Hawaii Magazine Spoiler alert: It’s not native to the Islands. Apr 27, 2021 With the plumeria tree. “I was amazed at all the varieties,” says Brunner, who now owns Maui Plumeria Gardens in Haʻikū on Maui with more than 400 trees. “There was the common Celadine, but there were also reds and pinks and different shapes of petals. They had a nice, fresh, floral scent. It always represented to me what Hawaiʻi was.” A lot of people feel exactly the same way. Plumeria is still one of the most popular lei in Hawaiʻi. Visitors love the sweet fragrance and bold colors of the flowers, which are starting to bloom all over the state right now.