April 22, 2007

Ti

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Ti (Cordyline fruticosa)

I’m learning so much as I prepare these posts about plants commonly found in Hawaii. I’ve “always known” that ti plays an important part in sacred ceremonies and is still sometimes used to announce a kapu (taboo.) I have seen them used in blessing ceremonies for homes and cars. Yes cars. People proudly affix the ti used to bless their vehicle to their grill or rear bumper and leave them until they eventually fall away. Almost everyone here has ti planted near the entrance to their home and at the four corners to keep away bad spirits and invite blessings. In times past ti was used to announce a kapu. Thus royalty adorned themselves with ti - “sacred person, not too close” - and menstruating women did the same, so that men would not inadvertently approach and break kapu. The kapu is more subtle than the blessings, but ti, even today, reminds strangers that they are approaching a blessed home and might find themselves on the wrong side of the spirits if they enter uninvited.

I was also aware that ti is still respected and used in healing practices. Ti is one of the plants I was advised to use as a compress when I suffered a bad burn last year, and is also used to alleviate fever, headache and inflammation. Our local community clinic built a traditonal medicine center a few years ago where these practices are perpetuated. The building is surrounded by ti plants.

Laulau, a poplular Hawaiian dish, is made by baking meat, fish and vegetables in a ti-wrapped bundle. Many still make it the traditional way in an imu, an earthen oven lined with rocks, but it’s easily prepared in a modern kitchen, too. What I didn’t know until today is that ti was once an important part of the Polynesian diet. Captain Portlock noted in his journal in 1789 that he obtained “sweet root, or tee, which we met with great abundance.” He also was a great believer in using a beer made from boiled ti roots as a cure for scurvy. Early Hawaiians made a distilled version of the beer, called ‘okolehai, which is said to have a taste similar to brandy.

Packaged sections of ti stem are popular souverniers for visitors to the islands. The Department of Agriculture rigidly enforces import and export of plant items, but the packages carry their seal of approval. Scrape away the wax protecting the cut ends (red or green wax denoting the color of the plant) and submerge the stem about half way in water. It will soon sprout new leaves and roots and be ready for planting. They don’t usually attain the lush hardiness seen here when grown in cooler climates, but will do quite well if kept inside during the cold months.

Click either picture for larger versions on my flikr page.

Technorati Tags: ti, gardening in Hawaii, Hawaii, life in Hawaii, Hawaiian cultural practices

April 15, 2007

Ulu

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Note: I’m still having problems uploading photos. You can see my ulu pictures on flikr.

ulu (breadfruit, Artocarpus altilis)

As I was strolling around the neighborhood with my camera, one of the neighbors stopped me to talk. I explained that I was taking picture of some local plants for my blog, and that I was thinking about writing something about ulu. She reminded me that Hawaiians (and other Polynesians who live here) always grow uselful plants first, with ornamentals being an afterthought if space allows. Thus the abundance of papaya, mango, coconut, banana, noni, ti and ulu on the small lots in my neighborhood.

Archeological data and botanical information tell us that ulu spread throughout Micronesia and Polynesia with the migration of the Lapita from eastern Papua New Guinea at least as early as 1000 B.C. They are known to have carried taro, yams, ulu, bananas and sugarcane, all originating in Southeast Asia, to each area they poplulated. All are still found throughout the Pacific islands and greatly valued as food sources. Breadfruit remains a popular item on local tables, usually either baked or boiled. Though bland, as are most starches, it is rarely seasoned with anything more than coconut milk. In some areas it is also prepared as poi, a paste created by pounding and more popularly made with kalo (taro.) There is a pentacostal Samoan church around the corner that sells plate lunches every Saturday. They fire up their grills early in the day and the aroma of roasting pig wafts far and wide, enticing customers to their lanai for outdoor dining. The main dish is always accompanied by greens, ulu, traditional kalo poi and a dessert, usually coconut haupia (a favorite local pudding.)

