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The Beach Naupaka of Hawaii
Posted: January 8, 2008
I love to photograph beach naupaka or “naupaka kahakai” in Hawaiian. Its distinctive light green foliage and unusual “half-flowers” add much character and ambiance to the beaches and coastal landscapes of Hawaii.
Beach naupaka (Scaevola sericea) is indigenous to Hawaii and all the major islands of Polynesia. It is a bushy shrub that usually forms a dense mound of foliage 6-7 feet high throughout the tropical and subtropical zones of the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
Naupaka is superbly adapted to coastal environments where plants must tolerate salt spray from the ocean. In this photo taken on the north shore of O’ahu, a profuse growth of beach naupaka overlooks the sandy beaches of Waimea Bay as 10-12 foot winter surf pounds the shore kicking-up a fine salty spray high into the air.
Naupaka is also able to grow in sand. In this photo of Ka’ena Point on the western-most tip of O’ahu, the naupaka in the foreground and on the far-side of the cove thrive on the sand. They stabilize the sand dunes and create habitat for many coastal plants and animals.
Naupaka is also well adapted to volcanic islands because it can grow directly on barren lava fields. In this photo of Waianapanapa Bay at sunrise, the naupaka in the foreground and along the curve of the bay thrives directly on a’a lava rocks without soil or sand. Much of the lava fields along the coast at Hana on Maui are dominated by a forest of naupaka in the understory with hala trees (screwpine) overhead.
Naupaka also grows on the lava fields of Kalapana in the Puna District of Hawaii island where a forest of naupaka and ohia lehua trees thrives along the coastline.
Naupaka has distinctive “half-flowers” that bloom beneath its leaves. The flowers are by no means incomplete, but they appear to be half a flower because their five petals are on only one side of the flower. The flowers are therefore shaped like a fan. Beach naupaka flowers are no more than three-quarters of an inch across and are generally white in color but can have a yellowish or purplish tinge.
There are several Hawaiian legends that tell the origin of the beach and mountain forms of naupaka, both of which produce these unusual half-flowers. In one version, a princess was forbidden to marry her true love, a fisherman, because he was a commoner. As they parted ways forever, she tore a flower in half, giving one half to him and keeping the other half for herself. She then returned to the mountains where her family lived. Stricken with grief, they both cried and planted their halves of the flower. Each half grew and became the two forms of naupaka – the beach naupaka (naupaka kahakai) and the mountain naupaka (naupaka kuahiwi).