''Dianella sandwicensis'' is a species of flax lily native to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

and

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

. In Hawaiian it is called . Neal (1965) reports that historically, Hawaiians used the berries to make blue dye for

kapa Kapa is a fabric made by native Hawaiians from the bast fibres of certain species of trees and shrubs in the orders Rosales and Malvales. The bark is beaten and felted to achieve a soft texture and dye stamped in geometric patterns. Description ...

. They also used the leaves for thatching house walls. When sterile, ''Dianella sandwicensis'' is similar in appearance to ''Machaerina angustifolia''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3026261 sandwicensis Flora of Hawaii Flora of New Caledonia Plant dyes Plants described in 1832 Taxa named by William Jackson Hooker