Kāwelu
Eragrostis variabilis
A perennial clumping grass with long, slender, bluish-green leaf blades that reach over two feet in length. When in bloom, a panicle of tiny flowers will protrude up on a stalk which displays them. Sometimes the flowers cluster together tightly other times they are more open as in the picture above.
He wahi mauʻu ia, he lau lōʻihi a wīwī; ʻelua kapuaʻi ka lōʻihi. Ke pua mai ke kāwelu, he pua nani ko luna o ka pū mauʻu.
This is an endemic grass found in many dry opens spaces like sand dunes and grass lands to rocky cliffs and ridges from sea level to over 3000 ft. in elevation on all of the ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi Islands including the Northwestern ones.
Ulu ke kāwelu i ka ʻāina maloʻo e laʻa ka puʻuone, ka pali pōhaku, a ma nā kualapa.
Many chants and hula refer to this plant for the way it moves and flows in the wind, similar to that of a graceful hula dancer.
Lohe ʻia paha ka inoa o kēia mauʻu i loko o nā mele, lohe ʻia paha kona nani i ka pelu ʻana i ka makani. Kaulana hoʻi ʻo Nuʻuanu, a kaulana ʻo Lanihuli i ke kāwelu.
This plant is excellent for slopes and hillsides in large quantities to reduce erosion. The fibrous roots help to bind the soil together to reduce surface runoff. Individually, they look nice planted around rocks which will help to add contrast and show off the beautiful color of the blades. This plant is great for xeriscape gardens being that it requires little if any water once established in the ground. Few pests are known to bother this plant as well.
Inā he pilikia ka hāneʻe ʻana o kahi ihona, a kahi mauna paha, e kanu nui i ke kāwelu e paʻa ai ka lepo. A he mauʻu nani nō ia. ʻAʻole pono ka wai he nui ke paʻa ke kāwelu i ka ʻāina. ʻAʻole hoʻi nui nā mū e pilikia ai ke kāwelu.
Kawelu also goes by the names ‘emoloa or kalamalo.
ʻO ʻemoloa a ʻo kalamālō kekahi mau inoa ʻē aʻe no ke kāwelu.