hala io

Description:

Hala or ScrewpinePandanaceae (Screwpine family)Indigenous to the Hawaiian IslandsPhoto: Oahu (Cultivated)Note: Though Hawaiians used hala keys, I cannot say for certainty that these are of Hawaiian origin.Early Hawaiians used ripe hala io (hala io) in lei work.Fiber from root tips of female hala were used to string lei.Very different from the female fruits (keys), the fragrant bracts of the male hala flower (hnano) were fashioned into strikingly beautiful lei and were used with or without the flowers themselves.hnanowww.flickr.com/photos/dweickhoff/11224950854/in/photolist...The ripe hala keys used for lei were cut by a shark tooth horizontially in three different ways according to desired use. Hard hala keys (hala iwi nui) were not used for lei. Several fruit (keys) forms were used for various reasons. At least six color forms are known and were frequently used by the lei maker: Hala. The common yellow to red keys. Hala koi. Keys are lemmon colored at base; bright orange upper half. Hala lihilihi ula. Keys are bright yellow at base, changing to brigt red-orange at top. Hala melemele, or Hala maoli. Bright yellow keys. Hala pia. Small canary yellow keys; prized. Hala ula. Orange red keys; very much prized.Because the name hala means to "pass away" or "die," lei made from hala were only for personal use by early Hawaiians and never presented to others, except with malice. The name hala is also translated as sin, vice, offense, fault, error, or failure, and not worn at certain times being considered as "bad luck."Many today, however, who work with hala do not accept this.Many other uses for hala can be found atnativeplants.hawaii.edu/plant/view/Pandanus_tectorius