Wiliwili

Wiliwili

Growing up on Oʻahu, the wiliwili wasn't a tree I encountered often. Our dry forests have been so heavily impacted that many people here have never seen one in the wild—but it's one of those plants that, once you learn about it, you can't stop thinking about it.

One of the only native deciduous trees in Hawaiʻi, the wiliwili drops its leaves in the dry summer months before bursting into bloom—claw-shaped flowers in orange, yellow, salmon, or white, sometimes all different colors within the same grove. The flowers open along their stem from the base up, one by one. There's an old Hawaiian saying tied to the bloom: Pua ka wiliwili, nanahu ka manō—when the wiliwili flowers, the sharks bite—lining up with shark mating season in the fall. Nature has its own way of telling time.

After flowering, the pods dry on the branch and split open to reveal seeds in vivid shades of red and orange. Wiliwili seeds have long been strung into lei and are deeply cherished—but those who have one know to handle it with care. Because the lei is made of the seed itself, without proper attention it will disintegrate. That fragility is part of what makes it so special.

The wiliwili is also a keystone species of the Hawaiian lowland dry forest. As part of the legume family, it enriches the volcanic soil through nitrogen fixation, supporting the plants around it. It grows where very few other native species can survive, which makes it not just a beautiful tree, but a critical one. More than 90% of Hawaiʻi's dry forests are already gone—and the wiliwili nearly joined that loss when an invasive gall wasp arrived in 2005 and devastated populations across the islands. A biocontrol effort saved it, but the reminder of how fragile these ecosystems are stays with me.

This artwork is dedicated to the Waikoloa Dry Forest Initiative (WDFI) on Hawaiʻi Island, and a portion of proceeds from this Dry Forest Collection goes directly to support their work. WDFI manages a 275-acre preserve in Waikoloa where some ancient wiliwili are estimated to be 300 years old. They protect those kūpuna trees, gather seeds, grow new plants, and put them back into the ground year after year. Their Future Foresters program brings keiki out to the preserve so the next generation grows up knowing and caring for these forests.

Supporting their work from Oʻahu feels meaningful. Every tree planted and every seed gathered is a step toward bringing it back.

Learn more about the Waikoloa Dry Forest Initiative at waikoloadryforest.org.

This Collection

This print is available on notebooks and cards, manufactured here in Hawaiʻi, as well as golf polos and long sleeve hoodie dry fits in collaboration with Sugar Caddy—made from recycled plastic and built for the outdoors.

We'll also be at Merrie Monarch this year with a special release. Find out where to find us and what we'll be dropping for the event here.

Resources