Nānū, nāʻū or Forest gardenia Rubiaceae Endemic to the Hawaiian Islands Endangered Oʻahu (Cultivated; origin: Oʻahu*)  Flowers (pua) are very fragrant which are similar to other gardenia species. www.flickr.com/photos/dweickhoff/5188030526/  * The mother plant in the wild is now gone. There's perhaps only one wild G. brighamii now left on Oʻahu.  My photos of the last nāʻū on Oʻahu: www.flickr.com/photos/50823119@N08/4756043721 / www.flickr.com/photos/50823119@N08/4756045197 / www.flickr.com/photos/50823119@N08/4756682758 / www.flickr.com/photos/50823119@N08/4756044067 / www.flickr.com/photos/50823119@N08/4756683066 / www.flickr.com/photos/50823119@N08/4756043259 /   The beautiful fragrant flowers were strung into lei by early Hawaiians, even as they are sometimes used today.  Kapa anvils or kua kuku on which kapa was beaten in the second-stage process was made from the wood of nāʻū.  The intense orange-yellow colored pulp of the fruit was also used to dye to kapa a rich yellow by early Hawaiians for the aliʻi. This vibrant color used for kapa was called nāʻū or nānū, after the plant itself.  NPH00009 nativeplants.hawaii.edu/plant/view/Gardenia_brighamii