Nānū - Hawaiian Gardenia Drop Earrings

Pretty Nānū flowers to dangle from your lobes, also known as Na'u and Hawaiian gardenia. Nānū are wonderfully fragrant, but sadly endangered. We carved this little bloom to raise awareness of such a pretty and useful plant.

Choose from a citrine (to mirror the colors of the gardenia) blue topaz, garnet or dark pink tourmaline.

Part of our Kahakai Lei Collection, Hawaiians would use nānū in both strung lei and in lei po'o (head lei) but so much more - read more below. Wear nānū and let our Hawaiian history live on. Our Nānū earrings feature hand carved native Hawaiian flowers of Gardenia brighamii, or Hawaiian Gardenia, and are available in sterling silver and (vermeil coming soon), solid gold on request.

• Nānū flower measures 15mm across, leaf is approx 11mm
• Low tarnish sterling silver or 18K vermeil
• Choose from garnet, citrine, london blue topaz or pink tourmaline
• Sterling silver (gold fill ear wires for vermeil)
• Also available as a charm in the O Ke Kai Collection
• Lead and nickel free
• Made in Hawaii
• For studs or other questions, please Contact us

About Nānū

Nānū (gardenia brighamii), has glossy green leaves, and white flowers with a yellow center. Unlike the gardenias most of us are familiar with, nānū are only about 2" across. In old Hawaii nānū  had many uses. The fragrant flowers were used as adornment and in lei making. The wood was used for making kapa anvils (kua kuku), and the fruit's orange-yellow pulp was used to dye kapa, distinguished as a color that doesn't fade when dried. The plant is also edible, flowers can be used in tea, or eaten raw, cooked, pickled or even preserved in honey. The tart fruits can be eaten raw or in cooked food as well. While nānū  is thought to have been found on all Hawaiian islands, it is now nearly extinct in its natural habitat. According to various reports, on Oahu there is either just one or possibly two different wild plants in native habitats remaining. Additionally, there is one in Lyon Arboretum, and another in Koko Head Crater, and is known to be relatively easily cultivated. This plant is endemic and considered endangered.

US Shipping: The good news – shipping for all US orders over $100 is free!  Otherwise our standard shipping rates are $9.99 anywhere in the US (8.99 in Hawaii).  If you are fortunate enough to live in Hawaii, we are happy to arrange a pick up.

International shipments: Please be patient while your purchase makes its way to you, we are a long way from most places. In fact, Hawaii is the most remote place from any other land mass in the world! Know that we will diligently get your order out as soon as we can, but that even with the best of timing, it may still take a few weeks to arrive. If you would like it sent somewhere not in our shipping list, please contact us or email at hello@alohikai.com and we’ll look into it for you.

Timing: ‘Alohi Kai jewelry is shipped from Hawaii, and some jewelry will be made to order which takes a bit of time. If we have it in stock, we’ll ship it out immediately. For silver pieces made to order, allow 1-3 days to ship; vermeil can take up to an additional 2-3 weeks to finish.  If you have a deadline earlier than this, send us a note to be sure – we may have one we can ship immediately. We generally use priority mail (5-7 days for shipping), but please allow 2-3 weeks delivery.

Our shipping is generally done via USPS First Class mail, however if you need something faster, and we have it in stock, we can send it priority mail (3-5 days from ship date), please email us at hello@alohikai.com to arrange it.