Native Plants of Hawai‘i - Polyscias sandwicensis

Polyscias sandwicensis

Araliaceae or Ginseng family

Synonyms: Reynoldsia degeneri, Reynoldsia hillebrandii, Reynoldsia hosakana, Reynoldsia huehuensis, Reynoldsia mauiensis, Reynoldsia oblonga, Reynoldsia sandwicensis, Reynoldsia venusta

ʻOhe makai

ʻOheʻohe (Niʻihau), ʻOhe, ʻOhe kukuluaeʻo, ʻOheokai

Hawaiian reynoldsia

Natural Range & Environment

ʻOhe makai is becoming increasingly rare on Niʻihau, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Maui and Hawaiʻi Island. It is found in dry to occasionally mesic forests from 30 m (100-2625 ft) in elevation. Strangely, it is not known to naturally occur on Kauaʻi, though it is present on nearby Niʻihau [Wagner et al. 1990].

ʻOhe makai can vary in shape from being very broad, such as the wild tree pictured above from Kānepuʻu, Lānaʻi, to very upright, narrow, and tall like this cultivated tree on the Kona side of Hawaiʻi Island. A cluster of immature fruits; ripe fruits are soft and dark purple. The photograph of the ʻohe makai in front of the apartments in Honolulu shows its leaves turning yellow and ready to drop from the tree, a normal annual behavior. A wild tree in North Kona, Hawai‘i Island, greeting the sunrise. (Header flowers photograph courtesy of G.D. Carr ©.)

Description

Trees 20(-30) m (65-100 ft) are tall, usually with straight or twisted trunks and spreading crowns. Leaves are 20-35 cm (8-14 in) long and are deciduous in the dry season. Leaflets medium or yellowish green on the upper surface, lower surface lighter, shiny, broadly ovate to oblong or ovate-lanceolate, 7-10 cm (3-4 in) long, margins crenate to serrate. Flowers are small with greenish-yellow petals and dark yellow anthers. Fruits are dark purple with flattened disk-shaped seeds [Wagner et al. 1990].

Growth Requirements

General

If used as container plants, it will quickly outgrow them and are more suitable for the ground. Plant out when saplings are young. When it has become established, cut back on watering this tree.

Do not be alarmed if you see this tree drop its leaves in the summer or during other dry periods of the year. It is not dead, and there is no need to water to encourage leaf growth either. Allow ʻohe makai to rest. Expect that it will be totally without leaves for a short period of time. Because of being deciduous, ʻohe makai may not be your best choice as a shade tree.

It does best in full sun but can handle some shading in the day.

ʻOhe makai does not like to be constantly wet at the root area, especially when it is resting. It is naturally a dryland species and can survive in some of the harshest conditions in Hawaiʻi. It is heat, drought and wind tolerant.

Instead of using the non-native invasive octopus tree, or heʻe, in your landscape or garden, consider planting one of our native ʻohe, such as ʻohe makai, ʻohe mauka or pōkalakala.

Pests and Diseases

ʻOhe makai is sometimes attacked by whiteflies and, even worse, by black twig borers. Refer to the Pests & Diseases page for treatments.

Uses

Ancient Hawaiian

In ancient Hawaiʻi, both boys and girls, as well as men, enjoyed the traditional practice of walking on stilts known as kukuluaeʻo, or simply aeʻo. These stilts were named after the long-legged Hawaiian black-necked stilt (Himantopus mexicanus knudsenii), and the wood of choice for this activity was ʻohe makai [Krauss 1993].

Interestingly, the fruits of the ʻohe makai were also used medicinally for babies in old Hawaiʻi. Mothers would consume the fruits and pass on their healing properties through their milk to cure ailments such as pāʻaoʻao (childhood disease, characterized by physical weaknesses) and ʻea (thrush), all without any negative side effects.

Modern

However, in modern times, the soft whitish wood of the ʻohe makai tree is no longer utilized for these traditional practices [Medeiros et al. 1998].

Special Features and Information

General

ʻOhe makai is a member of the Ginseng family (Araliaceae), which also includes other native trees such as ʻōlapa (Cheirodendron spp.), munroidendron or pōkalakala, and ʻohe mauka. In total, there are 16 native species of Araliaceae in the Hawaiian Islands. Additionally, the non-native and invasive octopus tree, known as heʻe (Schefflera actinophylla), belongs to the same family.

ʻOhe makai is one of the few native Hawaiian trees that are deciduous, dropping all leaves during the summer month dormancy, or at other dry times of the year.

Hawaiian Name

ʻOhe is a name given to many native plants, such as all kinds of bamboo, a native grass (Isachne distichophylla), a native bamboo-like plant (Joinvillea ascendens), native Polyscias spp., and a variety of kalo. ʻOheʻohe is a Niʻihau name for this plant.

Etymology

The generic name Polyscias is from the Greek word "many-shades" in reference to the foliage [Gledhill 2008]. The species name sandwicensis refers to the "Sandwich Islands" [Gledhill 2008], as the Hawaiian Islands were once called, and named by James Cook on one of his voyages in the 1770s. James Cook named the islands after John Montagu (The fourth Earl of Sandwich) for supporting Cook's voyages [Gledhill 2008].

DWE