`A`ohe hua o ka mai`a i ka la ho`okahi.
(Bananas do not fruit in a single day.)
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English name: |
Banana
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Family name:
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Musaceae
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Scientific name:
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Musa acuminata/Musa sapientum
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Introduced by:
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Polynesian introduction and Native varieties
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Origin:
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India
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HABITAT
Mai`a usually grows in moist areas that are wind protected or planted around dwellings or on well-watered banks of taro lo`i. It can grow on median forest belts from an altitude of 1500 to 3000 ft. and on lower fringes of the forests.
CHARACTERISTICS
Leaves: Mai`a is a giant herb, about 10 - 15 feet tall, with parallel venation on leaves that are about 6 feet long.
Stem: It has an underground stem known as rhizome and its above ground stem is really a pseudostem consisting of tightly appressed leaf sheaths.
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Flowers: Its flowers are borne on thick, erect or drooping stem issuing from the top of the trunk or center of the leaf cluster. The male flowers are at the tip and the female at the base of the inflorescence, with a large red spathe.
Fruit: The flowers develop into simple fleshy fruits with little or no seeds at all. Generally the banana is seedless(parthenocarpic fruit).
There were over 70 varieties of native mai`a, such as the manini, mahoe, hapai, kahiki, eleele, etc. During Liholiho's time, some kinds of banana were kapu to women, death being the penalty for disobedience. There are lots of Hawaiian myth associated with banana. The Hawaiian literature is rich in the use of similes referring to bananas: "his skin was like a ripe banana" or "his beauty returned like the beauty of a young banana leaf".
ECONOMIC VALUES
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Banana has many worldwide uses: leaves for house roofs, umbrellas, plates, cattle feed, cigarette papers, clothing and packing materials; leaf buds for vegetables; leaf sheaths for water runways and in Hawaii as containers for leis or plants to be transported. The leaf sheaths were used for thatching, for stringing leis, dor tying, for plaiting into clothing and for cloth and thread. In the Philippines, the flowers are cooked and eaten as vegetables. The flowers, fruit and roots are used medicinally in some parts of the world. In India the ashes are used for dyeing, tanning, in curries and substitute for salt. From the fruit: alcohol, vinegar and wine can be produced.
According to a Hawaiian legend: Pele, the goddess of volcanoes, brought the banana to Hawaii, where it was believed that it's bad luck to dream of bananas or to meet a person carrying them and to carry bananas as part of a lunch on a fishing trip. A banana stalk was used in lieu of a human sacrifice.
I maika`i ke kalo i ka `oha.
(The goodness of the taro is judged by the young plant it produces.)
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Hawaiian name: |
Kalo
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Family name:
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Araceae
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Scientific name:
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Colocasia esculenta
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Introduced by:
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Polynesian introduction
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Origin:
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India.
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DISTRIBUTION
Taro traveled through China and Japan, southward to Indonesia, taken to Melanesia and then into Polynesia. Earliest Polynesian settlers brought taro around 450 A.D.
HABITAT
Hawaii primarily grows wetland taro in patches (lo`i) that are directly irrigated from rivers or streams and taro thrives best in aerated moving water. They can tolerate swampy or marshy conditions and a fair level of acidity. Best adapted in warm, moist, tropical environment.
Dry land taro, though grown in Hawaii is more common in other parts of the Pacific,and grown in areas of high rainfall as they generally depend on natural precipitation. It can be cultivated in uplands as high as 4000 ft.
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CHARACTERISTICS
Leaves: Taro is an herbaceous perennial with clusters of smooth heart-shaped leaves. The leaf blades may be green, purple or mottled. The leaf stems (petioles) may be green, reddish, black or variegated.
Stem: The top of the leaf stem is bent so the leaf tips point down. Nearly 300 forms of Hawaiian taro have been recorded. Differences were based on size, shape, color of leaf and stem, and flowers.
Flowers: The flowers are small and clustered on fleshy tubular spike with sterile at tip and middle, fertile male between and female below.
ECONOMIC VALUES
Taro functions primarily as a food source. It was documented in Chinese books as a food source since 100 BC. Egypt, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Central America and Africa consumed the carbohydrate corm as well. Taro was more than just the principal staple food in Hawaii. Hawaiians have an attachment to taro , taro was the first-born and superior to man. This closeness with the taro plant was evident in its impressive cultivation and many uses. It had religious, medicinal and functional art purposes on top of being the main staple food.
As a food source it was so important that it was referred to simply as `ai, which means food in Hawaiian. Practically the entire plant is edible. The leaves were cooked and eaten like spinach. The stems were placed inside laulaus to keep the meat moist. But the corm was the main reason for its cultivation. The corm was cooked; otherwise the raphides would cause great discomfort to the mouth and throat, and usually pounded with sparse amounts of water to make a paste. This was consumed in large quantities, as rice is consumed in Asia. A dessert was also made out of the corm called kulolo. This was a combination of fresh grated taro, coconut cream, and sweetened by the juice from the sugarcane. Taro had an impact on religion as well.
