Plant Profile
Bidens hillebrandiana subsp. polycephala
Kokolau, Koʻokoʻolau, Kōʻokoʻolau, Koʻolau
Main Plant Information
Genus
Bidens
Species
hillebrandiana
Subspecies
- polycephala
Hawaiian Names with Diacritics
- Kokolau
- Koʻokoʻolau
- Kōʻokoʻolau
- Koʻolau
Hawaiian Names
- Kokolau
- Kookoolau
- Koolau
Common Names
- Seacliff beggarticks
Synonyms
- Campylotheca rutifolia
Plant Characteristics
Distribution Status
Endemic
Endangered Species Status
No Status
Plant Form / Growth Habit
- Non-Woody, Clumping
Mature Size, Height (in feet)
- Herbaceous, Short, Less than 1
Mature Size, Width
A foot or more wide.
Life Span
Long lived (Greater than 5 years)
Landscape Uses
- Accent
- Container
- Ground Cover
Additional Landscape Use Information
A potentially great groundcover if grown close together or accent plant with unique leaves adding another texture to a xeric landscape.
When grown in full sun, sufficient water and potting media with good drainage, this species has proven to be an excellent potted plant. Plants will re-seed themselves. [David Eickhoff, Native Plants Hawaiʻi]
Plant Produces Flowers
Yes
Flower Characteristics
Flower Type
Not Showy
Flower Colors
- Yellow
Leaf Characteristics
Plant texture
- Medium
Additional Plant Texture Information
The leaves are perhaps the showiest feature of this koʻokoʻolau. The leaves are described by taxonomists as “rarely simple, usually pinnately or bipinnately compound,” or loosely translated the leaves remind one of parsely or cilantro.
Leaf Colors
- Dark Green
- Medium Green
Pests and Diseases
Additional Pest & Disease Information
Spider mites. Slugs and African snails.
Growth Requirements
Water Requirements
- Dry
- Moist
Soil must be well drained
Yes
Light Conditions
- Full sun
Tolerances
- Drought
- Wind
- Salt Spray
- Heat
Soils
- Sand
- Cinder
- Organic
- Coral
Limitations
This species appears to be drought tolerant after established. [David Eickhoff, Native Plants Hawaiʻi]
Environmental Information
Natural Range
- Molokaʻi
- Maui
Natural Zones (Elevation in feet, Rainfall in inches)
- Less than 150, 0 to 50 (Dry)
- 150 to 1000, 0 to 50 (Dry)
Habitat
- Terrestrial
Additional Habitat Information
Bidens hillebrandiana subsp. polycephala is found on coastal bluffs and sea cliffs on windward coasts of East Molokaʻi and East Maui from sea level to over 325 feet.
Special Features and Information
General Information
Koʻokoʻlau ( Bidens spp.) are members of the Aster or Sunflower family (Asteraceae). There are nineteen endemic species of Bidens .
The natives are not invasive as are some of the alien species such as kī ( Bidens pilosa ) with its harpoon-like seeds (kukū) that seem attracted to long pants, socks and shoe laces or the White beggarticks ( Bidens alba ) that blanket huge areas with “cute-but-don’t-grow-them-anyway” white and yellow flowers.
Etymology
The name Bidens is derived from the Latin bi , two, and dens , teeth in reference to the pappus awns or collective bristles on the achenes (fruit, seeds).
The specific epithet hillebrandiana is named for William Hillebrand (1821-1886), a young Prussian physician and plant collector. He planted many of the plants he collected at Queen’s Hospital and on his own property in Nuʻuanu. After moving back to Germany the property was sold to his neighbors Thomas & Mary Foster. Today, it is known as the Foster Botanical Gardens.
The subspecific name polycephala is from the Greek poly , many, and cephalus , headed, referring to having many more floral heads when compared with subsp. hillebrandiana .
Background Information
The two subspecies of Bidens hillebrandiana can be distinguished by the following floral features:
Early Hawaiian Use
Leaves of all species of native koʻokoʻolau were used medicinally and for a tea tonic.
Modern Use
All species of koʻokoʻolau can be brewed as a tonic and each are said to have distinct flavors. Regarding Bidens spp., Isabella Abbott comments that “I find that the roughly half a dozen species common in Hawaiʻi offer two or three slightly different flavors, each a bit more subtle than commercial black tea.” [1]
Additional References
[1] “Lāʻau Hawaiʻi: Traditional Hawaiian Uses of Plants” by Isabella Aiona Abbott, page 102.
