Native Plants of Hawai‘i - Peperomia leptostachya

Peperomia leptostachya

Piperaceae or Pepper family

Synonyms: Peperomia arabica var. floribunda, Peperomia blanda var. floribunda, Peperomia candollei, Peperomia insularum, Peperomia leptostachya f. carnosior, Peperomia leptostachya var. nodosa

ʻAlaʻala wai nui kāne

ʻAlaʻala wai nui, ʻAlaʻala wai nui kupa liʻi, ʻAlaʻala wai nui pehu, ʻAlaʻala wai nui pōhina, ʻAwalauakāne, Kupaliʻi (Hawai‘i Island), Kūpaoa

Arid-land peperomia, Hairy peperomia, Slender peperomia

Natural Range & Environment

There are currently 25 recognized native species of Peperomia in Hawai‘i, 23 endemic species and two indigenous. Peperomia leptostachya is one of the two indigenous species. It is found from Australia (Queensland), across the Pacific from Micronesia through Melanesia and Polynesia to Hawai‘i and the Pitcairn Islands [Flora of the Hawaiian Islands]. In Hawai‘i, it is indigenous to all the main islands except Kaho‘olawe, where it is found in dry to mesic to rarely wet forests from 10 to 610[–1,675] m (33 to 2,001[5,495] ft), growing in soil [Koebele], on rocks, ledges, cliffs, ‘a‘ā lava, and sometimes trees or logs; in shaded and open spaces [Wagner et al. 1990].

Peperomia leptostachya fruit spikes with their many tiny sticky fruits (Photograph courtesy of Forest & Kim Starr CC BY 3.0.). A small ‘ala‘ala wai nui kāne can quickly grow into a (relatively) large plant. When it gets too big, consider dividing it into two or more plants or pruning it back and rooting the cut stems to create new plants for your friends. (Photograph of small plant courtesy of Greg Koob ©.) It's possible to see wild Peperomia leptostachya in quite dry sunny places as well as mesic shaded spots. (Dry sunny plant photograph courtesy of Quinn Campbell [salviadorrii] public domain.)

Description

Peperomia leptostachya is a short (about one foot [30 cm] maximum) succulent herb with the potential to live longer than five years in cultivation. In the wild, it tends to spread out as it grows. Its fleshy stems can be anywhere from all green or almost entirely red. Similarly, its thick leaves, arranged in opposite pairs (or occasionally three per node) on the stem, are green on their upper surface but can be completely green to all red on their lower surface. (Leaf color seems to be fixed for a single plant but varies between plants within and between populations.) P. leptostachya has elliptic to ovate leaves that can vary in size from about half an inch to nearly two inches long (1.3 to 5 cm), depending on environmental conditions; shaded, well-watered, and well-fertilized plants have the largest leaves.

Peperomia leptostachya has long (up to five inches [13 cm]) slender flower spikes covered with dozens of very tiny perfect (bisexual) flowers. Cultivated plants bloom sporadically year-round. The pollinated flowers develop into tiny round sticky single-seeded fruits that turn brown when fully mature.

Growth Requirements

General

ʻAlaʻala wai nui kāne is best grown as a container plant, preferably indoors, because of the threat posed by alien snails and slugs that will eagerly consume it. If kept outdoors, a hanging basket or other types of defenses like copper barriers deserve serious consideration.

Wild Peperomia leptostachya grow under a wide range of environmental conditions: cool to hot, sunny to shaded, dry to wet. Therefore, your ʻalaʻala wai nui kāne will likely be relatively "happy" regardless of the temperature, light, and moisture conditions of the site you grow it in, with the following caveats:

Make certain the media (in a container) or soil (outside) drains water extremely well. Otherwise, the roots and stems will rot, and your plant could die. Consider using a 75%-plus black cinder media mix or planting atop a pile of rocks mixed with some cinder and soil.
Water infrequently, and only when the surface media or soil is quite dry.
ʻAlaʻala wai nui kāne do need some light, so, if kept indoors, consider placing it under an artificial light source like an LED lamp or near a bright window. Some growers like to keep their plant safe indoors most of the time, occasionally taking it "on vacation" outside to get a bit more sunshine.
Indoors, every so often, clean your plant by misting it with distilled or rainwater to mimic the rainwater-washing it would normally experience outside.

Under optimum conditions, Peperomia leptostachya grows at a moderate pace such that you should have a foot-wide (30 cm) plant in about a year or two. Long before this, it should have flowered and fruited repeatedly. At this size, ʻalaʻala wai nui kāne will sometimes start to look leggy or unkept. This is a good time to divide it into two or more plants and repot. Or, consider pruning it back and rooting the cut stems to create new plants for your friends; stem cuttings root quickly and easily in cinder, perlite, or vermiculite.

ʻAlaʻala wai nui kāne requires minimal fertilization. However, if its growth is too slow, try either: (1) a biannual application of a balanced controlled-release fertilizer with minor elements, or (2) monthly foliar feedings of an organic or inorganic water-soluble fertilizer diluted to ⅓ to ½ the recommended strength. Over-fertilized plants will become leggy or produce abnormally large leaves.

