Capparis sandwichiana DC.

vernacular native caper — species · Capparaceae

USDA: CASA4
GBIF: 8419232 syn.
Rank: species

native caper (Capparis sandwichiana) — Platephotograph · Andy BridgesCC BY-NC source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Growth habit: Shrub
Duration: Perennial
Group: Dicot
Family: Capparaceae Juss.
Genus: Capparis

§2a

Native status, by region

HI Hawaii Native
PB Pacific Basin (except Hawaii) Native

§2b

County-level range

· 4 counties across 1 state

Legend Native · 4 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought: Medium
Shade: Medium
Salinity: High
Hedging: Low

§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance: 40 °F minimum
Frost-free days: 365 min.
Precipitation: 32–200 in/yr
pH range: 5–8
Root depth: 24 in min.

§3c

Form & growth

Growth form: Multiple Stem
Growth rate: Slow
Lifespan: Short
Mature height: 20 ft
Height @ 20 y: 15 ft
Foliage texture: Coarse
Porosity (summer): Dense
Porosity (winter): Dense
Flower colour: White
Fruit colour: Orange
Fire resistant: No
N fixation: None

§3d

Reproduction

Stratify: No
Propagation: seed, cuttings

§3e

Use & availability

Nursery stock: No
Palatable, human: No
Lumber: No
Christmas tree: No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 4 counties across 1 state.

Hawaii view state ↗ 4 N ▾

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/CASA4 ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/8419232 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26

fetched 2026-05-26T20:46:58Z