Lyon Arboretum

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Lonely Planet review

Nature trails wind through the highly regarded Lyon Arboretum founded in 1918 and managed by the University of Hawai'i. Dr Harold Lyon is credited with introducing 10,000 exotic trees and plants to Hawaii. Approximately half of these are represented in this 193-acre arboretum. This is not a landscaped tropical flower garden, but a mature and largely wooded arboretum where related species are clustered in a seminatural state.

Among the plants in the Hawaiian ethnobotanical garden are mountain apple, breadfruit and taro; ko, the sugarcane brought by early Polynesian settlers; kukui, which was used to produce lantern oil; and ti, which was used for medicinal purposes during ancient times and for making moonshine after Westerners arrived.