Occasionally taro was substituted for fish offerings at various shrines. The taro was also considered to be a kinolau (body form) of the god Kane, the great life giver. It was a phallic symbol and kapu (forbidden) to women. Because women were considered to be impure they were not allowed to handle the taro, including the raising, harvesting, or making of poi.
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Medicinally the raw corm shavings were mixed with other plants and the juice was ingested to treat constipation and indigestion. The raw leaf stems were used to relieve the pain and prevent swelling from insect stings and bites and the leaves were used to treat asthma.
According to Abbott, although it was not common practice, the petioles (stalk) was sometimes used to make dots or semicircle designs on kapa (cloth). In fact, certain varieties were used as a source of red kapa dye. As you can see the taro was a part of every aspect of Hawaiian life.
The unique flat lands and abundant fresh water allowed the Hawaiians to cultivate the taro like no other populace. Perhaps the Hawaiians deviated from breadfruit as the staple food because upon arrival there were no such trees and the propagules that they brought with them took three to five years to bear fruit. Fortunately certain varieties of taro matured within six to twelve months and could stay in the lo`i for up to 24 months, serving as a storehouse as well.
Today you can find taro products in all large American supermarkets. A few such items include taro chips, taro bread, poi, poi cheesecake, taro pan, taro English muffins and kulolo. Taro is also highly digestible, so much so that it is bottled as baby food. Although we as consumers lack the history and culture to appreciate such an amazing plant, we can all appreciate the delicious products made possible by taro.
Taro is the staple of Hawaiians. It is considered the kinolau (body form) of the great God Kane (procreator and giver of life). Taro is culturally connected to the people as a root superior and older than the people. The royal taro of apu wai collected rainwater in the cup-shaped leaves and was considered sacred and pure because it never touched the grounds, thus was used for Hawaiian blessings.
He `uala ka `ai ho`ola koke i ka wi.
(The sweet potato is the food that ends famine quickly.)
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English name: |
Sweet potato
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Family name:
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Convolvulaceae
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Scientific name:
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Ipomoea batatas
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Introduced by:
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Polynesian introduction
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Origin:
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South America and Africa
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DISTRIBUTION
Three lines of origin from S. America: Batata, Camote and Kumara lines. The Batata and Camote lines were established in Central America before the arrival of the Europeans, Columbus carried batata then spread eastward and reached China in 1525 and Kyushu in 1620. The camote line took a direct route to Asia, being carried across the Pacific from Western Mexico to the Philippines, by Magellan in the 16th century. This line could have transferred to Ryukyus then to Japan about the same time as the batata line. The Kumara line was introduced to Polynesia, was thought to have arrived first in Marquesas and then passed from the Society Islands, Easter Island and Hawaii.
HABITAT
`Uala is best adapted in warm, moist, tropical environment. It can grow in drier areas, from low altitudes to 5,000 feet or more. The species is grown here in Hawaii in moist soils and planted in mounds with mulch. Their enlarged primary roots called "tuber" is harvested by "milking" (in Hawaii). The species can be propagated by cuttings or slips on ridges, individual mounds or flat grounds. It needs plenty of sun and light showers to maximize its growth. It prefers soil with good aeration and sandy loam, with slightly acid pH.
CHARACTERISTICS
Stem: Sweet potato is a perennial herbaceous twiner. It's a vigorous plant with purple to green stem.
Leaves: The dark green leaves vary in shape and size from heart-shaped to five-lobed or five-angled.
Root: It produces a large tuberous roots that ranges in color from white to yellow to orange to purple.
Flowers: The flowers are funnel-shaped, pinkish lavender in color, and complete, perfect and regular in shape. It produces a fleshy fruit.
ECONOMIC VALUES
The sweet potato was the main food of the Maoris of New Zealand and was believed to be the personification of Rongo, the son of the god Tane. There were many rites of planting and digging, ending with a feast.
It is said to have been cultivated in Hawaii since A.D. 1000. In the island of Niihau, where it was abundant, it was eaten more than taro. Kane Pua`a (man and pig) is the Hawaiian god of the sweet potato. The tubers are rich in carbohydrates (3%), 1.5 to 2.0 % protein and about 70% water. The tubers are consumed after cooking in the imu or boiled in the pot. The leaves and tender shoots are eaten as vegetables. The juice from the enlarged roots can be extracted and fermented and made into alcoholic drink (`uala`awa`awa). Other plant parts can be used as animal feed and old leaves and stems used as padding for mats. It is known as 2nd staple for the Hawaiians.
Ni`ihau i ka uhi pahe`e.
