Posted by rick mace on April 19, 2007

Q: Hi,

This plant grows in a community garden in Honolulu, Hawaii.

I was told that the leaves are used for tea though I've not tried them.

I've asked many if they know the name and so far no one does.

Thank you.

Rick

Habitat: suburban/yard

State: Hawaii

Habitat: suburban/yard

A: Oh boy, you've give me a difficult one! For starters, your plant doesn't look like a tree to me but an herbaceous plant of some kind. Hawaii is full of introduced plants, so this makes it difficult to ID plants there without having it in hand. From what I can tell from your photos, however it seems to me that it's some kind of mint. Mints (family Lamiaceae) can be herbs or shrubs, rarely tree-like, and have tubular flowers and square stems. Try crushing a leaf to see if you get a minty odor. If so this is probably what they're adding to tea.

Try googling this family name and see what you can find a match with your plant. If this doesn't work, feel free to get back to me and I'll see what else I can do. Additional photos of leaves and flowers would be helpful. Thanks for asking.

John Wiessinger ( April 20, 2007)