Who are the residents of our dryland forests?

August 2021—Do you know the difference between a dryland and a mesic forest? Or how to tell our native ‘ilima apart from its non-native “twin”? Native koaiʻa, ʻaʻaliʻi, ʻōhiʻa, and ʻilima were the stars of our recent Ululāʻau Plant ID Workshop series, comprised of both virtual and in-person huakaʻi (learning journey) experiences. Facilitated by our Ahupua‘a ‘o Kawaihae Ecosystem team, our virtual huakaʻi guides participants through the Koaiʻa Tree Sanctuary to meet these and other hoa lāʻau (plant companions) in their native habitat within Kawaihae’s dry forests. Check out the videos on our Vimeo channel, and let us know if there are other native forest plants you would like to meet and get to know in future workshops.