Pukiawe

Pūkiawe is also known as `ali`i mahu, Kamehameha styphelia, and Hawaiian heather. In the early 1800's, Berlin botanists Ludolf Karl Adelbert von Chamisso and Johann Friedrich Eschscholtz named the plant after King Kamehameha I when they returned home following an expedition to Hawai`i.

This perennial can grow between 1 foot high as a small shrub, and 15 feet high as a tree. On its thin narrow branches are many small oblong stiff leaves. The prickly leaves grow alternately along the hairy stem and are dark green on the top, with smoky white-green veins on the bottom. Tiny white flowers shaped like stars can be found hidden beneath the leaves. From the flowers, the berries appear. Pūkiawe berries are about ¼ inch round and grow in pink, burgundy red or white colors. They are not edible.

Pūkiawe flowers year-round. The plant prefers dry habitats and is one of the last plants found at high altitudes.

*Note: the classifications of this particular plant have not been standardized (or updated) across various sources. (e.g. Styphelia, or renamed as Leptecophylla). The classification used here follows the Hawaiian Ethnobotany Online Database and the United States Department of Agriculture.

Traditional Cultural and Medicinal Usages

• Before mingling with commoners, Hawaiian royalty would be smudged with Pūkiawe amidst chants and prayers by the kahuna
• Leaves were used in the treatment of headaches and colds
• Dye for coloring kapa was made from boiled and mashed berries
• Leaves were used in making lei