Pā'ū o Hi'iaka: The Vine That Sheltered a Goddess

Summer means beach days with the keiki — and for us, that always turns into a little adventure. We were out on the sand when I spotted her, creeping quietly along the shoreline. Pā'ū o Hi'iaka. I couldn't help it — I got excited. That's the thing about learning native plants. Once you start seeing them, you can't stop, and you can't keep it to yourself.

Meet Pā'ū o Hi'iaka Pā'ū o Hi'iaka (Jacquemontia sandwicensis) is a low-growing, crawling vine endemic to Hawaiʻi — found nowhere else on Earth. A member of the morning glory family and a distant cousin of the sweet potato, it thrives in the kind of heat and salt wind that would challenge most plants. Look for it spreading across sandy beaches and coastal dunes, dotted with small, delicate white flowers — the petals so thin they give off a cool tone at times. In the driest conditions, the stems go fuzzy — nature's own sun protection.

The Story Behind the Name Early one morning, Pele carried her baby sister Hi'iaka to the ocean, laid her on the beach, and left her to go surfing. As Pele surfed, the sun climbed high and began to burn the baby's skin. A small coastal vine felt sorry for Hi'iaka and spread its runners over her, draping her like a garment until Pele returned. From that day on, the plant was named Pā'ū o Hi'iaka — the skirt of Hi'iaka. That same little girl would grow up to become the goddess of hula and healing.

Traditional Uses Ancient Hawaiians used the leaves to treat babies with thrush and as a gentle cathartic. The vine runners were braided as lashing when other fibers weren't available — a reminder that even the smallest plant has something to offer.

Why It Became Art There's something about finding a native plant on an ordinary beach day that never gets old. Saying the name out loud, watching the keiki look down and really see it — that's the whole point. Pā'ū o Hi'iaka is easy to walk past, but she's been here all along, doing exactly what she's always done. We just have to look.