Anthurium Hawaiian Culture Shirt - Aloha Tee, Hawaii Heritage Gift, Pacific Islander

Anthurium looks like a flower that someone painted and forgot to dull down — a single waxy heart-shaped spathe in deep red or pink, with a slender spadix curling out of the center. This design honors that bold, almost cartoon-clear shape.

Anthurium andraeanum was introduced to Hawai'i in 1889 from Colombia, and the windward Big Island around Hilo turned out to have ideal growing conditions — warm, wet, partial shade — so much so that Hawai'i became one of the world's leading commercial growers of anthurium for decades. The flower is often called a "flamingo flower" or "heart flower," and its long vase life (often four to six weeks) made it a favorite for ʻohana gatherings, hotel arrangements, and exported floral shipments to the mainland.

For locals, it's the cut flower that lasts long enough to be passed between two households. For visitors, it's the heart-shaped bloom you couldn't stop noticing in every hotel lobby and farmers market table.

Soft unisex tee. Multiple sizes and colorways available.