Division of Forestry and Wildlife: Forestry Program

Common Name: Kou

Scientific Name: Cordia subcordata

Range/ Habitat: In Hawai’i, Kou grows in coastal areas and in other sunny zones with at low elevations from 150- 1000ft.

About this Species: Kou is a canoe plant brought spread across the Hawaiian Islands. This species was valued as a carving wood due to the beauty of its gran and ease of cutting and carving. Medicinally, Kou was used to treat ‘ea (thrush). This tree can be distinguished by showy orange flowers that are one to two inches in diameter.

Photo by Forest & Kim Starr.