Photos by Priscilla Millen and Riki Saito

Hibiscus arnottianus, or koki'o ke'o ke'o, is one of the five endemic hibiscus species. It is found only on O'ahu and Moloka'i in mesic and wet forests. It is one of two white endemic hibiscus, and one of the few hibiscus in the world which has a sweet scent. In the Ko'olau Mountains koki'o ke'o ke'o grows to considerable height.

In the 1920-1930's, gardeners hybridized native hibiscus, including the whites, with the introduced Asian hibiscus, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis.

Back to Learning Objective 21