This short-sleeved aloha shirt by McInerny’s features the kahili ginger (Hedychium gardnerianum), a plant native to the Himalayas in India, Nepal and Bhutan but found everywhere in Hawai‘i. It got its name from its appearance: kahili, in Hawaiian, is a feather standard or long pole decorated at one end with a cluster of feather plumes. It’s long been a symbol of royalty. This plant was introduced to the Islands from eastern India because of its ornamental value in the early 19th century. But since then — and despite its beauty and fragrant pale yellow flowers — it’s considered one of the worst invasive species in the world.
