Psydrax odorata

Description:

Alahee or Walahee[syn. Canthium odoratum]Rubiaceae (Coffee family)Indigenous to the Hawaiian Islands (all the main islands except Niihau and Kahoolawe).Oahu (Cultivated)Flowerswww.flickr.com/photos/dweickhoff/5187891385/in/photolist-...Reportedly a dark brown or black dye was produced from the leaves of alahee by early Hawaiians.Spears, from 6 to 13 feet long, were fashioned for capturing hee (octopus) and were often made from alahee. The hardwood was used for farming tools such as , fishhooks, shark hooks (makau man) with bone points, short spears (o), and dip nets for fish and crabs. The wood was also made into adze blades for cutting softer wood such as wiliwili and kukui.Medicinally, the leaves and "the white skin of the stem" are prepared by cooking and the bitter medicine is drunk to cleanse the blood.One older source (Charles Gaudichaud,1819) states that Hawaiians "used all fragrant plants, all flowers and even colored fruits" for lei making. The red or yellow were indicative of divine and cheifly rank; the purple flowers and fruit, or with fragrance, were associated with divinety. Because of their long-standing place in oral tradition, the leaves and flowers of alahee were likely used for lei making by early Hawaiians, even though there are no written sources.EtymologyThe generic name Psydrax is derived from the Greek word for blister or bump in reference to the warty fruit or the pimply seeds of some species in this genus.The specific name odorata is from the Latin odoratus, fragrant, referring to the sweet smelling flowers.nativeplants.hawaii.edu/plant/view/Psydrax_odorata