Canoe Plants and Ohiaai
‘Ohi’a ‘ai was a canoe plant brought to Hawai’i by early Polynesian settlers as one of the few fruit trees available to them. Since its introduction to the Hawaiian Islands ‘Ohi’a ‘ai has grown well in low elevation mesic (moist) forest habitats, particularly in windward valleys at elevations under 1,700 feet.
‘Ohi’a ‘ai (Syzgium malaccense) grows between 15 to 40 feet in height. This tree, commonly called Mountain apple, has a gray, smooth, mottled bark. The leaves are opposite, oblong, about 5 to 12 inches long, and glossy green. After 7 to 8 years, the tree begins to flower and bear fruit. The blossoms have a dazzling hot-pink, star-burst display of hairy filaments which all secrete sweet nectars that attract birds and insects.
The waxy apple-like fruit are thin-skinned, delicate, and crimson-red with splotches of pink and white. They hang all along the branches and trunk, rather than at the ends of twigs, like some other fruit. They are 2 to 3 inches long, oval and slightly bell-shaped. Fruits mature in 60 days from the full opening of the flowers and fall quickly once fully ripe. The fruit is crisp, white, sweet, juicy, and refreshing like pears. Inside are 1 (sometimes 2) large round brown seeds.
The inner bark and root was used by early Hawaiians to produce a reddish brown dye for making patterns on tapa bark cloth, while the wood of the tree was used for house posts and rafters. Both the beautiful blossoms and fruit were used to make leis.
For medicinal purposes, the bark was crushed and its juices taken for sore throat, or mouth infections like thrush (‘ea), and the leaves were crushed and ingested for bronchitis. Juice extracted from the bark was also mashed together with sea salt (pa‘akai) and applied to cuts and skin rashes. Other medicinal uses of ‘Ohi‘a ‘ai by the early Hawaiian settlers included treatments for chest pain, abdominal problems, chills, and asthma. Young leaves from saplings (usually tinged with red) and the bark from mature trees are made into a warm drink to cleanse the mother’s body after giving birth.
