Biology:Leptecophylla tameiameiae
| Leptecophylla tameiameiae | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Ericaceae |
| Genus: | Leptecophylla |
| Species: | L. tameiameiae
|
| Binomial name | |
| Leptecophylla tameiameiae | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Cyathodes tameiameiae Cham. & Schltdl.[1] | |
Leptecophylla tameiameiae, known as pūkiawe or maiele in the Hawaiian language, is a species of flowering plant that is native to the Hawaiian and Marquesas Islands.[3] The specific epithet honors King Kamehameha I, who formed the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. It grows as a tree up to 4.6 m (15 ft) tall in forests and as a shrub 0.9–3 m (3.0–9.8 ft) 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.[2] Pūkiawe is found in a variety of habitats in Hawaii at elevations of 15–3,230 m (49–10,597 ft), including mixed mesic forests, wet forests, bogs, and alpine shrublands.[4]
Ecology
Pūkiawe is a hardy, adaptive, and morphologically variable plant that occupies a variety of ecosystems, from dry forest up to alpine bogs and shrublands.[5] Despite being common, it is difficult to propagate, taking months to years for seeds to germinate and growing very slowly.[6]
The nēnē and other birds eat the berries of this shrub and thus distribute it.[6]
Human Uses
Native Hawaiians would inhale ground leaves of the pūkiawe to treat congestion, and used the fruit to make lei.[4]
Hawaiian nobility used the smoke of pūkiawe to modify their mana before interacting with people of lower caste. [7][5] The bodies of executed criminals were cremated on pyres of pūkiawe to drive the mana from their bones and ensure their ghosts were harmless.[5]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 {{citation | mode = cs1 | title = Leptecophylla tameiameiae | work = Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) | url = https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxonomydetail.aspx?id=480974 | publisher = [[Organization:Agricultural Research ServAgricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) | access-date = 2009-11-18 }}
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Little Jr., Elbert L.; Roger G. Skolmen (1989). Pūkiawe. United States Forest Service. http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/forestry/trees/CommonTreesHI/CFT_Styphelia_tameiameiae.pdf.
- ↑ "Styphelia tameiameiae". Hawaiian Native Plant Propagation Database. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. http://www2.hawaii.edu/~eherring/hawnprop/sty-tame.htm. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Pukiawe". Hawaiian Ethnobotany Online Database. Bernice P. Bishop Museum. http://www2.bishopmuseum.org/ethnobotanydb/resultslite.asp?search=pukiawe. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Hall, John B. (2008). A hiker's guide to trailside plants in Hawaiʻi. Honolulu, Hawaiʻi: Mutual Publishing. ISBN 978-1-56647-872-4. https://mutualpublishing.com/product/a-hikers-guide-to-trailside-plants-in-hawaii/.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Elliott, Daniel Dutra; Tamashiro, Shari Y.. "Native Plants Hawaii - Viewing Plant : Leptecophylla tameiameiae". University of Hawaii. http://www.nativeplants.hawaii.edu/plant/view/Leptecophylla_tameiameiae.
- ↑ Wagner, Warren L.; Herbst, Derral R.; Sohmer, S.H.; Mill, Susan W.; Wilson-Ramsey, Yevonn (1990). Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawaiʻi. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. pp. 590–591. ISBN 9780824811525. https://archive.org/details/manualofflowerin0001wagn.
External links
Wikidata ☰ {{{from}}} entry
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