Quick answer: 22 native Hawaii plants have a recorded bloom range that includes May.
22 species
- Beach naupaka Scaevola taccada · 1 states
- Florida hopbush Dodonaea viscosa · 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
- Ohelo ai Vaccinium reticulatum · 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
May in a Hawaii native garden
May is Hawaii's peak bloom month: 22 of the state's 30 native plants in this directory flower in May, more than in any other month.
15 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 Florida hopbush and Koa. For wildlife, 8 support pollinators and 3 provide food or cover for birds.
2 of the 22 have 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
- Florida hopbush Dodonaea viscosa · Sun · blooms Mar-Nov