Ohia

ʻŌhiʻa lehua
ʻŌhiʻa lehua flowers
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Myrtales
Family:	Myrtaceae
Genus:	Metrosideros
Species:	M. polymorpha
Binomial name
Metrosideros polymorpha Gaudich.
Varieties
M. p. var. dieteri M. p. var. glaberrima M. p. var. incana M. p. var. macrophylla M. p. var. newelli M. p. var. polymorpha M. p. var. pumila M. p. var. pseudorugosa
Synonyms
List Metrosideros collina f. lurida rock Metrosideros collina f. sericea Rock Metrosideros collina f. strigosa Rock Metrosideros collina subsp. polymorpha (Gaudich.) Rock Metrosideros collina var. glaberrima (H.Lév.) Rock Metrosideros collina var. glabrifolia (A.Heller) Rock Metrosideros collina var. haleakalesis Rock Metrosideros collina var. hemilanata Hochr. Metrosideros collina var. imbricata Rock Metrosideros collina var. incana (H.Lév.) Rock Metrosideros collina var. macrophylla Rock Metrosideros collina var. newellii Rock Metrosideros collina var. prostrata Rock Metrosideros collina var. pumila (A.Heller) Rock Metrosideros hillebrandii H.Lév. & Vaniot Metrosideros pumila (A.Heller) Hochr. Nania glabrifolia A.Heller Nania polymorpha (Gaudich.) A.Heller Nania pumila A.Heller

M. p. var. dieteri
M. p. var. glaberrima
M. p. var. incana
M. p. var. macrophylla
M. p. var. newelli
M. p. var. polymorpha
M. p. var. pumila
M. p. var. pseudorugosa

Metrosideros polymorpha, the ʻōhiʻa lehua, is a species of flowering evergreen tree in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, that is endemic to the six largest islands of Hawaiʻi. It is a highly variable tree, being 20–25 m (66–82 ft) tall in favorable situations, and a much smaller prostrate shrub when growing in boggy soils or directly on basalt. It produces a brilliant display of flowers, made up of a mass of stamens, which can range from fiery red to yellow. Many native Hawaiian traditions refer to the tree and the forests it forms as sacred to Pele, the volcano goddess, and to Laka, the goddess of hula. ʻŌhiʻa trees grow easily on lava, and are usually the very first plants to grow on new lava flows.

It is a common misconception that the word ʻōhiʻa is used to refer to the tree and that the word lehua refers only to its flowers. The Hawaiian Dictionary (Pukui and Elbert 1986: 199) defines lehua with these words: "The flower of the ʻōhiʻa tree... also the tree itself [emphasis added]." Thus the Metrosideros polymorpha may be referred to correctly as a lehua tree, or as an ʻōhiʻa lehua, or simply an ʻōhiʻa.

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Wikipedia