University of Hawaii researchers have bred a new type of pincushion protea that can grow in hotter, lower-elevation areas, opening up new farming opportunities for growers across the islands.

• A UH Manoa team led by Professor Kenneth Leonhardt spent years breeding the flower to handle heat.
• Until now, this protea only grew in the cool mountain air of upper Maui and the Big Island.
• The new heat-tolerant version lets more farmers grow it at lower, warmer elevations.
• UH has already given out more than 11,000 of the new plants to growers on the Big Island.

Outlook: Wider availability of this heat-tolerant protea should help expand Hawaii's flower farming industry to new growing regions.