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Nānū
Gardenia brighamii
Gardenia brighamii is a species of flowering plant in the coffee family, Rubiaceae. It is sometimes referred to by the common names nānū, naʻu, or forest gardenia, and is endemic to Hawaii.
From the article Gardenia brighamii on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
Gardenia brighamii is a small tree, reaching a height of 5 m (16 ft). The glossy, dark green leaves are ovate, 2.2–10.5 cm (0.87–4.13 in) long and 1.5–5.5 cm (0.59–2.17 in) wide. The petals of the solitary, white flowers are fused at the base to form a tube 15–20 mm (0.59–0.79 in) in length and have six lobes.
Range & habitat
Forest gardenia inhabits tropical dry forests at elevations of 350–520 m (1,150–1,710 ft). It previously could be found on all main islands, but today populations only exist on Maui, Molokaʻi, Oʻahu, and Lānaʻi, and the Big Island.
Wikipedia: “Habitat and range”
At the table
Native Hawaiians made kua kuku (kapa anvils) and pou (house posts) from the wood of nānū. A yellow kapa dye was derived from the fruit pulp. The white, fragrant flowers are used in lei. Today, it is grown as an ornamental plant on the islands.
Wikipedia: “Uses”
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Gardenia brighamii in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 126843.