While Ipomoea tuboides prefers dry, open habitats, it has a wide geographic and elevational range from Lāna‘i coastlines (photograph courtesy of Forest & Kim Starr CC BY 2.0) to inland East Maui lava fields (photograph courtesy of Forest & Kim Starr CC BY 3.0 US) to far up in the dry southern Wai‘anae Mountain Range of O‘ahu (photograph courtesy of Joel Lau ©). Header photograph courtesy of Forest & Kim Starr CC BY 3.0 US.

Growth Requirements

General

A great groundcover for hot and dry landscapes requring very little water--a true xeric plant! It can become passively invasive and may need to be trimmed back occasionally.

Dry

In dry times of the year or when water is withheld, the foliage of the Hawaiian moon flower dies back to the ground. Underground is a large tuber, sometimes 6 inches or more long and 2 inches in diameter, and about 6 inches or more underground. When it rains or watering resumes, it sprouts and sends out its vines once again. [2]

Soil must be well drained

Full sun

Tolerances

Drought

Soils

Cinder

If there is some limitation to the Hawaiian moon flower, it might be that the flowers are appreciated by early risers. Usually, the bright white tubular flowers open at night and close by early morning.

Pests and Diseases

Sweet potato weevil, spider mites.

Koali ʻawa is vulnerable to many of the same pests that attack other Ipomoea in Hawai‘i, such as ‘uala (sweet potato; Ipomoea batatas), hunakai (Ipomoea imperati), and pōhuehue (Ipomoea pes-caprae subsp. brasiliensis). Most damaging among them is the sweetpotato weevil (Cylas formicarius). Other pests include the sweet potato bug (Physomerus grossipes), flea beetles, and spider mites. If your landscape is home to or visited by snails and slugs, these can also become a problem for your koali ʻawa. These pests are usually less common and their damage less severe for plants growing in sunny, dry sites and/or near the ocean. Refer to the Pests and Diseases section of Ipomoea imperati and Ipomoea pes-caprae subsp. brasiliensis as well as the Pests & Diseases page for more information and ways to battle these pests.

Special Features and Information

General

   Convolvulaceae contains more than 1,650 species within about 60 genera distributed worldwide in both tropical and temperate regions. Most are herbaceous vines or herbs, but the family also includes some trees and shrubs [WikipediA;Convolvulaceae, Britannica; Convolvulaceae]. 

   Hawaiian moon flower (Ipomoea tuboides) is the only endemic Ipomoea sp. in the Hawaiian Islands.  

Some consider this endemic plant as a "weed." [1]

In addition to Ipomoea indica, native Hawaiian members of Convolvulaceae include the endemic and endangered Bonamia menziesii; the indigenous makihi (Cressa truxillensis); the endemic and parasitic kaunaʻoa (Cuscuta sandwichiana); the indigenous hunakai (I. imperati), White-flowered beach morning glory (I. littoralis), and pōhuehue (I. pes-caprae subsp. brasiliensis); the endemic Hawaiian moon flower (I. tuboides); and the endemic pāʻu-o-hiʻiaka (Jacquemontia sandwicensis) [Flora of the Hawaiian Islands]. Koali ʻawa is also related to the non-native and locally popular food plants ʻuala, or sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), and ung-choi, or swamp cabbage (I. aquatica).

Hawaiian Name

    Koali is a more generalized name for morning glories but can also mean "swing," "to swing," "twirl about," or "twine" [Pukui & Elbert 1986]. This is likely a reference to the vines being used as swings (see Uses above).

    The name Koali pehu is listed by Wagner et al. [1990] as a name for Ipomoea indica and as a "large form of koali ʻawa" in Pukui & Elbert [1986], with Pukui & Elbert citing Neal [1965], page 705, as their source. However, Neal [1965] only refers to Koali pehu as a name for Ipomoea alba, not I. indica.

Etymology

    Ipomoea is derived from the Greek words, ips, for "worm," and homoios, meaning "similar to," referring to the species' twining habit [Wagner et al. 1990].