Pukiawe

Description

Styphelia tameiameiae, known as p-kiawe or maiele in the Hawaiian language, is a species of flowering plant in the heather family, Ericaceae, that is native to the Hawaiian and Marquesas Islands. The specific epithet honors King Kamehameha I, who formed the Kingdom of Hawai-i. It grows as a tree up to 4.6 m (15 ft) tall in forests and as a shrub 0.9-3 m (3.0-9.8 ft) in height elsewhere. Its small needle-like leaves are whitish underneath, dark green above. The round berries range in color from white through shades of pink to red. P-kiawe is found in a variety of habitats in Hawaii at elevations of 15-3,230 m (49-10,597 ft), including mixed mesic forests, wet forests, bogs, and alpine shrublands.