Pāmakani
Tetreamalopium lepidotum subsp. lepidotum
Small compact shrubs about a foot tall with soft, featherlike leaves. Its flowers protrude above the plant in tight little clusters. Each flower has white petals with a yellow center, almost like a daisy. Basically, as manly as I can say it, this plant is very cute.
He lāʻau pūnohunohu haʻahaʻa (Hoʻokahi kapuaʻi paha) a kohu hulu manu nā lau. He hui pua lihi keʻokeʻo, a melemele ka piko, kohu naʻenaʻe.
This native ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi plant is rare and found only in a few spots in Oʻahu’s Waianae Mountains. It was once found on Lānaʻi, but this population is believed to have become extinct. A subspecies was also found on Maui in Haleakala, but it, too, is believed to be extinct.
Ulu kākaʻikahi ka pāmakani ma ke kuahiwi o Kaʻala. Ulu ma Lānaʻi ma ka wā kahiko, akā ua pau i ka nalowale. Ua pau hoʻi kekahi ʻano ʻokoʻa ʻē aʻe ma Haleakalā.
There are no known cultural uses for this plant, although with enough flower clusters, they would look very nice in leis. Because of their scarcity, I don’t recommend going out and collecting them; buy them from a nursery, plant them in your yard and then collect the flowers.
ʻAʻole maopopo ka hana o ka pāmakani. Hiki paha ke wili i loko o nā lei. Ma muli naʻe o ke kākaʻikahi, e aho e waiho i nā pua e ulu ʻāhiu ana.
This plant looks great as an accent around rocks. Plant them in full sun and be careful not to overwater them; once every few days should be enough. Too much water will cause them to wilt, rot and die. Check the soil to see if it is dry before watering again. Once the flowers are pollinated, the fallen seeds might germinate around the plant, which is a good thing because you want as many of these plants growing as possible, considering how rare it is.
E kanu ma kahi o nā pōhaku. E kanu i kahi e pā nui ai ka lā, a mai hāinu nui. Ke nui ka wai, e make koke ana. Kali i ka maloʻo ʻana o ka lepo ma mua o ka hāinu hou ʻana. Heleleʻi nā ʻanoʻano, a kupu mai paha nā pulapula.
This plant is closely related to another plant called the Oʻahu or Makua daisy (Tetramolopium filiforme) and might hybridize with it, as well as other species in the genus. Just be careful not to plant them too close to each other, and don’t plant them in the wild because almost all species of Tetramolopium in Hawaiʻi are endangered or extinct, and you don’t want to accidentally hybridize the few wild individuals that remain.
He ʻohana ka pāmakani no kekahi lāʻau i kaulana ma ka inoa ʻo “Makua daisy” (Tetramolopium filiforme). Mai kanu kokoke i kēia mau lāʻau ʻelua, ʻoiai e hui ana lāua a laha kekahi ʻano pulapula ʻē aʻe.