b2838573c4e1722127fe387dbdcc0c2e

TitlePsydrax odorata
Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
Rating3
VettedTrusted
Description
Alaheʻe or Walaheʻe [syn. Canthium odoratum] Rubiaceae Indigenous to the Hawaiian Islands  Oʻahu (Cultivated)  Tannish-colored "ripe" pollen shown here.  Compare with www.flickr.com/photos/50823119@N08/5187891385/  Reportedly a dark brown or black dye was produced from the leaves of alaheʻe by early Hawaiians.  Spears, from 6 to 13 feet long, were fashioned for capturing heʻe (octopus) and were often made from alaheʻe. The hardwood was used for farming tools such as ʻōʻō, fishhooks, shark hooks (makau manō) with bone points, short spears (ʻo), and dip nets for fish and crabs. The wood was also made into adze blades for cutting softer wood such as wiliwili and kukui.  Medicinally, the leaves and "the white skin of the stem" are prepared by cooking and the bitter medicine is drunk to cleanse the blood.  NPH00006 nativeplants.hawaii.edu/plant/view/Psydrax_odorata
Original URLhttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4133/5188493676_e1c0de9def_o.jpg
photographerDavid Eickhoff
providerFlickr: EOL Images
Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith