Pleomele hawaiiensis, the Hawaii Hala Pepe, is a rare species of flowering plant

Flowering plant

The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...

 that is endemic to the island of Hawaii

Hawaii (island)

The Island of Hawaii, also called the Big Island or Hawaii Island , is a volcanic island in the North Pacific Ocean...

. It inhabits dry forests

Hawaiian tropical dry forests

The Hawaiian tropical dry forests are a tropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregion in the Hawaiian Islands. They cover an area of on the leeward side of the main islands and the summits of Niihau and Kahoolawe. These forests are either seasonal or sclerophyllous. Annual rainfall is less than and...

 on old aā lava

Lava

Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...

 flows at elevations of 300 – on the leeward

Windward and leeward

Windward is the direction upwind from the point of reference. Leeward is the direction downwind from the point of reference. The side of a ship that is towards the leeward is its lee side. If the vessel is heeling under the pressure of the wind, this will be the "lower side"...

 side of the island. Associated plants include ōhia lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha

Metrosideros polymorpha

The ōhia lehua is a species of flowering evergreen tree in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, that is endemic to the six largest islands of Hawaii. It is a highly variable tree, being tall in favorable situations, and much smaller when growing in boggy soils or on basalt...

), lama (Diospyros sandwicensis

Diospyros sandwicensis

Diospyros sandwicensis is a species of flowering tree in the ebony family, Ebenaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. Its common name, Lama, also means enlightenment in Hawaiian. Lama is a small to medium-sized tree, with a height of and a trunk diameter of . It can be found in dry, coastal mesic,...

), māmane (Sophora chrysophylla

Mamane

Sophora chrysophylla, known as Māmane in Hawaiian, is a species of flowering plant in the pea and bean family, Fabaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. It is highly polymorphic, growing as a shrub or tree, and able to reach a height of in tree form. Yellow flowers are produced in winter and...

), alahee (Psydrax odorata

Psydrax odorata

Psydrax odorata, known as Alahee in Hawaiian, is a species of flowering shrub or small tree in the coffee family, Rubiaceae, that is native to the Pacific Islands, Malesia and Australasia...

), huehue (Cocculus

Cocculus

Cocculus is a genus of 11 species of woody vines and shrubs, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of North America, Asia and Africa. The common name Moonseed is also used for the closely related genus Menispermum. The related Indian Berry is known as "Cocculus Indicus" in...

 orbiculatus), naio (Myoporum sandwicense

Myoporum sandwicense

Myoporum sandwicense is a species of flowering tree in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae. Common names include Naio, bastard sandalwood or false sandalwood. It is native to Hawaii and Mangaia in the Cook Islands.-Description:...

), olopua (Nestegis sandwicensis

Nestegis sandwicensis

Nestegis sandwicensis, commonly known as Olopua, is a species of flowering tree in the olive family, Oleaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. It is found on all major islands at elevations of in coastal mesic and mixed mesic forests, and, especially, dry forests...

), kuluī (Nototrichium

Nototrichium

Nototrichium is a genus of flowering plants in the pigweed family, Amaranthaceae. All members of the genus are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. They are known in Hawaiian as kuluī.-Species:*Nototrichium divaricatum Lorence...

 sandwicense), ilima (Sida fallax

Sida fallax

Sida fallax, known as ilima in Hawaiian, is a species of herbaceous flowering plant in the Hibiscus family, Malvaceae, that occurs on most of the Pacific Islands. The flowers are small, in diameter, have five petals, and are a golden yellow in color. Plants may be erect or prostrate and are found...

), wiliwili

Wiliwili

Wiliwili is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae that is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. It is the only species of Erythrina that naturally occurs there. It is typically found in dry forests on leeward island slopes up to an elevation of .Wiliwili is occasionally seen in...

 (Erythrina sandwicensis), iliahi (Santalum

Santalum

Santalum is a genus of woody flowering plants, the best known and commercially valuable of which is the Indian Sandalwood tree, S. album. Members of the genus are trees or shrubs. Most are root parasites which photosynthesize their own food but tap the roots of other species for water and...

spp.), ūlei (Osteomeles anthyllidifolia

Osteomeles anthyllidifolia

Osteomeles anthyllidifolia, commonly called Ūlei, Eluehe, Uulei, Hawaiian Rose, or Hawaiian Hawthorn, is a species of flowering shrub in the rose family, Rosaceae, that is indigenous to Hawaii , the Cook Islands, Tonga, Rarotonga, Pitcairn Island, and Rapa Iti.-Description:Osteomeles...

), uhiuhi (Caesalpinia kavaiensis

Caesalpinia kavaiensis

Caesalpinia kavaiensis is a rare species of flowering plant in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. Common names include Uhiuhi , Kāwau , and Kea . It is threatened by invasive species, particularly feral ungulates.-Description:C...

), kauila (Colubrina oppositifolia

Colubrina oppositifolia

Colubrina oppositifolia, known as Kauila in Hawaiian, is a species of flowering tree in the buckthorn family, Rhamnaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. It can be found in dry, coastal mesic, and mixed mesic forests at elevations of on the islands of Oahu and Hawaii . There is also one individual...

), maola (Neraudia ovata

Neraudia ovata

Neraudia ovata, commonly known as Big Island Maoloa, is a species of flowering plant in the nettle family, Urticaceae, that is endemic to the Big Island of Hawaii. It inhabits dry forests growing on lava flows in the island's Kona District. Big Island Maoloa is a sprawling shrub with stems long....

), maiapilo (Capparis sandwichiana

Capparis sandwichiana

Capparis sandwichiana is a species of flowering plant in the Capparaceae family that is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Common names include Maiapilo, Pua pilo, and Hawaiian Caper. C. sandwichiana can be found on the main islands, Midway Atoll, the Pearl and Hermes Atoll, and Laysan...

), Bidens

Bidens

Bidens is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. It contains about 200 species. The common names beggarticks, black jack, bur-marigolds, stickseeds, tickseeds and tickseed sunflowers refer to the achene burrs on the seeds of this genus, most of which are barbed...

micrantha ssp. ctenophylla

Bidens micrantha

Bidens micrantha is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name grassland beggarticks. It is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, where it and other Bidens species are known as kōokoolau...

, and aiea (Nothocestrum breviflorum

Nothocestrum breviflorum

Nothocestrum breviflorum, commonly known as Smallflower Aiea, is a species of tree in the nightshade family, Solanaceae, that is endemic to the island of Hawaii. It inhabits dry and mixed mesic forests at elevations of...

).

There are 300 to 400 individuals remaining. The species is threatened with habitat loss and modification.

The flowers of this plant were used in leis and the wood in carvings.