Native Hawaiian Plants

Unit Overview/Goals:

Hawaii's native environments have been under attack since the arrival of the first Hawaiians over a thousand years ago. Hawaiians were master horticulturalists, who cultivated much of what they needed for survival, including over 20,000 acres of lo’i kalo (taro patches.) They grew wauke and mamaki for clothing, ko’oko’olau, noni and popolo for medicine, hau and olona for cordage, and koa for canoes, and koai’a, ‘ulei and akia for fishing spears and nets. Hawaii’s natural resources and native environments have been disappearing ever since. Today, these delicate ecosystems are increasingly being threatened by human activity and the influences of invasive alien plant and animal species. Due to its extreme isolation, more than 2,500 miles from the nearest continent or large island group, the Hawaiian Islands have the highest number of endemic species that are unique to our state and native nowhere else on earth. Consequently, Hawaii has the most threatened and endangered plant and animal species of any place in the world. It is essential that our keiki (children) learn about our native Hawaiian plants and animals so that they can understand how they developed such special and diverse characteristics, how they are valuable to our island ecosystems, and why they must be protected and preserved for future generations of island kama’aina.

Lessons 1-10

Standards Addressed:

1. NC2.0-Technology And Biotechnology: Apply appropriate technology to maintain or improve natural resource systems.

-NC2.1-Investigate technologies in the context of larger systems that have shaped the course of human history as well as human relationships with the environment.

a. Describe how past and present technologies and innovations have been used to change environments or the use of natural resources throughout history.

2. NC3.0-Natural Resource Management: Assess for balanced management of Natural Resources.

-NC3.1-Evaluate management practices for the use, maintenance, and restoration of natural resources.

a. Analyze the status of natural resources and appraise the strategies for the conservation of Natural Resources.

3. NC4.0-Environmental Protection: Analyze and develop strategies to protect natural resources in accordance with environmentally sound practices and policies.

-NC4.3-Explain the need for protective measures to sustain environments.

a. Describe elements in various environments that are affected by human actions or natural phenomena.

a.
Physical environment
b.
Biological environment

4 NC6.0-Socioeconomic And Cultural Awareness And Respect: Analyze the effects of economic, social, and cultural systems on natural resources. -NC6.2-Describe how people’s culture influence the environment.

5. LA 4.0-Conventions and Skills: Use the writing process and conventions of language and research to construct meaning and communicate effectively for a variety of purposes and audiences using a range of forms.

-NC4.1-Write in a variety of grade-appropriate formats for a variety of purposes and audiences, such as: literary, persuasive, and personal essays that demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the topic.

Lesson 1: Pretest. Important Vocabulary Words

The pretest will give a picture of what the students may already know about native Hawaiian plants. It is important that the students know the key vocabulary terms that are used to describe the unique origins of the plants that grow in the modern Hawaiian landscape. By understanding this important terminology, the students can better understand what makes a plant native to Hawaii, how they arrived in our Islands, what led to their decline in numbers, how to propagate and grow them, and why many native plants are today threatened and in danger of becoming extinct.

Standard Addressed:

Assessment:

Native Hawaiian Plants Vocabulary Terms

Native Hawaiian Plant Polynesian Introduced Canoe Plants
Indigenous Endemic
Common Name Scientific Name
Genus Species
Threatened Endangered
Extinct Xeriscape
Ecosystem Alien Species
Naturalization Speciation

Lesson 2: Note-Taking on Native Plants

It is important that the students learn about native Hawaiian plants, what makes them so special, and why they must be protected and reestablished in nature for the benefit of future generations kama’aina living in Hawaii.

Standard Addressed:

Lesson 3: Vocabulary Worksheets and Native Plants/Conservation Essay

Goal/Objective:

It is important that the students know the vocabulary that is used to describe the unique origins of the plants that grow in the modern Hawaiian landscape. By understanding this important terminology, the students can better understand what makes a plant native to Hawaii, how they arrived in our Islands, what led to their decline in numbers, and why many today are threatened and in danger of becoming extinct.

Standard Addressed:

Lesson 4: Plant Classification, Common And Scientific Names.

It is important that the students know about common and scientific names and the benefits of proper scientific classification. This will allow them to identify plants throughout the world.

Standard Addressed:

Lesson 5: Identifying, Describing And Drawing Native Plants.

By drawing and describing native plants, the students will better be able to remember and identify them in nature as well as understand some of their uses.

Standard Addressed:

Instructional Procedures:

Day 1:

Lesson 6: Threats To Hawaii’s Native Ecosystems

Goal/Objective:

It is important that the students become aware of some of the threats to Hawaii’s natural resources and native ecosystems, and begin to think of possible ways to protect Hawaii for future generations.

Standard Addressed:

Instructional Procedures:

Day 1:

Lesson 7: Propagating And Repotting Native Plants

It is important that the students learn how to propagate and grow native Hawaiian plants, how to repot and transplant them properly, and possible planting strategies when transplanting them into the landscape.

Standard Addressed:

Lesson 8: Planting Strategies Using Native Hawaiian Plants

It is important that the students know about and understand some of the planting strategies that should be considered when planting native Hawaiian plants into the landscape.

