Hawaiian flowers are memorable blooms that are often celebrated in beautifully etched tattoo designs.
Whether tattooed individually or as part of a wider image, Hawaiian flower designs capture the cheerfully bright spirit of the tropical Hawaiian Islands.
The Melia (known also as plumeria or frangipani) symbolizes love and devotion, while other meanings associated with Hawaiian include positive energy and Ohana (family).
While Luau garlands, palms and vibrant Melia automatically come to mind when thinking of tropical flowers, Hawaii is rich with a range of blooms that you can use for inspiration when designing a tattoo.
The following collection of Hawaiian flower tattoos showcases vivid ink, cool style concepts and quality application for you to discover and help plan your next tattoo.
1. Tribal Design Tattoos
2. Upper Arm Tattoo Ideas
3. Tattoo Ideas for the Back
4. Black and Gray Tattoo Art
5. Colorful Tattoos
Source: @coop_solidtattoo via Instagram
6. Tattoo Art for the Forearm
7. Lower Leg and Foot Tattoos
8. Tattoos for the Shoulder
9. Thigh Tattoo Designs
10. Ohana Tattoos
FAQs
What does a Melia (frangipani) tattoo mean?
The Melia (known also as plumeria or frangipani) symbolizes love and devotion, particularly in the tropical Americas where the genus is native.
Due to its importance in Hawaiian culture, the Melia is often used to incorporate bright, fun elements to traditional tribal tattoo that often deploy a heavy use of black ink pattern and solidly detailed technical ink.
Other meanings associated with the frangipani bloom in Hawaii include positive energy and Ohana (family). It is also said that putting the frangipani behind the left ear signified a girl was single, and the right ear meant she was taken.
With its emphasis on love and it’s natural bright, vivid color palette, the frangipani is often tied to tattoos utilizing colorful ink and design.
Realism tattoos, memorial and remembrance art, or designs incorporating cursive lettering to enhance the message of positivity are used often.
For those prefer their tattoo designs in black and gray, their distinctive look and shape of the flowers make for gorgeous crisp linework, deft shading and shadow in black and gray tattoo pieces.
What does an ohana tattoo symbolize?
Ohana pieces make for great tattoos. In the simplest sense, ohana means family, although it goes much deeper. Ohana is a support network of the most important people in one’s life, whether they are blood relatives or not.
In this way ohana is more than family. Ohana eschews the concept of family being a static unit and instead treats it as a malleable group that grows and changes.
Throughout life our ohana gets larger as we meet more people who share the same values and sense of responsibility for each other, gaining new members as they present themselves.
For many people, their introduction to the term ohana came from the Disney movie Lilo & Stitch. While this is a lovely film that uses an unlikely friendship between a young Hawaiian girl and an alien creature to demonstrate the power of this concept, in Hawaiian culture ohana is more than just a cute phrase.
Where should I place my Hawaiian flower tattoo?
Hawaiian flowers are superb for tattoo placement, as they can flourish practically anywhere.
For those collectors who opt for bright, vivacious tattoos it works for upper arm, shoulder, upper chest, hand and lower leg designs beautifully.
If you prefer a less ostentatious size and style of design, a subtly small flower on the arm, or demurely placed rib/side tattoo is a great location to put your piece of body art.
The move towards more visible designs also suit the bold Hawaiian flowers, so colorful tattoos on the hands, feet, wrist and neck are becoming more prevalent for those looking to show off a stunning nature tattoo.