Today I planted a pohinahina that I got from Yuri. Pohinahina (Vitex rotundifolia) is a small indigenous shrub that is commonly used as a landscaping ground cover in Hawaii. The can help hold the soil in sloped areas and they grow fast, require very little water, and they love the sun. The leaves when crushed have a sage like fragrance that the Hawaiians incorporated into their kapa. The leaves, flowers, and berries are great materials for making haku leis.
When planted densely it can form into a thick low hedge which I hope we can use to out compete the guinea grass in some areas. When the low branches touches the ground, you can bury it and it will form new roots there to make a new cutting to plant somewhere else.
Originally posted on 2021-09-12, part of the daily planting journal behind Ha’a Chocolate’s food forest on Hawai’i Island.