The starlike white corollas (flowers) can be four- or five-petaled. Kadua is excellent as a potted plant or in a landscape.

Growth Requirements

General

    Kadua littoralis is excellent as a landscape plant in full to part sun. Using black or red cinder as a mulch complements the bright, glossy foliage. If grown in pots, use a good potting media that drains well, while retaining some moisture. A generous amount of black or red cinder, crushed coral or large-grade perlite in the media will provide the needed drainage.

    It naturally grows near the bottom of seacliffs, it salt spray, as well as wind, tolerant.

    Kadua seems to nearly always be in flower. To keep the plants tidy and lessen disease and pests, spent flower stalks, brown woody seed capsules, and brown foliage should be trimmed periodically. The tiny black seeds can be gathered and stored in the refrigerator for sowing at a later time.

Pests and Diseases

    Ants, mealybugs, thrips, aphids, and red spider mites are among the pests known to attack this plant. Control the ants and you can control the other pests. Refer to the Pests & Diseases page for treatments.  

Special Features and Information

General

    Kadua spp. are members of the extensive Coffee family (Rubiaceae), which boasts over 14,000 species worldwide. This family is particularly abundant in the islands, with approximately 55 species present.

    Within the Pacific region, the genus Kadua encompasses a total of 30 species, the majority of which are found in the Hawaiian Archipelago, with 23 endemic species. A significant taxonomic revision occurred in 2005, resulting in the acceptance of the genus Kadua for all Hedyotis species in the Hawaiian Islands [Terrell et. al. 2005].

Hawaiian Name

    No ancient Hawaiian name is currently known. Some creative modern names have been used, such as manono palikai, loosely translated as "sea cliff manono" (Kadua spp.), but have unknown ancient origins. On this website, we prefer Hawaiian names whenever possible. But until an authentic name is known, we have chosen to call it Kadua.

Etymology

    Kadua is the oldest generic name for these species and is named in memory of M. Kadu, a native of Ulea in the Marshall Islands, who sailed with Otto von Kotzebue (1787-1846), Baltic German navigator in Russian service, with the purpose of collecting plants [Terrell et. al. 2005]. The specific epithet littoralis is Latin for "growing by the sea shore" [Gledhill, D. 2008].