Plants of Old Hawaii is a book about the twenty major plants the original Hawaiians brought with them from the South Pacific around A.D. 450 when they settled the Hawaiian Islands.

The book includes illustrations by Joan Fleming of each plant and its flower and fruit, as well as plant descriptions, habitats, uses, legends, and proverbs. A poem about each plant and its uses by Julie Williams, a classroom teacher at the Kamehameha Schools, enhances the factual information provided by the author and will delight the reader.

Plants of Old Hawaii grew out of Lois Lucas' many years of teaching Hawaiian culture, history, and botany; out of the planning and cultivation of the Hawaiian Garden at Punahou; and from her acquaintance with Beatrice Krauss of Lyon Arboretum.