About Leptecophylla tameiameiae (Cham. & Schltdl.) C.M.Weiller
Leptecophylla tameiameiae, called pūkiawe or maiele in Hawaiian, is a flowering plant species native to the Hawaiian and Marquesas Islands. Its specific epithet honors King Kamehameha I, founder of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. This species grows as a tree up to 4.6 m (15 ft) tall in forest habitats, and as a shrub 0.9–3 m (3.0–9.8 ft) tall in other areas. It has small needle-like leaves that are dark green on the upper surface and whitish underneath. Its round berries vary in color from white, through different pink shades, to red. In Hawaii, pūkiawe grows across a wide range of habitats at elevations from 15–3,230 m (49–10,597 ft), including mixed mesic forests, wet forests, bogs, and alpine shrublands. Pūkiawe is a hardy, adaptable, morphologically variable plant that lives in a wide range of ecosystems, from dry forest to alpine bogs and shrublands. Though it is common, it is difficult to propagate; its seeds take months to years to germinate, and the plant grows very slowly. Nēnē and other birds eat its berries and disperse the species' seeds. Historically, Native Hawaiians inhaled ground pūkiawe leaves to treat congestion, and used the plant's fruit to make lei. Hawaiian nobility used pūkiawe smoke to adjust their mana before interacting with people of lower caste. Bodies of executed criminals were cremated on pūkiawe pyres to remove mana from their bones and ensure their ghosts remained harmless.
