Kadua cookiana

Common Names

Awiwi, Cook's Bluet

Summary

Awiwi is a small, many-branched shrub native to Hawaii and known only from Kauaʻi, with extirpations from Molokai and Hawaii; it grows as a low plant up to 10–20 cm tall with glabrous, striate stems and narrow leaves 4–8 cm long and 0.5–1.2 cm wide that are adnate to the bases of the petioles forming a basal sheath, and it bears white, fleshy corollas about 8–9 mm long in cymes of 3–7 on pedicels 8–15 mm long, with fruits being capsules 3–3.5 mm long containing reddish-brown seeds, occurring beside flowing water—especially waterfalls—in basalt walls; the flowers are bisexual or pistillate, reflecting a gynodioecious system.

Endangered with two wild populations totaling no more than 122 individuals; conservation propagation uses cuttings (genetic clones) from wild plants and hand pollination to increase seed production and maximize genetic diversity in cultivated collections, supporting long-term restoration, while habitat remains wet tropical and tied to Kauaʻi with historical extirpations from Molokai and Hawaii.

Lifecycle

Perennial

Height

4-8 inches

Bloom Color

White

Propagation Methods

Seeds, Cuttings, Layering