The Legend
Long before this plant existed, there was Ka Punahou — "the new spring" — on Oʻahu. Hawaiian legend tells of twins who fled a cruel stepmother and, with help from the water god Kākea, created the spring.
a Cactus from Mexico
The Night Blooming Cereus isn't native to Hawai'i. It's a climbing cactus from Mexico that grows along trees and stone.
1836
A stone wall went up along Punahou Street. That same year, Mrs. Sybil Bingham was gifted a cactus from a traveler who'd passed through Mexico, and planted it right along the new wall — taking the name Pānini o ka Punahou.
Today
That same wall is still covered in Night Blooming Cereus today. Every summer, each flower blooms for one night only.
Wear the Bloom
We've captured that fleeting bloom in a collection you can wear every day — a small tribute to a flower's history, and its lasting place in Hawaiʻi.
Mahalo for being part of our ʻohana, and for letting us share a little bit of Hawaiʻi with you.
Quick Answers
What is Ka Punahou?
Ka Punahou, "the new spring," is a natural spring on Oʻahu. Hawaiian legend tells of twins who fled a cruel stepmother and, with help from the water god Kākea, created the spring.
What is Pānini o ka Punahou?
Pānini o ka Punahou is a cactus planted in 1836 along a new stone wall on Punahou Street by Mrs. Sybil Bingham, who was gifted it by a traveler who had passed through Mexico. It is now known as the Night Blooming Cereus.
Why is it called the Night Blooming Cereus?
Each flower on the plant opens for a single night once a year, blooming after dark and closing again by morning — giving the plant its name.
What is Punahou School's connection to the plant?
In 1841, five years after the wall and cactus were planted, a school was built beside the same spring and took its name too: Punahou School. The original wall, still covered in Night Blooming Cereus, stands near the campus today.
Mahalo nui · Made in Hawaiʻi since 1979
