Metrosideros polymorpha, the
ohia lehua, is a species of
flowering evergreen tree in the
myrtle family,
Myrtaceae, that is
endemic to the six largest
islands of
Hawaii. It is a highly variable tree, being tall in favorable situations, and a much smaller prostrate shrub when growing in boggy soils or directly on
basalt. It produces a brilliant display of
flowers, made up of a mass of
stamens, which can range from fiery red to yellow. Many native Hawaiian traditions refer to the tree and the forests it forms as sacred to
Pele, the
volcano goddess, and to
Laka, the goddess of
hula. Ohia trees grow easily on lava, and are usually the very first plants to grow on new lava flows.