Flowers (Photograph here and in header courtesy of Jay Sturner CC BY 2.0.). Immature plant in pot (Photograph courtesy of Späth Christian public domain.). Mature cultivated plants in pots and in the ground. Note the possible rat damage at the plant's base (Mature cultivated plant photographs courtesy of Forest & Kim Starr CC BY 2.0.). Wild plant (Photograph courtesy of H. St. John via G.D. Carr ©.).

Growth Requirements

General

    Brighamia insignis can be a difficult plant to maintain if you are not vigilant regarding its numerous pests (see Pests and Diseases below). Therefore, it is best kept as a container plant. If planted in the ground, it should be protected and carefully watered. Indoors, ālula is a great houseplant; keep it under LED lights or near a sunny window.

    Ālula can endure full sun, but will grow and look better in a site with a mix of full sun and partial shade. It requires dry to slightly moist media or soil, and its thick succulent stem(s) helps it survive periods of moderate drought. It can also tolerate strong winds and salt spray. Overwatering will cause root or stem rot and quickly kill your ālula or cause a fungal infection. However, in a container, it can be watered frequently if the media mix allows quick drainage (e.g., a high percentage of black cinders or perlite). If you plant your ālula in the ground, improve the drainage by planting it on an elevated mound or ridge of black cinders (or cinders mixed with soil). 

    Under optimum conditions, Brighamia insignis grows quickly and can be a foot or more tall in about a year. They typically start flowering at two to three years of age. Fertilize your potted ālula with monthly applications of an organic or inorganic water-soluble fertilizer at half the recommended strength. Or, you can make biannual applications of a slow-release fertilizer. One of us (Koebele) waters our ālula every other day with water containing a feed-every-time-you-water fertilizer. Do not prune ālula. However, old yellow or brown leaves can be removed for a tidier look. 

Pests and Diseases

    Carmine spider mites (Tetranychus cinnabarinus) regularly attack ālula, and plants require frequent monitoring and treatment to prevent out-of-control infestations resulting in complete leaf loss. Fortunately, after treatment, a leafless plant is usually able to produce a new flush of leaves. Some growers have reported that ālula is particularly sensitive to insecticidal soap [Hawaii Horticulture]; therefore, you might want to try another type of treatment for these mites (e.g., miticide), or do a test treatment on just a couple of leaves, maybe, at half the recommended strength. Leaf-miners, too, can be an occasional pest. 

    Snails and slugs, as well as rats and mice, can be serious pests, particularly for plants kept outside. African snails, especially, can quickly devour all the plant's leaves and stem-tips and kill your ālula. If your plant is in a container, first try moving it to a new and, hopefully, safer location. If that doesn't work, you'll need to try other types of protection. 

    Overwatering and/or poor-draining media or soil can result in fungal rot of stems and roots, leading to death. Refer to the Pests & Diseases page for treatments for all the above. 

Special Features and Information

General

    There are only two species in the endemic Hawaiian genus Brighamia, B. insignis and B. rockii, which is in the Campanulaceae or Bellflower family. There are approximately 2,400 species within 84 genera in Campanulaceae [WikipediA;Campanulaceae] worldwide, with about 130 species found only in the Hawaiian Islands. The other native Hawaiian genera are Clermontia, Cyanea, Delissea, Lobelia, and Trematolobelia — all endemic genera except for Lobelia.

    Ālula (Brighamia insignis) differs from pua ʻala (B. rockii), which is endemic to Molokaʻi, in that it has yellow flowers while pua ʻala has white flowers. Both species can grow to the amazing height of 16 feet (4.9 m). However, ālula tends to be a bit larger on average than pua ʻala [USFWS 1995]. Both are perfectly designed for their windy habitat on steep coastal cliffs where their roots penetrate crevices and hold tight while their swollen flexible trunk allows them to bend in strong winds. Unfortunately, both species have lost their natural pollinators and today require hand-pollination for fruit and seed production.

    Ālula is known as the "Hawaiian Palm" in the Netherlands (Holland), England, and other countries, where it's become a popular houseplant. 

Hawaiian Name

    Ālula and hāhā are names used to refer to both species of Brighamia in general. Ālula is sometimes spelled as ʻālula or alula with or without diacritics ʻokina (glottal stop) or kahakō (macron). We have chosen to use ālula for this website as it appears to be the most commonly-spelled name in the majority of reliable references, including Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai‘i [Wagner et al. 1990]. The name hāhā is also used for the two species of Brighamia, and Clermontia arborecens in the same family, Campanulaceae, as well as the Kauaʻi name for ʻapeʻape (Gunnera kauaiensis) [Hawaiian Dictionaries], but applies to both endemic Gunnera spp. [Flora of the Hawaiian Islands].

Etymology

    Brighamia is named in honor of William Tufts Brigham (1841–1926), geologist, botanist, and the first Director of the Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi [WikipediA;William Tufts Brigham]. The species name, insignis, means "remarkable, striking, or distinguished" in Latin [Gledhill 2008], referring to the plant's unique appearance.