The only native palms in Hawai`i, loulu are among the Islands’ most distinctive plants. Several of the twenty-four recognized species are rare and endangered, and all make handsome and appropriate ornamentals to adorn gardens and landscapes with their dynamic foliage, colorful flower clusters, and conspicuous fruits. In this volume, Donald Hodel shares his expertise on loulu, having traveled extensively throughout Hawai`i to research and photograph nearly all the species in their native habitat. In the course of his work, he described and named three loulu that were new to science.
Each of the twenty-four species is treated in detail, and this book is handsomely illustrated with more than two hundred fifty photographs that clearly show leaves, flower stalks, fruits and habitat.
As interest in growing and conserving native Hawaiian plants surges while their numbers and habitat continue to decline, Loulu: The Hawaiian Palm will be valued as one of the most comprehensive and thoroughly illustrated treatments of