About Native Plants Hawaiʻi Project

Project Description


The goal of Native Plants Hawaiʻi (NPH) is to create and establish a single, comprehensive, and searchable online knowledgebase of endemic and indigenous plants of Hawaiʻi.

Native Plants Hawaiʻi was created with funding from a USDA-NIFA grant. Today, faculty at Leeward Community College collaborate through an Open Pedagogy model where students help update and expand the website as part of their coursework.

Faculty from Botany, Agriculture, Biology, and Information and Computer Science work together to ensure that information remains accurate, current, and aligned with peer-review guidelines. Through this collaborative process, students become active contributors to a community resource that supports education, conservation, research, and cultural preservation across Hawaiʻi.

Current Project Team


Daniela Dutra Elliott, Ph.D.

University of Hawaiʻi, Leeward Community College
Professor, Botany and Horticulture

Alyssa MacDonald, Ph.D.

University of Hawaiʻi, Leeward Community College
Professor, Biology

Petersen Gross

University of Hawaiʻi, Leeward Community College
Professor, Information and Computer Science

The Current Project Team monitors the following email address:

Contact: leeplant@hawaii.edu

Previous Project Contributors

  • Cheryll Aldridge
  • David Eickhoff
  • Priscilla Millen
  • Shari Y. Tamashiro

Project Advisors

  • Rick Barboza
  • Eileen Herring

Content Contributors

  • Linda Bard — Waimea Valley (retired)
  • Jill Coryell — Hibiscus Lady
  • Kaʻiulani de Silva — Kapa Mau
  • Michael DeMotta — National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG)
  • Christopher Dunn — Lyon Arboretum
  • Napua Harbottle — Bishop Museum
  • Robert Hobdy — Botanist
  • Naomi Hoffman — Honolulu Botanical Gardens
  • Clyde Imada — Bishop Museum
  • Bruce Koebele — Kaʻala Farm
  • Dr. Tetsuo Koyama — The Kochi Prefectural Makino Botanical Garden
  • Joel Lau — Botanist
  • Kay Lynch — Laʻau Hawaiʻi
  • Kepā Maly — Lānaʻi Culture & Heritage Center
  • Jameison Martinez — Honolulu Zoo
  • Leland Miyano — Landscape Architect, Artist
  • Angela Nishimoto — Leeward Community College
  • Ethan Romanchak — Native Nursery, LLC
  • Karen Shigematsu — Lyon Arboretum
  • Forest & Kim Starr — United States Geological Survey-Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit (USGS-PCSU)
  • Anna Yorba — Hawaiian Garden Design

Additional Contributors

  • Copy Editor: Mary Louise Haraguchi
  • Flash Animation: Martin Holzgang
  • Research Assistant: Jessie Oliver
  • Student Assistants: Chelsea Goto, Diana Troutman, and Codi-lee Wong
  • Systems Administrator: Jesse Andow
  • Technical Consultant: Jason Aldridge
  • Web Graphics / Layout: Jolene Sasaki