Uhiuhi
The native Hawaiian dry forest provided an abundance of useful materials in traditional Hawaiian society. It supported more plant and animal species than the Hawaiian rain forest, and like the rain forest, was a source of beauty and inspiration. One of the most valuable dry forest plants was Uhiuhi, a tree in the legume family (Fabaceae). It is often found with other culturally significant plants, such as kauila (Colubrina oppositifolia), wiliwili (Erythrina sandwicensis), and hala pepe (Pleomele hawaiiensis). The uhiuhi grows up to 36 feet tall and has attractive pink seedpods and pink to red flowers. The sapwood is light-colored while the heartwood is dark and so dense it sinks in water.
Uhiuhi wood was used to make house poles, runners for holua sleds, `o`o (digging sticks), carrying poles, pahoa (daggers), clubs, kapa beaters, la`au kahi wauke(scraping boards for making kapa), and wooden implements to cut kalo. Uhiuhi leaves and bark were mixed with other plants for medicine to purify the blood, according to some early accounts.1 Lei-maker Marie McDonald believes that the flowers were likely used in traditional lei, even though such use is unrecorded. People would have made, worn, and kept these lei as mementos of their visits to the mountains and seashore, McDonald says.2
Uhiuhi was especially useful to lawai`a (fishers). One of the most interesting uses was as a bait stick, la`au melomelo. Typically, the bait stick was narrow at one end and broader on the other, with a knob on the narrow end to which a line was attached. The bait stick was charred over the fire, and before it was used, rubbed with kukui nut or coconut oil. The stick was then smeared with bait and lowered into the water to attract fish into nets. Bait included roasted `ala `ala he`e (octopus ink sac), roasted coconut flesh, and various aromatic leaves.3 Another bait consisted of `ala `ala he`e mixed with the juice from the `auhuhu (Tephrosia sp.) plant, a Polynesian introduction with fish-stunning qualities similar to the native `akia (Wikstroemia spp. ).4 Uhiuhi wood was also used to make `o i`a, long spears used in torch fishing on the reefs, and to catch `o`opu hue (puffers and balloon fish) and muhe`e (cuttlefish) in shallow water. Spears to catch he`e (octopus) were also made from uhiuhi, as were makau mano (shark hooks).5
Most of the habitat of uhiuhi has been destroyed by cattle grazing, introduced feral and game mammals, fire, and weeds. Uhiuhi used to be found in the dry forests of Kaua`i west of Waimea Canyon and on Maui, but it is now believed to be extinct on these two islands. On O`ahu, it is still found in Makaleha Valley in the Wai`anae mountains and at Pu`u Pane in the Ka`ala Natural Area Reserve. It has been extirpated, though, from the Wailupe area of O`ahu, and was last seen in the island’s Makua Valley in 1931. A single uhiuhi tree, discovered in the early 1990s, remains in the ahupua`a of Kaohai on Lana`i. On the Big Island, uhiuhi was known historically from the North Kona District. The largest Big Island population of uhiuhi today is at Pu`uwa`awa`a, with the trees also found in the nearby land divisions of Pu`u Anahulu, Ka`upulehu, and Kealakehe.
Fewer than 100 uhiuhi trees in 10 populations remain in the wild. In 1986, uhiuhi was placed on the endangered species list. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s recovery plan for this endangered plant, uhiuhi has drastically declined over the past two centuries as a result of cattle grazing and feral ungulates. Wildfires are the biggest threat to remaining populations. Populations and individuals of uhiuhi in North Kona were extirpated by major wildfires in 1986, 1988, and 1993. Fire, cattle, feral sheep and goats, axis deer, mouflon, fountain grass, and the introduced black twig borer (Xylosandrus compactus) threaten uhiuhi in its natural habitat.
The Fish and Wildlife Service was expected to propose critical habitat designation for uhiuhi and other endangered Big Island plants by the end of last month. (For more information on proposed critical habitat for threatened and endangered Hawaiian plants and animals, go to [url=http://www.protectparadise.com.)]www.protectparadise.com.)[/url] At the state level, the Hawai`i Division of Forestry and Wildlife is drafting a plan to protect the natural and cultural resources at Pu`uwa`awa`a, with the plan scheduled to be brought in August to the Board of Land and Natural Resources for approval. However, the state lacks sufficient funds to manage and protect Pu`uwa`awa`a, which is why a management plan proposed by DOFAW a decade ago was never implemented. In the meantime, cattle, sheep, and goats continue to degrade the dry forest, and DOFAW proposes to plant 50 uhiuhi seedlings in fenced areas at Pu`uwa`awa`a this summer.
Save the Hawaiian Dry Forest
It should come as no surprise that so many native dry forest plants and animals are in danger of extinction. Approximately 90 percent of Hawai`i’s dry forest has been destroyed. If we lose native Hawaiian plants and animals, we lose a part of our world. The beauty of the islands is diminished. And the Hawaiian traditions that are based on these species will also be lost. The actions we take – or fail to take – today will determine whether there is any native dry forest left for future generations to know and enjoy.
Each year, in conjunction with National Wildlife Week and Earth Day, the Conservation Council for Hawai`i produces a poster on a different theme in Hawaiian natural history. This year’s poster celebrates the dry forest of Pu`uwa`awa`a, depicting its beauty and calling attention to its ongoing destruction. For more information on the poster and how you can help save Pu`uwa`awa`a, call CCH on the Big Island at 968-6360 or go to [url=http://www.conservation-hawaii.com]www.conservation-hawaii.com[/url]
1. Kaaiakamanu and Akina (1922) in Ethnobotanical Uses of Endangered Hawaiian Plant Species by Benton Keali`i Pang (1994) 2. Ka Lei: The Leis of Hawai`i by Marie A. McDonald (1978) 3. Arts and Crafts of Hawai`i by Peter H. Buck (1964) 4. Hawaiian Dictionary by Mary Kawena Pukui and Samuel H. Elbert (1968) and La`au Hawai`i Traditional Hawaiian Uses of Plants by Isabella Aiona Abbott (1992) 5. Plants in Hawaiian Culture by Beatrice H. Krauss (1993)
— Marjorie Ziegler
Volume 12 Number 11 May 2002
Leave a Reply