Polyscias (Reynoldsia) sandwicensis

Description:

[syn. Reynoldsia sandwicensis]Ohe makai or Hawaiian reynoldsiaAraliaceae (Aralia or Ginseng family)Endemic to the Hawaiian IslandsIUCN: Near Threatened (Rare)Hawaii Island (Cutlivated)Ohe 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 kukuluaeo, or simply aeo, named after the long-legged Hawaiian black-necked stilt (Himantopus mexicanus knudsenii). The wood they choose for this game was ohe 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 paoao (childhood disease, with physical weaknesses) and ea (thrush) with no side effects.NPH00006nativeplants.hawaii.edu/plant/view/Polyscias_sandwicensis