Botanical Garden at University of Hawaii - Hilo

The Botanical Garden at University of Hawai‘i - Hilo is composed of two distinct areas: a global Palm Collection, and a combined Cycad and Bromeliad Garden.

The Palm Collection showcases towering specimens from around the world. Highlights include Pigafetta filaris, an exceptionally fast-growing palm from the Moluccas, and Clinostigma samoense, an elegant species native to the South Pacific. A standout is the Critically Endangered Tahina spectabilis, a massive, fan-leaved palm from Madagascar that flowers only once in its lifetime. The collection also includes a rich array of shade-loving species such as Licuala from Southeast Asia and Chamaedorea from Central and South America. A dedicated section for Pritchardia—known locally as “loulu”—features native Hawaiian palms and other understory species endemic to Hawai‘i Island.

The Cycad and Bromeliad Garden houses one of Hawai‘i’s most extensive cycad collections, with over 130 species representing all ten recognized genera, including several taxa still awaiting formal description. One section features over 50 species of Zamia from Mexico, Central America, and South America. Additional areas contain rare and endangered Encephalartos and Stangeria from Africa, Macrozamia, Lepidozamia, and Bowenia from Australia, and Cycas from Asia, especially China and Vietnam. The bold textures of the cycads are beautifully offset by an impressive assortment of bromeliads, many of them rare hybrids produced by local bromeliad growers on Hawai’i Island.