(Ni`ihau of the slippery yam.)
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Other Hawaiian Name: | Ulehihi |
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English name: |
Edible Yam
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Family name:
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Dioscoreaceae
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Scientific name:
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Dioscorea alata
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Introduced by:
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Polynesian
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Origin:
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South East Asia
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HABITAT
Grows best in wet gulches and forests, where and the branches of trees serve as supports for this vine. It prefers the tropical climate and the Pacific islands. This is a very easily grown plant that succeeds in most fertile well-drained soils. It prefers a position in full sun, though it will also succeed in semi-shade
CHARACTERISTICS
Stem: This is an herbaceous vine that needs stakes or tree trunks to grow on. The stems are square in cross section and with wings that are green or reddish colored.
Leaves: The leaves are 3-6 inches long, ovate or heart-shaped and arranged oppositely on the nodes of the stem.
Root: This species do not produce aerial tubers (look like hanging potatoes). Its primary roots become enlarged into tubers that are very variable in shape (could be elongated or flat) and size. Some of the tubers are long and cylindrical with "toes" and are rough and scaly.
Fowers: Uhi produces male and female flowers borne in separate inflorescences (flower cluster) on the same plant (monecious plant). Both types of flowers are small, inconspicuous without petals, and with light yellow or greenish yellow calyx. Capsules, with flat or winged seeds, are formed as fruits of uhi.
ECONOMIC VALUES
Uhi is eaten as carbohydrate food as kalo and `uala, and was prepared by cooking them in the imu. It was not made into poi because it was mealy, not smooth as taro. It was said to be highly digestible. The tubers can be boiled, baked, fried, mashed, grated and added to soups. They store well and for a long time, and can also be left in the ground and harvested as required.
It was an ingredient in prescriptions for coughs, for counteracting vomiting of blood, for constipation, "appendicitis", apoplexy and dysentery. Yam tubers are used medicinally in China and Japan. They are seen as a sweet soothing herb that stimulates the stomach and spleen and has a tonic effect on the lungs and kidneys. The tuber contains allantoin, a cell-proliferant that speeds the healing process. It is used internally in the treatment of poor appetite, chronic diarrhea, asthma, dry coughs, frequent or uncontrollable urination, diabetes and emotional instability. It is applied externally to ulcers, boils and abscesses.
Lalau aku `oe i ka `ulu i ka wekiu, i ke alo no ka `ulu, a hala.
(You reach for the breadfruit away at the top and miss the one in front of you.)
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English name: |
Breadfruit
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Family name:
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Moraceae
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Scientific name:
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Artocarpus altilis
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Introduced by:
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Polynesian introduction
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Origin:
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Malaysia
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HABITAT
Ulu grows best in hot, moist places throughout Tropical Asia and Polynesia, especially abundant in the Marquesas. Fertile loam soil with good drainage is best for `ulu
CHARACTERISTICS
Leaves: The breadfruit is considered to be the most beautiful tree with symmetrical shape and wonderfully large leathery leaves. The leaves may be as long as 1-3 feet, cut into several blunt lobes.
Flowers: Male and female flowers are borne on separate trees. male flowers are stiff, club shaped spike 6-12 inches long, while the female flowers are round or oblong green head.
Fruit: The fruits are brownish when ripe, about 10 pounds, with tough, warty skin. Pulp is sweet and mealy and fibrous. New plants can grow from cuttings or from root sprouts.
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ECONOMIC VALUES
The fruit serves as a carbohydrate food source and the wood has many uses as well. Although it is not a staple food in Hawaii it is the staple food in Marquesas and is eaten throughout Polynesia.
The `ulu (breadfruit) held a special place in the hearts of the Hawaiians. This is best explained by the myth of its origin which claims that during a time of famine Ku, the god of building and war, turned into an `ulu tree so his wife and children would not starve. Being that it is a kinolau (body form) of Ku it is kapu (forbidden) to women. Thus `ulu served mainly as a famine food in Hawai'i.
The `ulu tree served many important functions aside from a source of food. The Hawaiians used the wood for canoes (ocean vessels), the trunks were hollowed out to make drums and short surfboards, and the sap was used for caulking and to catch birds. The fibers were sometimes used to make an inferior kapa (bark cloth) and the male inflorescence provided a dye that ranged in color from yellow to tan to brown, depending on its maturity. The breadfruit design is popular for the Hawaiian quilts.
In Samoa the fruit is preserved by burying when the crop is great. In Marquesas each child at birth, is given a tree, because they believe that 1 or 2 trees will support a person for life. In 1792 Bligh's expedition brought 1200 `ulu trees from Tahiti to Jamaica, where it spread to the Carribean. In Tahiti, the `ulu was a gift of a loving father to his family during famine times. The father grew as an `ulu tree that fed his hungry family.
