''Psydrax odorata'', known as ''alahee'' in Hawaiian, is a species of flowering

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

or small tree in the coffee family, Rubiaceae. It is native to the

Pacific Islands Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of se ...

, New Guinea and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Description

The species range from in height, has a spread of , and a trunk width of up to . The leaves are glossy green in colour, are up to long and elliptic. The fruits of the plant are quite round, are black in colour and 3/8 wide.

Ecology

The fruits produce many seeds which are often attacked by the larvae of ''

Alucita objurgatella ''Alucita objurgatella'', the objurgatella moth, is a moth of the family Alucitidae. It is known only from the Hawaiian islands of Kauai, Oahu, Maui and Hawaii, but is considered introduced although it could also be indigenous. The larvae feed ...

'', a species of the

many-plumed moth __NOTOC__ The Alucitidae or many-plumed mothsToL (2003) are a family of moths with unusually modified wings. Both fore- and hind-wings consist of about six rigid spines, from which radiate flexible bristles creating a structure similar to a bird ...

Habitat

The species can be found growing in dry shrub land and in dry to moist forests at elevations of up to .

Uses

Native Hawaiians Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaii ...

used the very hard wood of ''alahee'' to make ''koi alahee'' ( adzes for cutting softer woods such as '' Erythrina sandwicensis''), ''ōō'' (

digging stick A digging stick, sometimes called a yam stick, is a wooden implement used primarily by subsistence-based cultures to dig out underground food such as roots and tubers, tilling the soil, or burrowing animals and anthills. It is a term used in ar ...

s), and ''o'' (short spears). A black dye was made from the

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7256554 odorata Flora of the Pacific Flora of New Guinea Flora of Australia Plants described in 1786