Hawaiʻi Species Starter List

A quick-reference version of the species detail in Plant Selection — meant to be printed or kept open alongside the Seven-Layer Planting Planner while you design.

By layer

Layer Species Notes
Canopy Breadfruit (ʻulu) Long-lived, staple canopy tree
Canopy Citrus Faster to first production than many canopy trees
Canopy Avocado
Canopy Mango
Canopy Koa Native; nitrogen-fixing — builds soil for what's planted beneath it
Understory Banana / plantain Tolerates partial canopy shade well
Understory Papaya Fast-fruiting, good early-establishment income/food source
Shrub Coffee Prefers dappled light
Shrub Cacao Warmer, wetter microclimates only
Shrub Māmaki (pipturus) Native
Herbaceous ʻŌlena (turmeric) Real, currently producing at volume on the reference site
Herbaceous Ginger
Herbaceous Pipinola / chayote Sprawls as herbaceous or trains as vine
Root Kalo (taro) The primary root crop referenced throughout this site
Root Sweet potato Works as root crop or groundcover depending on management
Groundcover Sweet potato See above
Groundcover Pinto peanut Nitrogen-fixing groundcover
Vine Passionfruit (lilikoʻi) Train up a canopy tree trunk
Vine Pipinola / chayote Trained upward instead of left to sprawl

Clear first, don't plant

If any of these are already established on your site, clearing is phase one, before any of the above goes in — see Plant Selection for why:

Scope note

This list is deliberately limited to what's proven on a real wet-tropical Hawaiʻi site, not a comprehensive catalog of everything that can grow in the islands. It will grow as more of this venture's own planting produces real results worth adding.