Limahuli Garden and Preserve


The Limahuli Garden and Preserve is a botanical garden and nature preserve on the north shore of Kauai island, Hawaii. It is one of the five gardens of the non-profit National Tropical Botanical Garden.

Description

Limahuli lies within a tropical valley covering three distinct ecological zones.
It is inland from the Haʻena State Park and Kee beach off of Route 560 at.
The Makana Mountain ridge looms behind, and the Limahuli Stream includes an waterfall on its descent from the valley's high end at to sea level just below the garden. This area is sometimes known as Bali Ha'i, a name used in the 1958 film South Pacific which was filmed on location in the area.
The name comes from lima huli which means "turned hand" in the Hawaiian language.
The garden contains a wide range of native and Polynesian-introduced plants, including kukui, banana, breadfruit, alula, Paper Mulberry, papala, kī, turmeric, hāhā, lama, vegetable fern, ginger, hau kuahiwi, hibiscus including kokio keokeo, kava, koa, nehe, ōhia lehua, pokulakalaka, kului, hala, pāpala kēpau, plumeria, loulu, sugarcane, taro, and iliau. It also contains taro terraces that date back to early Polynesian arrivals on the island.
In 1997 Limahuli Garden was selected by the American Horticultural Society as the best natural botanical garden in the United States. In 2007, it received the top "Keep It Hawaii" award from the Hawaii Tourism Authority for its support of the Hawaiian culture, protection and development of Hawaiian knowledge by preservation of natural resources through research, hands-on work, and educational opportunities.
Limahuli Garden is open to visitors. An admission fee is charged. The preserve is not open to the public.
The preserve was established with donated by Juliet Rice Wichman in 1967 and extended by her grandson Charles "Chipper" Rice Wichman, who were descended from businessman William Hyde Rice and missionary William Harrison Rice.