Quick answer: 20 native Hawaii plants have a recorded bloom range that includes December.
20 species
- Beach naupaka Scaevola taccada · 1 states
- Hinahina kū kahakai Heliotropium anomalum · 1 states
- Ilima Sida fallax · 1 states
- Koa Acacia koa · 1 states
- Kou Cordia subcordata · 1 states
- Koʻoloaʻula (red ʻilima) Abutilon menziesii · 1 states
- Mamane Sophora chrysophylla · 1 states
- Maʻo (Hawaiian cotton) Gossypium tomentosum · 1 states
- Maʻo hau hele (Hawaiian yellow hibiscus) Hibiscus brackenridgei · 1 states
- Milo Thespesia populnea · 1 states
- Naio Myoporum sandwicense · 1 states
- Nehe Lipochaeta succulenta · 1 states
- Ohia lehua Metrosideros polymorpha · 1 states
- Pāʻūohiʻiaka Jacquemontia sandwicensis · 1 states
- ʻAhuʻawa Cyperus javanicus · 1 states
- ʻAkia Wikstroemia uva-ursi · 1 states
- ʻAkoko Chamaesyce celastroides · 1 states
- ʻIliahi alo‘e (coastal sandalwood) Santalum ellipticum · 1 states
- ʻIlieʻe Plumbago zeylanica · 1 states
- ʻĀkulikuli (sea purslane) Sesuvium portulacastrum · 1 states
December in a Hawaii native garden
December is a quieter month in Hawaii: 20 of the state's 30 native plants flower in December, compared with 22 at the April peak. That makes these plants valuable for keeping color, and food for pollinators, going outside the main season.
20 finish in December, including Beach naupaka, Hinahina kū kahakai and Ilima, so this is the last chance to see them in flower.
14 of them grow in full or partial sun and 1 tolerate shade, so there are options for open beds and woodland edges alike. Sizes run from low plants like Nehe and ʻIlieʻe to trees such as Koa and Kou. For wildlife, 8 support pollinators and 3 provide food or cover for birds.
1 of the 20 has a seed or plant listing we verified as the wild species.
Good places to start
Verified wild-species listings that take sun and are widely native, so they are forgiving first plants.
- Milo Thespesia populnea · Sun · blooms Year-round