“Pūnono,” meaning “gorgeously red, ever-beautiful; flushed red,” is representative of this limu’s most striking feature—its color. From its anchored base, the limu stands upright making it one of the tallest limu. “Māewa,” glossed as “swaying, as something with an anchored base, as seaweed,” reflects this limu’s graceful and elegant hula-like moves in the ocean’s current. “Ewa” is intended to represent the term “lewa,” which holds two intentions in the name. Lewa, meaning “limber-jointed, of admired hula dancers,” embodies the likeness of this limu to a beautiful hula dancer. Moreover, as one of the deepest-found limu, lewa defines the deep ocean in which this limu thrives.