Standard Addressed:

Lesson 9: General Care Of Native Hawaiian Plants

It is important that the students know about the general care of native Hawaiian plants, including soils and soil amendments, fertilizers irrigation, weeds, insects and diseases.

Standard Addressed:

Lesson 10: Planting A Native Hawaiian Garden

It is important that the students actually landscape an area on the school campus using the native Hawaiian plants and planting strategies they learned about in class. This will allow them to experience restoring native plants and make the learning experience worthwhile, relevant and meaningful.

Standard Addressed:

Name: __________________________ Date: _______________ Period: _______

Native Hawaiian Plant Vocabulary Worksheet

Term: ___________________________________ My Understanding: 1 2 3 4 Describe:

Draw:

Other Experiences/Notes:

Name: __________________________ Date: _______________ Period: _______

Native Hawaiian Plants Pre-Test

  1. What are native Hawaiian plants?

    1. What are the three main ways native plants arrived in Hawaii before the arrival of the early Hawaiians? They all begin with a “W”…

  2. What are Polynesian introduced canoe plants?

    1. Name three canoe plants the Hawaiians brought with them on their trans-Pacific voyages.

  3. What are endemic (“end”) plants?

  4. What are indigenous (“in”) plants?

  5. What are endangered plants?

    1. What are three reasons why are so many native Hawaiian plants threatened or endangered?

    1. Name two native Hawaiian plants we are growing on the Kahuku High School farm.

Name: __________________________ Date: ___________ Period: ______

Native Hawaiian Plants Worksheet

Scientific Name: Genus: __________________ Species: __________________ Common Name: _____________________________________________ Plant Is: Endemic Indigenous Polynesian Canoe Plant Description:

Describe Flower/Fruit/Seed:

Uses:

Picture/Illustrations: Plant, leaf, flower, fruit, seed.

Native Hawaiian Plants

Anthuriums, orchids, heliconias, plumeria and gingers are commonly grown in a Hawaiian garden, but none of these tropical plants are native to Hawaii. Ti leaf, kalo, coconut, sweet potato, and breadfruit are local favorites that were brought to Hawaii by the earliest Polynesians, but none are native to our island chain.

The Hawaiian Islands are the most isolated large landmass in the world, being over 2,500 miles from the nearest continent or major island group such as Tahiti, Tonga, and Samoa. Native Hawaiian plants and animals came to Hawaii before the first Polynesians arrived in our islands. This is what makes them native… they traveled here, survived the long journey, became established, and thrived in the Hawaiian landscape… all before the arrival of man. They traveled here on their own by three ways… by Wind, by Waves, and on the Wings of birds… referred to as the three “W’s.” Of the original 1,000 original colonizing species, about 386 were plants. About half of them came on the wings and feathers or in the stomachs of birds, twenty-five percent came over by ocean currents and waves, and about five percent arrived via high altitude jet stream winds… the method of original transport to Hawaii of the rest is unknown.

Over millions of years of living in Hawaii, these estimated 386 colonizing species spread through the Islands, adapted to a variety of climates and ecosystems, and evolved into over 1,400 native plant species, 1,000 of which can still be found today. It is estimated that one new colonizing plant arrived in Hawaii every 50,000 years. Most of these plant species spread and morphed into many entirely new species depending upon the island and climate ecosystem zone where they became established. Speciation is when one species turns into many species over time. For example, from a single Bidens species arrival, through speciation over many years, twenty-four different Bidens species or Ko’oko’olau as it is called in Hawaiian evolved throughout the Hawaiian Island chain. Hawaiians used Ko’oko’olau to make a delicious medicinal tea.

There are about 8,500 species that are native to the Hawaiian Islands, including mosses, ferns, flowering plants, mammals (bats), birds, snails, insects and spiders. Of these, 96% are endemic natives, meaning that “end”ed up here, developed and evolved, and now they are native to only Hawaii and no where else in the world. The remaining four percent are indigenous, meaning that they are native “in” Hawaii but are also native “in” other parts of the world. For example, Beach Naupaka is native to Hawaii, but it is also native to Samoa, Tonga, and other island groups in the Pacific region.

At the time of the arrival of the first Hawaiians, there were an estimated 1,400 native flowering plant and fern species growing in the Islands. Today we have about 1,100 left, meaning that since the arrival of man in the Hawaiian Islands, over 300 plant species have become extinct and are now no longer in existence. Of these 1,100 native plants, 89% are endemic… native only to the Hawaiian Islands and over 400 of them are on the Federal Government’s Endangered Species List. Over 9,000 alien plant species have been introduced to Hawaii since the Hawaiians arrived here long ago, and about 900 have become naturalized and now grow freely in the wild, such as Miconia, guava, kukui nut, and rubber trees.

Hawaii has the most threatened and endangered native species on Earth. There are about two million acres of land in the main Hawaiian Islands. Half are used for pasturelands, thirty percent are agricultural or in urban use, and twenty percent are forest watershed conservation zones. Only six percent remain in established native Hawaiian plant ecosystems. Hawaii’s native species and ecosystems must be protected and expanded so that they are not lost forever.