Maui Nui Botanical Gardens, Native plant sanctuary in Kahului, United States.

Maui Nui Botanical Gardens covers 5 acres at 150 Kanaloa Avenue in Kahului, on a former coastal dune. Its plantings gather native dry-forest and coastal species of Maui Nui — Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Kahoolawe — alongside Polynesian-introduced plants, with 40 sugarcane varieties, 15 sweet potato varieties and over 60 taro varieties. A greenhouse and shade house support propagation.

Rene Sylva established the gardens in 1976 on a coastal dune system at 150 Kanaloa Avenue. The site had earlier been the Maui Zoological and Botanical Gardens, and the name Maui Nui refers to the four islands the plant collections represent: Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Kahoolawe.

The garden holds a collection of Polynesian-introduced plants, among them 40 sugarcane varieties, 15 sweet potato varieties and 20 of the 60 known taro varieties. These crops arrived with Polynesian voyagers and were grown for food and other uses. Look for the labelled planting beds that group the varieties by species.

The gardens sit at 150 Kanaloa Avenue in Kahului, on the northeastern side of Maui, within an old coastal dune system. They are open Monday through Saturday and admission is free. A greenhouse and shade house used for plant propagation stand on the grounds, alongside picnic tables, a playground and restrooms.

The garden sits on a former coastal dune, and its plantings include 40 sugarcane varieties, 15 sweet potato varieties and 20 of the 60 known taro varieties. These Polynesian-introduced crops were collected and are propagated in the on-site greenhouse and shade house.