Hawaii State Flower

Nearly a century ago brought the introduction of the Hawaii territorial flower, the hibiscus. In the 1980s the flower became the state flower, as the only color yellow. Prior to this time the flower may have been represented in a variety of colors, such as red or blue. In 1988 when the flower was implemented as the state flower, yellow became the official hibiscus flower of the Hawaiian Islands. This way nearly sixty years later than the flower became the official representation of the floral emblem to Hawaii. The hibiscus has nearly one-hundred years of history when it comes to the representation of Hawaii.

An organization that is referred to as the outdoor circle began the beautification process of Hawaii’s natural resources and suggested the idea of making the hibiscus flower the state flower of the Hawaiian Islands. This group was also responsible for removing billboards from the island of Oahu as well as preserving the natural beauty which can be found through the islands for future generations.

The hibiscus is represented in the flower leis which are present throughout the entire island and used to create the leis that we are so familiar with and that are presented to visitors of the island upon arrival. The string of hibiscus flowers is used to represent love and affection to the wearer of the flower lei.

Natives to the Hawaiian Islands recognize the flower by the Hawaiian name, pua aloalo. What are the characteristics of the hibiscus flower? The flower ranges between an inch and two inches and is yellow in color, although many other colors have been grown.

Although many people have believed in the past that the hibiscus flower originated in the Hawaiian Islands, the flowers truly originated in locations in Asia and the Pacific Islands and then growers were able to create hybrid flowers and they became popular in the Hawaiian Islands.

Although the state flower of Hawaii is the hibiscus flower, different flowers have been established as the island flower of all of the islands that are located in the Hawaiian isle. These different flowers represent the islands in various ways, and most of the flowers that are used to represent each of the islands are flowers that are found locally on these islands.

Here are the island flowers which are used to represent the islands that make up the state of Hawaii:

• Maui is represented with the damask rose
• Oahu is represented with the dodder shrubs which are native to the island
• Kauai is represented with the native tree of the island
• Molokai is represented by the candlenut tree
• Lanai also uses the native dodder to represent the island

The flowers have more properties that being esthetically pleasing – as the juice that is created from the pressing of the flowers is said to have healing properties. This juice is often extracted from the flower and given to children that have fallen ill or women that have become pregnant. As the flower contains the natural healing properties and the beauty which the islands have become known for, it becomes obvious why the flower is well suited to the state in which it represents.