(BIVN) – New plant discoveries, and rare rediscoveries, are detailed in the new Rare Plant Program 2025 Island Highlights report, giving Hawaiian plant enthusiasts “a great deal to celebrate during April’s Native Plant Month observance,” the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources says.

The report was produced by the DLNR’s Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) Rare Plant Program and the Plant Extinction Prevention Program (PEPP).

PEPP is a collaboration of DLNR and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit.

Hawaiʻi island is featured in the report, including the finding of individuals of two critically rare species – ʻoha wai and makou, as well as the threats posed to native palm trees by the invasive coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB).

From the 2025 Rare Plant Program Highlights report by the Hawaiʻi DLNR

From the Hawaiʻi DLNR news release:

New Discoveries

The five new plant species were discovered in recent years on Kauaʻi during remote explorations by PEPP and the National Tropical Botanical Garden and were formally announced in 2025. These plants are found nowhere else on Earth. Some, like Lysimachia barcae, a delicate shrub with a stunning purple flower, have fewer than a dozen individuals known to exist.

Rediscoveries

Five species on Lānaʻi have been rediscovered after decades with no sightings. Botanists had feared these plants might no longer be alive on Lānaʻi.

On Oʻahu, a species of haʻiwale was found for the first time since 1943.

On Hawaiʻi Island, individuals of two critically rare species of ʻoha wai and makou have been found. Previously, botanists were aware of just one remaining individual of this species of ʻoha wai in the wild, and no remaining wild individuals of this species of makou.

“We celebrate Native Plant Month every year in April, but this year is special,” said DLNR DOFAW Botanist Matt Keir. “Discovering new species and expanding what we know about Hawaiian plants means that there is literally more to celebrate.”

The annual report also highlights many of the challenges native plants in Hawaiʻi are facing, including the presence of hoofed animals and infestations of coconut rhinoceros beetles on multiple species of loulu (native fan palms).

DOFAW, PEPP and partner groups are deploying new tools to advance plant conservation work, including drones that can be used both for remote monitoring and the collection of plant specimens.