DANA ANNE YEE FOUNDATION
Crown Flower Society
MISSION:
The University of Hawai`i Urban Garden Center,
dedication of the Variegated Crown Flower, Calotropis gigantea cv. 'Dana Anne Yee'.
Alberto Ricordi, Dana, William, Jari S.K. Sugano,
Tina Lau:, Christine Hanakawa, and Jessica Higashi. April 27, 2023. Photo by: Pono Chung.
Washington Place, dedication of the Variegated
Crown Flower. First Lady Jamie Green.
March 15, 2023. Photo by: Sammy Green.
The Crown Flower Society was established on June 30, 2023 to create awareness, to educate, to preserve, to recognize, to promote new cultivars, and to honor and promote the cultural significance of the Crown Flower, Calotropis gigantea, for all the people of Hawai`i and the world.
BACKGROUND OF THE SOCIETY:
Known in Hawai`i by it’s English name, Crown Flower, or by it’s Hawaiian name Pua Kalaunu and elsewhere as the common name Giant Calotrope or in Hindi as Madar. The Crown Flower’s historical distribution includes; Cambodia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, China, Pakistan, and Nepal. The Crown Flower, Pua Kalaunu, was a favorite of Hawai`i’s beloved Queen Lili`uokalani and the Hindu God Shiva.
Crown Flowers are host plants for caterpillars of the threatened Monarch Butterflies. A new cultivar was discovered in Honolulu, Hawai`i in 2021 that has potential to provide an additional host plant for our threatened Monarch Butterflies in Hawai`i. This new Variegated Crown Flower cultivar was first found and identified by William D. Perreira and Dana Anne Yee. William named the cultivar variety, Calotropis gigantea cv. 'Dana Anne Yee'. This very rare plant arose in the Makiki area on the island of O`ahu, Hawai`i. This plant came from a “sport” that first appeared in 2021 on a plant that was over 40 years old. This mutation is unique; its unusual variegated leaves in yellow, white, and green are normally green.
In addition to being host plants for our threatened Monarch Butterflies, Hawai`i’s centuries old tradition of lei-making continues with Crown Flowers of lavender, purple, and white.
University of Hawai`i Lyon Arboretum. Timothy Kroessig. May 17, 2023. Photo by: Makoa Elgin
Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Garden.
David Orr. Oct 8, 2023. Photo by: Sean Flemming.
AFFILIATION:
The Crown Flower Society is a direct affiliate of the
Dana Anne Yee Foundation and is registered with the State of Hawai`i and qualifies as a 501(C)(3) non-profit corporation under the Federal Revenue Code.
CROWN FLOWER SOCIETY NEWS:
October 8, 2023. On a beautiful Sunday at the Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Garden, David Orr recorded the Calotropis gigantea cv. Dana Anne Yee, Accession No. 23P68. Jari Sugano from the University of Hawai`i Urban Garden Center raised 2 of the plants from the mother plant that we presented to her and Waimea Arboretum and Botanical Gardens is now the home of this rare plant.
LANDSCAPE HAWAI`I MAGAZINE:
Variegated Crown Flower 'Dana Anne Yee'
July / August 2023
(click on the magazine page and it will enlarge it).
