Hawaiian Plants

ʻIlima is an indigenous plant and it is characteristically known by their little beautiful yellow flowers. Although they are very pretty, they have no scent. ʻIlima has been recognized as Hawaiʻi's state flower! Traditionally, they were used to make beautiful lei. At one point, they were only reserved for royalty because they resembled the yellow feather lei that aliʻi (chiefs) used to wear. Medicinal usage: The juice from the flowers were used as a mild laxative for babies. When the root bark was mixed with the flower, it was known to help with asthma. Iʻm not sure how they ingested it, but Iʻm assuming that they mixed the juices together.

 Kalo, also known as taro, is a very important traditional plant to the Native Hawaiians. It was the primary food source and it had a strong connection to the people. Moʻolelo (Story): Wākea (sky father) and Hoʻohokulani, who was Wākea's daughter, had a stillborn child named Hāloa. They wrapped him up, put him in a basket, and buried him in the ground. From his body grew the first kalo plant. Wākea and Hoʻohokulani had a second son which they also named Hāloa. The first son was known as Hāloa naka and became the first kalo. The second son respected his sibling and took care of him, and became the first Hawaiian. Since Hāloa took such good care of Hāloa naka, the eldest brother returned the favor by providing his younger brother with sustenance and nourishment. Kalo is grown in a loʻi, which is a irrigated terrace. But kalo can be grown in wetlands and drylands. All parts of the kalo can be used. The leaves can be used to make lūʻau. The corm can be used to make poi or paʻiʻa...

ʻŌlena rhizomes may be a dull color outside but are brightly colored inside! It can be made into a fine powder to be saved and used for later. ʻŌlena is known to be the Hawaiian turmeric! It was a canoe plant that was brought over by the early polynesians. It has a very beautiful white and yellow flower, but the part that is commonly used is found within the ground. They most important part of the plant are called rhizomes, which are essentially underground stems.  The flesh can be either dark yellow or orange. It can be pounded and pressed to extract the juice, or cut and dried to be ground up into a powder. ʻŌlena is a very important plant because of it's medicinal properties. The juice of the ʻōlena helps with respiratory and ear infections. It can also be good for your sinuses. You can mix ʻōlena powder into hot water and drink it. It is very good! Whenever I'm not feeling well, my boyfriend always tells me to use ʻōlena.

Pohinahina is an indigenous plant that can be found in Hawaiʻi. This plant can also be found in Japan! Pohinahina makes for a good ground cover because this plant has long runners that span over the ground and it has beautiful little purple flowers. They say that the flowers are fragrant but for some reason I canʻt smell them haha. Native Hawaiians used to put the flowers between kapa cloth in order to keep bugs away.

Pōpolo is considered as the Hawaiian nightshade. There are three endemic species of pōpolo, but the indigenous species (Solanum americanum) is the only one that has edible fruits. Being from the nightshade family, the unripe green pōpolo berries are poisonous to eat. It accumulates a high concentration of glycoalkaloids, which are toxic to animals and humans.  The ripe purple-ish black berries are perfectly okay to eat. They actually taste like tomatoes!  Pōpolo is one of the most important and versatile Native Hawaiian medicinal plants. They were mostly used for respiratory and digestive problems, sore muscles, cuts, and other wounds. The purple berries were also used to make a dye! This is me carrying a tray full of pōpolo seedlings! This was taken just before we put these cuties into the ground. Part of my research project is to grow Native Hawaiian medicinal plants in order to gather enough material to run tests on these plants to help verify ancestral kno...

Pōhuehue, also known as the beach morning glory, is an indigenous plant that can be found on sandy beaches. This plant is vine-like and it makes good ground cover. Different species would have different color flowers. I've seen pink, purple, and white. I actually took this picture at UH Mānoa, and unfortunately this was the only flower that the plant produced. Usages According to Hui Kū Maoli Ola, pōhuehue was used as a poultice for wounds, sores, and broken bones. This plant was also used as a famine food, but if the Hawaiians consumed too much, it would be extremely dangerous because of it's chemical composition. Since it has some sort of toxicity in it, pregnant woman would eat the young leaf buds prior to giving birth so it'll decrease delivery time. I'm not sure if that's safe or not for the baby, but I guess with no modern medicine they'd try anything to quicken the process. The vines of pōhuehue were also used to make rope. Fun fact about me! I...