Leptecophylla tameiameiae
indigenousEricaceae

Leptecophylla tameiameiae

Pūkiawe

Indigenous (native)native

Native to Hawaiʻi and arrived without human help.

Leptecophylla tameiameiae, known as pūkiawe or maiele in the Hawaiian language, is a species of flowering plant that is native to the Hawaiian and Marquesas Islands. The specific epithet honors King Kamehameha I, who formed the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. It grows as a tree up to 4.6 m (15 ft) tall in forests and as a shrub 0.9–3 m (3.0–9.8 ft) in height elsewhere. Its small needle-like leaves are whitish underneath, dark green above. The round berries range in color

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Seasonality
28 flowering · 162 fruiting annotations · iNaturalist · fetched Jul 2026
JFMAMJJASONDpeak
flowering (peak May) fruiting (peak December)

This is an inference, not a schedule. The curve reflects when observers annotated flowering and fruiting — which tracks observer effort as well as plant behavior, and pools all elevations and islands into one signal. Hawaiʻi’s microclimates vary enormously; a species may fruit in January at sea level and June at elevation. Use this to know when to look, then look.

Gallery · 3 · iNaturalist
open-licensed photos · click any to view its source
Where documented · 50 ahupuaʻa
documented occurrences · iNaturalist + GBIF · iNaturalist 200 · GBIF 297 records
Keauhou · HawaiʻiiNat 48 · GBIF 105
Kalialinui · MauiiNat 47 · GBIF 44
Waimea · KauaʻiiNat 32 · GBIF 39
Waiākea · HawaiʻiiNat 18 · GBIF 25
Kaloko · HawaiʻiiNat 5 · GBIF 9
Kapāpala · HawaiʻiiNat 6 · GBIF 5
Humuʻula · HawaiʻiiNat 6 · GBIF 5
Papaʻanui · MauiiNat 5 · GBIF 5
Kaʻohe Mauka · HawaiʻiiNat 4 · GBIF 5
Kalauao · OʻahuiNat 4 · GBIF 4
ʻĀpua · HawaiʻiiNat 2 · GBIF 5
Waiʻanae · OʻahuiNat 1 · GBIF 5
Mākaha · OʻahuiNat 3 · GBIF 1
Pāpaʻikou · HawaiʻiiNat 2 · GBIF 2
ʻAiea · OʻahuiNat 3 · GBIF 1
Kamananui · OʻahuiNat 2 · GBIF 1
Kahuku · HawaiʻiiNat 1 · GBIF 2
Kaipapaʻu · OʻahuiNat 1 · GBIF 1
Piʻihonua · HawaiʻiiNat 1 · GBIF 1
Kahikinui · MauiiNat 1 · GBIF 1
Keauhou 2 · HawaiʻiiNat 1 · GBIF 1