Pōhinahina (Vitex rotundifolia)
Hawaiian name: Pōhinahina
Botanical name: Vitex rotundifolia
Family: Lamiaceae (Mint family)
Status: Indigenous
Where found: Maui, Moloka‘i, Lāna‘i, Hawai‘i, O‘ahu, Ni‘ihau & Kaua‘i
Water/Light: Dry, with full sun exposure
Elevation: 0 to 50 feet (up to 2,500 feet in cultivation)
Height: Up to 9 feet, with an up to 8 foot spread
From Work Done by Whit Germano to Catalog Native Hawaiian Plants
MNBG

Notes: Pōhinahina has a pleasant, sage-like, aroma with beautiful blue-violet flowers, which are often used in lei making. In old Hawai‘i, the edible leaves were used to relieve illnesses such as headaches, stomach pains, insomnia and queasiness. Pōhinahina is a tough coastal plant that is rather easy to grow inland, and can provide excellent erosion control in any landscape. Pōhinahina is drought, wind, salt and heat tolerant.
*Photo courtesy of Forest & Kim Starr
A Few Native Hawaiian Plants from the MNBG Collection
- ‘A‘ali‘i (Dodonaea viscosa)
- Alahe'e (Psydrax odorata)
- ‘Ānapanapa (Colubrina asiatica)
- Hala (Pandanus tectorius)
- Hala pepe (Dracaena auwahiensis)
- Hau (Hibiscus tileaceus)
- Hō‘awa (Pittosporum glabrum)
- ‘Iliahi (Santalum haleakalae)
- Kamani (Callophyllum inophyllum)
- Koa (Acacia koa)
- Koai‘a (Acacia koaia)
- Koki‘a, Hau hele ‘ula (Kokia drynarioides)
- Koki‘o ke‘o ke‘o (Hibiscus arnottianus subsp. arnottianus)
- Koki‘o ke‘oke‘o (Hibiscus arnottianus subsp. immaculatus)
- Koki‘o ‘ula‘ula (Hibiscus kokio ssp. kokio)
- Koki‘o ‘ula‘ula (Hibiscus kokio ssp. saintjohnnianus)
- Koki‘o ke‘o ke‘o (Hibiscus waimeae ssp. waimeae)
- Kou (Cordia subcordata)
- Kukui (Aleurites moluccana)
- Loulu (Pritchardia remota)
- Maʻo (Gossypium tomentosum)
- Ma‘o hau hele (Hibiscus brackenridgei)
- Māmaki (Pipturus albidus)
- Mau‘u lā‘ili (Sisyrinchium acre)
- Milo (Thespesia populnea)
- Naio (Myoporum sandwicense)
- Nānū (Gardenia brighamii)
- Ōhai (Sesbania tomentosa)
- ʻŌhiʻa ʻai (Syzygium malaccense)
- ‘Ōhia lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha)
- Pōhinahina (Vitex rotundifolia)
- Pōkalakala (Polyscias racemosa)
- ʻUlu cv. ‘Maʻafala’(Artocarpus altilis)
- Wauke (Broussonetia papyrifera)
- Wiliwili (Erythrina sandwicensis)