Canoe Plants and Noni
Noni became one of the main healers of the traditional Hawaii medicinal plants as a result of being stowed in the canoes of early Polynesian settlers. It grows well in a dry coastal habitat as well as lowland forests and had many traditional and medicinal uses.
Also known as Indian Mulberry, Noni is a small evergreen shrub or tree that grows 10 to 20 feet high. The leaves are dark green, shiny, short-stemmed, and oval in shape, 8 to 16 inches long and 4 to 10 inches wide. Noni (Morinda citrifolia) has tubular, white flowers less than one inch long with a 5-lobed corolla. The flowers are clustered into rounded heads, which produce warty-looking fruits about 4 inches in diameter. The fruit begins green, turns yellow, and ripens to white, and then falls from the tree. It has a solid, whitish-yellow flesh that is well known for its foul smell as well as its unpleasant taste. The fruit contains oblong, reddish-brown seeds that are attached to small air sacs. These air sacs provide a flotation mechanism that has aided in the plant’s wide dispersal.
Noni was planted by the early Hawaiians for traditional and medicinal uses. The leaves were used as flavoring to wrap fish, meats, and foods during cooking. The fruits were believed to be an appetite and brain stimulant. The wood was used in construction of canoe parts and paddles, axe and adze handles, and digging sticks. A fetid oil obtained from seeds was used as an insect repellent. It was also believed that ghosts were repelled by the odor of the fruit. Noni was also used to create dyes (hili noni) for kapa (tapa). The bark produces a brownish-purplish dye, while a yellow dye can be prepared from the root.
Noni was one of the most significant sources of medicines among the Hawaiian islands. Leaves, fruits, stems, and roots are all used in various medicinal preparations. The fruit of noni was thoroughly pounded and mashed, and then squeezed and strained to extract the sap. The sap of the fruit was also added to various medicinal elixir formulations, including an enema, a scalp insecticide, a poultice for boils, skin problems, deep cuts, and fractures. A drink called ‘aumiki was made with the juice of the noni fruit, and was consumed after drinking ‘awa to counter any negative effects it might produce. The fruit and flowers were consumed as a treatment for bladder and kidney disorders. Noni was also used for chest pain, to sooth aching joints, as a laxative, jaundice, hypertension, urinary ailments, stomach ulcers, and fever.
