Kaimana wants to plant kukui trees, laua'e fern and puakenikeni for her senior class project. She wants to do this for her school and community and so she can learn about them and develop her future career.

She called me up and asked if I would help her and be her gardening mentor. She got me inspired, and we will be planting kukui trees in two sites. We are looking for some fairly big kukui trees (big ones survive better in public gardens). We are also looking for a puakenikeni and some potted laua'e fern to plant.

I went to a talk on historic Hawai'i and one woman had an old picture of a grove of huge kukui trees on Kaua'i. This really got me going. Where do we see huge kukui trees nowadays? These were surrounding a nice grassy, open, park-like place where people met, talked story and learned things to support their community. I could not envision such a place that we have now so we are planning to plant some groves for the future.

Kaimana is a senior at a nicely planted school. We will be planting some kukui there to provide shade and outdoor learning places. She is looking for sites that will be easy to maintain and water and that will grow for the future. The puakenikeni and ferns will be planted later.

The other community site where we will be planting is at the Diamond Head Peace Garden. Many people and community groups are caring for this garden and we recently got permission to plant kukui trees on an open, hot lawn area.

Isn't it interesting that Kaimana picked kukui as one of her main trees? Kukui is our state tree and it is symbolic of enlightenment and knowledge. Some of her ancestors carried the seeds of kukui to Hawai'i on their great voyaging canoes. Candlenut is another name for kukui.

Kukui is a beautiful tree and it grows pretty fast given proper care and maintenance. It likes rich, organic soil but will also do OK in junk or sandy soil as long as you water. Organic matter and fallen leaves and mulch help kukui thrive and look pretty. Regular water is key while they are young.

Did you know that kukui can help slow or prevent wildfire? When I was taking wild land fire training one old forester told me, "Heidi, if you are ever trapped in a fire, head for the kukui grove or the gulch where kukui are growing. That will keep you safe. Kukui store lots of water in their trunk and they are among the last to burn up."

Kukui has a beautiful silvery color to the leaves and you can identify it from far away. You can look mauka and see wet gulches where kukui likes to grow.

Kukui leaves make excellent mulch for the lo'i kalo (taro patch) and for any other plants in the farm and garden. Mulch is a great thing for all gardens and its better for the planet and your wallet than chemical fertilizers.

Kukui is used for so many things. Seeds for lei, flowers and leaves for lei representing the island of Moloka'i, oil for torches, oil for medicine, oil for light and this enlightenment (or to study at night!). Many colors of dye come from different parts of the kukui. And local food fiends make 'inamona, or kukui nut relish, from roasted kukui, níoi (chili peppers) and Hawaiian salt. 'Ono on poke!

Fishermen use kukui oil to calm the waters and see the fish below. There are many legends and proverbs about kukui.

Kukui is the kinolau (other body form) of Kamapua'a the pig god. If you look at a kukui leaf just right you can see a pig or pua'a. Pick up some kukui leaves and look for the pig snout and big floppy ears. Some leaves are a perfect pig and all are beautiful. We tell people from the Mainland that the leaves look like maple. The flowers are white and are related to poinsettia.

Kukui and poinsettia are both in the Euphorbiaceae plant family. A native Hawaiian relative is mehame or Antidesma. Kukui is known scientifically as Aleurites moluccana.