Kailua Beach Estate
Kailua Beach Estate

"HAWAIIAN NAUPAKA FLOWER LEGEND"
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"According to local Hawaiian legend, the Volcano goddess Pele attempted, but to no avail, to woo a handsome male away from his beloved fiancee.
 
To escape Pele's wrath, the young couple fled to the sea. Pele then commanded a fiery eruption which covered land and ocean with blinding smoke and lava.
 
She followed the woman to the beach and turned her into the Beach Naupaka. Hoping to escape, the man fled to the mountain, but Pele turned him into the Mountain Naupaka.
 
Legend has it if you put the two half flowers together so the left half and the right half touch ends, the man and the woman are joined together once again".
 
NAUPAKA FLOWER DESCRIPTION
The Naupaka Kahakai literally means naupaka by the sea and this plant is very common along most shorelines on the Islands of Hawaii.The Naupaka Kahakai has thick pulpy leaves that are a light green color. Leaves cluster outward from the stem. The flowers are small and whitish flowers with light purple streaks; they have petals only on the lower half of the flower. While the plant can grow up to 10 feet, most stands are wider than they are tall - often 15 to 20 feet wide and thick and 3 to 5 feet tall.

The Naupaka Kuahiwi, or mountain Naupaka, grows only in the mountains.. The flower looks identical to the Naupaka Kahakai but the petal extensions are only on the upper half, just the opposite from the Naupaka Kahakai
.