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Lei Kukuna-o-ka-la

The mangroves that produce the material for the lei kukuna-o-ka-la were introduced to Hawai'i in 1922.

The stiff yellow to red calyxes resembling the rays of the sun, are gathered from trees that grow at the mouths of streams in brackish water during the later summer and through the fall when they are plentiful.

One really doesn't appreciate the lei kukuna-o-ka-la until one has gathered the calyxes for oneself and has fought off the mosquitoes and sloshed knee deep in swamp mud and water.  Appreciation increases when one discovers the lei kukuna-o-ka-la will keep well for more than a week and is even wearable after it is completely dried.

Reference:  Ka Lei, The Leis of Hawaii by Marie A. McDonald