North Shore NewsBy: Duke Morgan, Horticulturist, Waimea Valley, O’ahu
A lot can be accomplished in just 30 mins of conscious gardening, so even with the ocean calling, we don’t need to let the backyard garden or garden boxes go to ‘guinea grass’. With all the fortune, or misfortune, the winter season brings, let’s remember the integral roles that our garden and useful plants all around us provide. Studies have shown that greener cities, offices and homes create a less stressful environment.
As our grandparents reminded us, if you get a sunburn, you go outside and you find an Aloe plant. The yellowish sap has healing properties too long to list. If you get a sting or an insect bite, you go and find a young green papaya, whose sap (papain) breaks down the venom while the anti-septic properties
heal the surrounding area. It seems as if they had a remedy for everything! “Eh boy, you get fever,
I’ll get you a couple ti leaf.” The ti plant’s unique leaf structure insulates and actively cools the body.
It is an unfortunate day when you can’t go outside and pick a sprig of rosemary, some ‘olena (turmeric)
root, and a few green onions as a garnish. In older times, the hau flower played an integral role in
keeping keiki out of trouble. The hau flower blooms yellow throughout the day it fades to a darker pinkish
color; hopefully you knew that when that flower turned pink you’d better be home, or else!
Canoe plants such as kalo, banana, ‘ulu and the incredible niu (coconut), all played in integral role in establishing life on these islands. The sappy ‘ulu fruit is a notorious kitchen and knife destroyer. So,
to utilize this wondrous fruit get a dedicated “‘ulu knife.” It’s a relationship worth tending to. Noni
gets a bad rap because of its potent fruit, but the young leaves are just as useful! They add a delicious
nutty flavor to curries and soups, and are also great as a poultice or wrap for bruises and sore muscles.
It’s easy to lose sight of the usefulness of many of these plants which we consider a nuisance. In many other countries the “haole koa” or Leucaena isn’t much of a problem as it is used daily as fodder for animals and for living fences, green manure in garden beds, firewood, building material, and even as a delicious and nutritious food! It seems that we are seeing a renaissance in the utilization of other
pesky invasives in traditional hale building. These over-abundant and solid woods are a great alternative
to once thriving ohi‘a, kauila, and milo, and can be used much in the same way. In Hawai‘i and other Pacific islands the fast growing and buoyant ‘Albizia’ wood is utilized as canoes and alaias.
Challenge yourself with utilizing any of these incredible plants at least once a month, and if you already use them, teach friends and family your favorite recipe or how to best use them. Plant language is a practiced and spoken language, if you don’t use we will lose it. So, before you criticize it, try to utilize it! Take a minute to go and visit that aunty that always gave you a remedy or a plant, or make some
time to go and visit and support your local nursery. It is in these relationship and places that these useful and beautiful plants are perpetuated.