Polyscias sandwicensis (5187892091) (2)

Description:

Description: [syn. Reynoldsia sandwicensis] ʻOhe makai or Hawaiian reynoldsia Araliaceae (Aralia or Ginseng family) Endemic to the Hawaiian Islands IUCN: Near Threatened (Rare) Oʻahu (Cutlivated) ʻOhe makai is one of the few native Hawaiian trees that are deciduous, dropping all their leaves during the summer month dormancy, or at other dry times of the year. Early Hawaiian boys and girls, as well as men, enjoyed walking on wooden stilts called kukuluaeʻo, or simply aeʻo, named after the long-legged Hawaiian black-necked stilt (Himantopus mexicanus knudsenii). The wood they choose for this game was ʻohe makai. www.flickr.com/photos/dweickhoff/20723245845/in/photostream/ The fruits were used medicinally for babies. The mother would eat the fruits feed her baby through breast milk to cure pāʻaoʻao (childhood disease, with physical weaknesses) and ʻea (thrush) with no side effects. NPH00001 nativeplants.hawaii.edu/plant/view/Polyscias_sandwicensis. Date: 11 March 2008, 21:30. Source: Polyscias sandwicensis. Author: David Eickhoff from Hawaiʻi, USA.