Pests and Diseases

If kept as a houseplant, it's unlikely you will have any pest problems with your ‘ala‘ala wai nui kāne. However, outside, keep a wary eye for snail or slug damage. Keeping the plant in a container off the ground — or, better yet, in a hanging basket — will make it harder to find by these herbivores. If you decide to plant your ‘ala‘ala wai nui kāne in the ground or on a rock and the snails or slugs go after it, install barriers (copper or otherwise) around the plant, use traps, or resort to snail and slug bait poisons (see our Pests & Diseases page for a fuller discussion about what to do about snails and slugs).

Bacterial or fungal rot can be a problem if you overwater indoors or out — so don't. Additionally, make sure the media in the pot or the soil at the site where your ‘ala‘ala wai nui kāne is planted drains extremely well. If you start to lose a plant because of rot, quickly take one or two cuttings from a still healthy stem and attempt to root them in new clean media (i.e., perlite, cinders, vermiculite) in order to have a replacement plant.

Uses

Ancient Hawaiian

The several Hawaiian names for our native Hawaiian Peperomia do not have a one-to-one correspondence with their more numerous scientific names. Therefore, it is currently impossible to tell if: (1) Hawaiians used all or only some Peperomia species, and (2) whether all the species were used in the same way or if different species had different uses. Additionally, the name ‘ala‘ala wai nui is shared with a completely unrelated indigenous native mint (Coleus australis; syn: Plectranthus parviflorus), which further complicates any investigation of ancient uses. With these caveats, below is what we can extract and summarize from the literature.

A grayish-green dye, called ʻahiahia or puahia, was made from the ashes of ʻalaʻala wai nui kāne leaves and stems and used to dye kapa [Krauss 1993].

A number of authors (Handy et al. [1934]; Ka‘aiakamanu & Akina [1922]; Krauss [2001]) describe medicinal uses of ʻalaʻala wai nui, most often using the name ʻalaʻala wai nui pehu, but with only a genus (Peperomia spp.) identification; it's concerning that Ka‘aiakamanu's & Akina's [1922] describes the plant as being quite a bit larger and woodier than any native Peperomia we have ever seen. The authors describe the herb being used to treat multiple ailments, including: uterine abnormalities, as a laxative for newborns, general debility, wasting away or general weakness, pulmonary diseases, chest pain, thrush, vaginal discharge, tuberculosis, and asthma. We question whether any of these treatments were efficacious because they included ʻalaʻala wai nui, given that all the prescriptions included additional plant parts from two or more non-Peperomia species. You can find the complete prescriptions in the sources listed above.

Modern

Special Features and Information

General

Piperaceae is a large family with about 3,600 species in five genera. Members may be small trees, shrubs, or herbs, with the family having a pantropical distribution. Best known are species like Piper nigrum that are used as spices [WikipediA;Piperaceae].

There are currently 25 recognized native species of ‘ala‘ala wai nui kāne in Hawai‘i, 23 endemic species and two indigenous [Flora of the Hawaiian Islands]. Peperomia leptostachya is one of the two indigenous species; the other is Peperomia tetraphylla.

The sticky poppy-like seeds of ‘ala‘ala wai nui kāne have a slightly to sharply peppery taste similar to their famous cousin, black pepper (Piper nigrum). Peperomias, despite their name, are not related to bell and chili peppers, which belong to an entirely different plant family, Solanaceae or Nightshades. However, well-known local relatives of ‘ala‘ala wai nui kāne include: ʻawa or kava (Piper methystichium) and betle nut (Piper betle) — not to be confused with betel nut — which is chewed with the nut of the areca palm (Areca catechu) [WikipediA; Betel]. Both ʻawa and betle nut are stimulants.

Hawaiian Name

Wai nui translates to "big water," while ‘ala‘ala translates to “ink sac in octopus or squid,” “scar of a scrofulous sore,” or “aerial tubers of bitter yam” [Pukui & Elbert 1986].

An alternative interpretation of the meaning of the plant name ‘ala‘ala wai nui was shared with me (Koebele) many years ago by a Hawaiian coworker. If we assume that ‘ala‘ala is a modification or variation of the Hawaiian word ala, then the translation becomes "the path of big water." What might this big water be? How about the rain? And, where does ‘ala‘ala wai nui grow best? Well, it grows best on the side of a rock, a tree, or a cliff that faces the path of the rain.

Kāne is the Hawaiian word for man or male. Attaching kāne to the end of ʻalaʻala wai nui is most likely a reference to the phallic appearance of the plant's flower/fruit spike. The indigenous native mint (Coleus australis; syn: Plectranthus parviflorus), totally unrelated to native Peperomia species but frequently growing in similar habitats (e.g., on bare rocks), also has the Hawaiian name ʻalaʻala wai nui. However, it too, sometimes, has a qualifying term, wahine, likely a reference to the vaginal shape of its flower.

Etymology

Peperomia comes from the Greek words peperi, meaning "pepper," and homoios, meaning "resembling," referring to its similarity to pepper plants in the genus Piper [Wagner et al. 1990]. The species name, leptostachya, comes from the Greek words leptós, meaning "thin" or "slender," and stachys, meaning "spike" or "ear of grain," referring to the shape of its long inflorescence [Putnam Park Wildflowers].

BPK