Plants of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Plants of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Scientific Name	*Ilex anomala* Hook. & Arnott
Family	Aquifoliaceae (Holly Family)

Other Names

Common: Hawaiian Holly, Hawaiian: kawa`u

Status

Indigenous

Distribution & Habitat

On Hawaii, common in mesic to wet forests between 600-1,400 m, but can be found as low as 50 m elevation and as high as 1, 950 m, on all of the main islands except Ni`ihau and Kaho`olawe. Ilex anomala also occurs in Tahiti and the Marquesas (Wagner, et al. 1990: 222).

Locations in this Guide

Thurston Lava Tube

General Appearance

This is a common, medium-sized tree in the rainforest. If it reaches the canopy in a habitat with good soils, it can grow over 60 feet tall (Stone and Pratt 1994: 185) Most of the trees don't always reach the canopy, however. They remain small in the understory with few branches (Stone and Pratt 1994: 185).

Leaves

The leaves are dark green and relatively thick, almost leathery, and shiny (Wagner, et al. 1990: 222).

Although the common name is "Hawaiian holly," the leaves never have the sharp margin associated with holly elsewhere (Lamoureux 1996: 45). This may be another example of the evolutionary loss of a grazing defense characteristic in the absence of ungulates.

Some of the evolutionary ancestry may be seen in the juvenile leaves as these often have sharp, pointed teeth on their margin (Stone and Pratt 1994: 185).

Look for the prominent venation pattern on the leaf. It is found on both sides. On the top, this pattern appears as indentations on the surface (Stone and Pratt 1994: 185).

The leaves range in size from about 2 to 5 inches long.

Flowers & Fruits

The flowers are found in clusters. The small individual flowers are tubular in shape. The sexes are separate with male and female flowers occurring on separate trees (Stone and Pratt 1994: 185).

Fruits are black on the outside and purple inside (Stone and Pratt 1994: 185). They are about a quarter-inch diameter. Some developing fruit are seen on the right, while dense clusters of mature fruit are shown below.

Phenology

Thurston Lava Tube	Flowers on one plant.	2/13/01
Thurston Lava Tube	Fruit on one plant near head of stairs to the right at the entrance.	5/6/01
Thurston Lava Tube	Fruit still on the same plant.	6/10/01
Thurston Lava Tube	Flowers, with a few open, but mostly still developing on plant down stairs one level.	6/10/01
Thurston Lava Tube	Many flowers open on this same plant.	8/4/01

Natural History

Conservation

Miscellaneous Photos

Other Notes

The happy face spider is sometimes found on the undersides of this species (Stone and Pratt 1994: 185).

This is a highly variable species, including differences in its leaf sizes and shapes (Wagner, et al. 1990: 222).

References	Wagner, Warren, Derral Herbst and S. H. Sohmer 1990. Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai`i. University of Hawaii Press.
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Last Updated: 08/05/03