[syn. Hedyotis st.-johnii]Rubiaceae (Coffee family)Endemic to the Hawaiian islands (Kauai only)IUCN: Critically EndangeredKauai (Cultivated)EtymologyKadua is the oldest generic name for these species and is named in memory of M. Kadua, a native of Ulea, who sailed with Otto von Kotzebue (1787-1846), Baltic German navigator in Russian service, with the purpose of collecting plants.The specific epithet, st.-johnii, is named after Harold St. John (1892-1991), a professor of botany at University of Hawai Mnoa from 1929 to 1958 and a prolific field botanist, credited with discovering hundreds of new species.
nativeplants.hawaii.edu