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Kokiʻo, hau hele ʻula or Hawaii tree cotton Malvaceae Endemic to the Hawaiian Islands (Hawaiʻi Island only) IUCN: Critically Endangered Hawaiʻi Island (Cultivated)

Hawaiian name is from hau, an introduced hibiscus (Hibiscus tiliaceus), perhaps by early Hawaiians. Hau hele ʻula literally means "red traveling hau."

The early Hawaiians cultivated this species in Kona.

The flower petals were used to make pink and lavender dyes. Sap from the bark produced a dark red waterproof dye for fishnets. The dual-purpose resinous dye would extend the life of the fishing nets and the red color underwater is nearly invisible to fish, thus the fishermen would catch more.

The spectacular flowers were used for lei.

Medicinally, the bark was also used to cure thrush.

Kokia drynarioides and K. kauaiensis have helped to save Kokia cookei from total extinction. Because Kokia cookei currently does not produce viable seed, it now survives only by grafted scions (a shoot with a bud) on rootstock from either of its two close relatives. Efforts are being made by micropropagation to help save this species, one of the planet's rarest plants.

Etymology The generic name Kokia is derived from kokiʻo, the Hawaiian vernacular name for these species. Botanists Otto & Isa Degener notes this regarding the name: "Lewton believes the vernacular name comes from ko-ki, "'The extremety; the end of the tree; a very high place. The native name of the these trees, kokio, possibly relates to the habitat.'" The specific epithet drynarioides is derived from the Drynaria, a genus of ferns, and the Latin -oides, resembling.

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