Mature breadfruit are about ten inches in diameter and weigh seven to ten pounds. The trees bear from about May through November, with, I think, a longer season here on the hot and dry Leeward Coast. I was surprised to find that though I always see plenty of fruit on local trees, Hawaii’s breadfruit trees produce much less abundantly than those grown closer to the equator. The ulu holds an important place in Hawaiian history and legend, dating back to the time of Ku, who turned himself into a breadfruit tree to feed his family in a time of famine. The popularity of the breadfruit leaf in Hawaiian fabric and art reflects a local respect for its sacred nature as well as its beauty.

Technorati Tags: breadfruit, ulu, Hawaii, gardening

April 8, 2007

Pikake

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Based strictly on my own anecdotal evidence, pikake (jasmine, Jasminum sambac) is the second-most popular fragrant bloom in Hawaii. Pronounced “pee-kah-kay” in Hawaiian, it is another post-contact import and very popular in lei-making. I knew that it is used in making perfumes, but discovered only today that it is also used to flavor tea. You know I’ll have to try that soon! The large shrub outside my gate and its keiki (child) in my side yard offer double blooms. Both get direct sun throughout most days, so I’m not sure why the one out front is growing wildly out of control and the keiki is a scrawny little thing. What I do know is that both are bearing heavily now and there’s not enough benedryl on this island to keep my allergies at bay. Beauty always comes with a price!

Technorati Tags: pikake, life in Hawaii, flowers, gardening, flowering shrubs

April 1, 2007

Plumeria

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Last year I was reading a contemporary fiction story about a mainland American woman and her experiences upon moving to Hawaii. Throughout the book she referred numerous times to frangipani. Having lived here for a dozen years, I could not understand why she stated that the fragrant flower grew everywhere. I’d heard of frangipani in literary references before, but had no clue what it was or why I had not met it yet. When I finally thought to look it up, I understood. Called frangipani in Mexico and South America, it is locally known as plumeria, and it is indeed ubiquitous. Named melia in Hawaiian, they are so popular that most people here assume that they’re indigenous, but plumeria arrived as an import after Western contact. As I menioned in my last post, I react with typical allergy symptoms to its presence, but there is no getting away from it in Hawaii. I have a plumeria tree in my own yard and mostly just allow it to take care of itself. I started it from a cut stem perhaps six to eight inches long right after I bought the house ten years ago and it stands at about ten or twelve feet now. I’ve cut it back frequently because it is prone to whitefly and aphid infestations, difficult to treat in taller trees. I’m not sure what height they can attain, but there are twenty-footers in my neighborhood. New-growth branches are rubbery in look and touch, but will break with a crisp snap under pressure, so this is not a tree for climbing or propping a ladder in. Any break unleashes an oozing tide of white sap, looking and feeling much like white glue and quite poisonous, so gloves are recommended and frequent hand-washing essential when handling plumeria (though, in truth, everyone here handles them and I’ve never heard of a poisoning case. Still, better safe than sorry.) I’ve seen some trees that were never pruned and branched out to cover a circumference of twenty to thirty feet.

My plumeria blooms year-round. There are brief die-backs in blooming, but I’ve never seen a plumeria completely denuded of blossoms. I always know when a hula competition is coming up because word has gotten around that my flowers are abundant and free for the picking. Even girls too young to sew their own costumes are expert lei-makers and proud of carrying on the tradition of gathering the raw materials needed. I love to hear the call from outside my gate, “Auntie, can I pick plumeria for my lei?” They are also one of the most popular blooms found at the airport lei stands and other shops around the island. Their heady fragrance is a bonus when a single flower is tucked behind an ear. Though most women don’t bother, there are little test tube-like clips that can help keep them in place and keep sap from making a sticky mess of ones hair.

You can learn more about plumeria and see some of the other color varieties in this Wikipedia article.

Technorati Tags: plumeria, life in Hawaii, flowers, gardening, flowering trees