservation status of all known plant species).

Progress towards the 16 targets has been variable. Most countries report some progress towards most of the targets. Apart from Targets 1 and 2, Target 14 (public awareness of plant diversity) is the most likely target to be achieved at the national level, with Targets 7 (in situ conservation), 10 (invasive species) and 12 (sustainable use), being those where least progress has been made.

Our outplanting projects contribute to the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation.

In Hawaii, conservation partners have developed the Hawaii Strategy for Plant Conservation in 2014 and established the Hawaii Plant Conservation Network, Laukahi, to more efficiently target the global strategy and specifically address the unique conservation challenges of native plants in this global plant diversity hotspot.

The mission of NTBG is well aligned with the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC). We work with our many partners every day to increase knowledge, appreciation, conservation, and sustainable use of tropical plants. NTBG is proud to make significant contributions to several of the GSPC targets:

  • NTBG and the Smithsonian help take Target 1 – online flora of all plants – from checklists to published regional Floras of Hawaii, Cook Islands, Marquesas, Samoa, and Micronesia.
  • NTBG contributes to Target 2 through IUCN Red List Assessments of native Hawaiian plants including completion of assessments for over 250 endemic native plants of Kauai by 2020.
  • NTBG helps to protect important areas of plant diversity and unique ecological regions towards Targets 5 and 6 through sustainable management of our preserves.
  • NTBG helps address Target 7 and 8 through extensive seed banking and living conservation collections of plants in our gardens to outplanting rare plant species in our preserves on Kauai, Hawaii.
  • NTBG helps address Target 9 through our living collections of Polynesian crop varieties of breadfruit, banana, & taro in our McBryde, Limahuli, and Kahanu gardens in Hawaii, and Fairchild’s global fruit tree collections at The Kampong in Florida.
  • NTBG helps to protect indigenous and local knowledge of plant resources towards Target 13 through research and biocultural management of our Limahuli and Kahanu Gardens in Hawaii.
  • NTBG contributes to raising education and awareness towards Target 14 through our education and communication programs.
  • NTBG helps to develop capacity towards Target 15 through education of the next generation of tropical botanists including through the International Center for Tropical Botany at The Kampong, Florida.

Hawaiian Wiliwili trees flower for the first time at Kahanu Garden

Nearly 15 years ago, an invasive gall wasp (Quadrastichus erythrinae) from Africa hitchhiked to Hawaii and spread like wildfire, nearly eliminating Hawaii’s native Wiliwili (Erythrina sandwicensis) forests in just a few years. Thankfully, a specific parasitoid wasp released by the Hawaii Department of Agriculture in 2008 has helped mitigate the damage of the invasive gall wasp, and statewide Wiliwili conservation efforts are beginning to show promising results.

Erythrina sandwicensis
Erythrina sandwicensis at Kahanu Garden

Saving Seeds

During the height of the gall wasp outbreak, NTBG Staff and conservation partners collected Erythrina sandwicensis seeds but were unsure if the trees would ever thrive again. This year, some of the seeds planted after the biocontrol have begun to show promising results, and many are thriving at NTBG gardens in Hawaii.

A 10-year-old tree at Kahanu Garden is showing its first flowers after years of careful nurturing from the garden’s horticultural staff. This beautiful example serves as a shining light that NTBG’s hardworking staff and conservation partners can turn the tide from the threats of extinction.

Key species in Hawaii

Hawaiian wiliwili trees are key plant species in dryland forests across the archipelago. The wood was famous across the Hawaiian islands for making crafts such as papa hee nalu (surfboards), ama (canoe floats), and much more. The vibrant red-orange seeds were strung into lei.

NTBG plans publication of Flora of Samoa in 2021

Regional Floras are fundamental for understanding and conserving plants and ecosystems worldwide. With the second of two volumes of the Flora of the Marquesas by Lorence and Wagner currently in print, NTBG now continues work to complete the Flora of Samoa.

flora samoa
Flora of Samoa

Hawaiian Botanist W. Arthur Whistler (1944-2020) worked with the people and on the Flora of Samoa for nearly 50 years. A longtime collaborator and friend of NTBG since the early 1970s, Art served as the Garden’s first ethnobotanist and was also an affiliate botanist at the University of Hawaii. His collections of 4,900 flowering plant specimens are stored at the NTBG herbarium and form the backbone of the coming publication written by Whistler, Lorence, and Wagner in 2021. The Flora will include 541 native plants, 34% only found in Samoa and description of 21 new species.

elaeocarpus ulianus
Elaeocarpus ulianus

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