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Hillebrandia sandwicensis
Aka'aka'aka is a rare, tuberous perennial in the Begonia family, found only in humid forest ravines on Maui, Molokai and Kauai. It is grown mainly in botanical collections, and the key to growing it is to mimic its wet, shaded forest habitat and let it rest after fruiting.
Hillebrandia sandwicensis is a species of a herbaceous perennial flowering plant native to some of the Hawaiian Islands. Common names include ʻakaʻakaʻawa and pua maka nui. The genus name honors the German physician William Hillebrand.
It is found in humid ravines covered with forest at altitudes of 900–1800 meters. Additionally, H. sandwicensis is the only species of Begoniaceae native to the Hawaiian Islands. H. sandwicensis is currently found only on the islands of Maui, Molokai, and Kauai. It is locally extinct on Oahu, and does not occur on the Big Island. Despite an abundance of suitable habitat, the species is localized and uncommon.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Hillebrandia by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
