The winner this year was Kayli Kaiulani Carr, with her traditional performance in the hula video here.
I really liked the Wood Rose hula by a runner-up for the award, Kayshlyn Keauliʻimailani Victoria De Sa, with costume here:
So what is this flowery plant about which the hula is written? Actually, there are two Hawaiian wood roses! One is a kind of morning glory known for its ergoloid-containing seed, the baby woodrose:
... and one imported invasive vine, the Pilikai vine, Merremia tuberosa:
... and I believe the imported, rather invasive one is the one referred to in the hula.
I've been fighting this invasive wood rose vine for the past four years in one corner of our lot: once established, it continually re-sprouts when cut or pulled, from small tubers it makes underground from its deep roots. The dang thing can grow almost a foot in a single day. That vine does have very attractive yellow flowers, and the dried, flowery seed pods make nice leis or necklaces, but it can smother a small tree in just weeks. So though the hula was beautiful, its theme might not have resonated completely, I think.
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