The Story of the Naupaka - Waikoloa Beach Resort Golf (2024)

FAQs

What is the legend of the naupaka? ›

According to Hawaiian legend, Naupaka was a girl of royalty who fell in love with Kau'i, a fisherman. They were forbidden to be a couple and had broken hearts. Naupaka took a blossom from her hair and tore it in half, giving one side to Kau'i while keeping the other half as they were not allowed to be together.

The logo for Waikoloa Beach Resort — the naupaka flower — is at its core a symbol of hope and eternal love. Like many stories from Hawai`i's mythology, the story of the naupaka flower is one born of loss, but buoyed by the possibility of eventual reunion.

To this day, the naupaka flower only blooms by half, signifying the lovers' separation. The naupaka kuahiwi [ku-a-'hi-vi] variety of the flower grows in the mountains (kuahiwi means mountain), and is the flower held by Naupaka, the princess. Mountain naupaka is endemic to Hawaii.

There are two varieties of the Naupaka, one growing near the sea called Naupaka Kahakai, the other in the mountain is called Naupaka Kauihiwa. Each bears what appears to be half of a blossom and when placed together, they form a perfect flower. There are several Hawaiian legends about these curious blossoms.

Naupaka has seeds encased in a pulpy white coating that protects them from salt water and allows them to float to other parts of the shoreline. The roots are shallow and branched to hang on to the loose sandy soil and spread out to gather the little rain that falls.

Naupaka kahakai is indigenous to Hawaii and part of the Goodeniaceae family found in coastal locations. It is also known by the synonym Scaevola sericea.

Bisexual flowers are the flowers with both male and female reproductive parts. That means in these types of plants both male and female reproductive parts are present.

Pulpy marble-sized round white fruits follow flowers. This is the only white-fruited naupaka (Scaevola spp.) native to the Hawaiian Islands. Naupaka kahakai leaves are about 2 to 9 inches long and are oval-shaped with silky white hairs on the axil (between the leaf stem and a petiole or branch).

Naupaka is a genus of the plant family Asphodelaceae and are in the same family as Aloalo. They're used to make ointments to treat various ailments such as burns, wounds and skin sores.

Plumeria. The most famous flower of Hawaii, by far, is the plumeria. The smell of this fragrant blossom is supposedly said to greet you as soon as you walk off the plane. Plumerias are perfect strung into leis or worn in your hair.

What is the Hawaiian flower that looks like a heart? ›

Anthurium. Sleek, waxy, shaded in reds and pinks, and shaped like a heart: There's something downright sexy about anthuriums.

The plumeria flower represents birth and love; spring and new beginnings. It's an extremely positive and hopeful symbol, so it's no surprise that it's extremely popular and adored. In Hawaiian culture, the plumeria can be used to symbolize a woman's romantic status when worn in the hair.

Traditionally, the leaves of naupaka kahakai were used as a natural sunscreen and to heal cuts, rashes, and stings. The leaves and flowers were also used to make lei.

Naupaka kahakai is an indigenous shrub found throughout tropical and subtropical Pacific and Indian Ocean coasts. It is a common coastal shrub throughout the Hawaiian Archipelago, except on the higher rocky islands of Gardner Pinnacles (Pūhāhonu), Necker (Mokumanamana), and Nīhoa (Moku Manu).

There are two types of Naupaka—one that grows near the sea (Naupaka kahakai) and one found in the mountains (Naupaka kuahiwi). Each bears half-flowers, and when placed together, they form a perfect whole, representing the unity that the lovers could never achieve.