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Anthurium flowers are closely linked with Hawaii in the minds of many. But did you know that the anthurium is not native to Hawaii? In fact, it came from more than a thousand miles away. How did it get to Hawaii and how did the anthurium industry get started there? The genus Anthurium has between 600 to 800 species and it is indigenous to South America. The bulk of the species are dispersed in warm climates throughout Central as well as South America. Where it tends to live in mountainous regions where there are wet rain forests. Of the enormous genus, one species, A. andreanum, is responsible for virtually all of the distinctive kinds of cut flowers that are bought today. A. andreanum was introduced to Hawaii in 1889 by Samuel Damon, and over the course of a hundred years, it has become closely associated with Hawaii. Initially, growers propagated them through cuttings. But once growers discovered how to propagate them by seeds, a substantial explosion in colors and sizes occurred, because growers able to use selective breeding to create brand new varieties. As more new varieties were produced, a cottage industry popped up in Hawaii. Farmers who raised plants in their yards, beneath tangerine trees or tree ferns, started selling their blossoms to Hawaiian flower retailers in the 1940s. Little by little, farmers outgrew their gardens and started growing their flowers in large shade houses, which were constructed out of steel cables and shade cloth. The advent of plane travel, brought more and more people to Hawaii, where they were introduced to the anthurium. Air travel also permitted the export of anthuriums to the rest of the world. Flowers that would never survive a long boat ride could now make it to distant lands in a matter of days. This has allowed Hawaii's anthurium growers to market their blooms to the whole world.
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