''Leptecophylla tameiameiae'', known as or in the
Hawaiian language, is a species of
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
that is native to the
Hawaiian and
Marquesas Islands
The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' ( North Marquesan) and ' ( South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in ...
.
The
specific epithet honors King
Kamehameha I
Kamehameha I (; Kalani Paiea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiikui Kamehameha o Iolani i Kaiwikapu kaui Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea; – May 8 or 14, 1819), also known as Kamehameha the Great, was the conqueror and first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Th ...
, who formed the
Kingdom of Hawaii. It grows as a
tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
up to tall in forests and as a
shrub in height elsewhere. Its small needle-like leaves are whitish underneath, dark green above. The round berries range in color from white through shades of pink to red.
''Pūkiawe'' is found in a variety of habitats in
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
at elevations of , including
mixed mesic forests,
wet forests,
bogs, and
alpine shrublands.
Ecology
is a hardy, adaptive, and morphologically variable plant that occupies a variety of ecosystems, from dry forest up to alpine bogs and shrublands.
Despite being common, it is difficult to propagate, taking months to years for seeds to germinate and growing very slowly.
The and other birds eat the berries of this shrub and thus distribute it.
Human Uses
Native Hawaiians would inhale ground leaves of the to treat congestion, and used the fruit to make
lei.
Hawaiian nobility
Hawaiian may refer to:
* Native Hawaiians, the current term for the indigenous people of the Hawaiian Islands or their descendants
* Hawaii state residents, regardless of ancestry (only used outside of Hawaii)
* Hawaiian language
Historic uses
...
used the smoke of to modify their
mana
According to Melanesian and Polynesian mythology, ''mana'' is a supernatural force that permeates the universe. Anyone or anything can have ''mana''. They believed it to be a cultivation or possession of energy and power, rather than being ...
before interacting with people of lower caste.
The bodies of executed criminals were cremated on pyres of to drive the mana from their bones and ensure their ghosts were harmless.
References
External links
Epacridoideae
Plants described in 1867
Trees of Hawaii
Flora of the Marquesas Islands
{{Ericaceae-stub