'Ohi'a lehua is an evergreen
, prostrate shrub or erect tree, growing 30 to 80 feet tall or more. Its small, most often red, but sometimes yellow, orange, salmon, or pink flowers have both male and female parts, and are grouped into showy, dense, puffy clusters. The flowers are bird- and insect-pollinated.
'Ohi'a lehua is found on medium to heavy clay soils, but also tolerates rocky and organic soils on recent lava flows. It is found in Hawaiian habitats ranging from lowland, dry shrublands and forests, to montane wet and mesic forests, and subalpine shrublands, and from high elevation bogs to dry lava flows. It is intolerant of shade.
