ʻŌhiʻa ai- Syzygium malaccense

ARCH 696 ⮑ Spring 2022

CHRISTINA MCWHORTER

- Field Investigations of and Speculations on Hawai'i's Botanical Future-

On Behalf of Plants:

01 Collect 1A

Chronicle

1B

Chart

1C

Tree Portraiture

1D

Tree Phenology + Morphogenesis

02 Collaborate 2A

Plant Practices + Cultural Production

2B

Plant Perspectives

2C

Plant Products

2D

Dimensions of Production + Performance

03 Speculate 3A

Dimensions of Plant Potential

He keiki aloha nā mea kanu.

Beloved children are the plants.

1A

Chronicle

Ohi’a ai Common Name: Mountain Apple, Malay Apple, Malaysian Apple Scientific Name: Syzygium (formerly known as Eugenia) malaccense Native to Malaysia and Indonesia, it arrived in Hawaii as a canoe plant believed to be with the first wave of Polynesian settlers around 200AD. Ohi'a ai is very fast growing and has a hardwood erect trunk. The flowers are very vibrant pink and magenta and grow in clusters on the branches, the shape of the flowers are cupped pom- poms with numerous stamens with tiny yellow tips. The tree bears fruit that is succulent, edible, pear shaped with a red or white skin and white flesh.

In Hawaii, the fruiting season is from June through November.

~200 AD: Polynesian settlers brought Ohi'a ai to Hawaii Ohi'a ai trunks were used for posts and rafters in early Hawaiian houses.

The wood was considered sacred by Hawaiians and Polynesians whom used it to carve into idols and enclosures around temples.

Medicinally: the flowers and leaves were used for lung troubles, the bark was mashed and used as an astringent.

1793, Captain Bligh brought Ohi'a ai, along with breadfruit and other tropical plants from the Pacific to Jamaica.

1836, Aina malo'o, Kona, Hawaiidrawing by Persis Goodale Thurston depicts the different rainfed farming zones.

1839, a specimen tree was grown under glass in Cambridge, MA. 1870-1876, H. Eggers who studied the flora of St. Croix, reported seeing naturalized trees growing in shaded valleys.

1938, Botanists Elmer D Merrill and Lily May Perry moved Eugenia malaccense to Syzygium malaccense after studying differences in fruit structure.

ARCH 696 Ѡ Spring 2022 1B Chart0 Polynesian Migration to Hawaii

MIC R

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McWhorter

POLYNESIA

Polynesian migration Ohi'a ai native to Maylasia/ Indonesia came as canoe plant with first wave of settlers in Hawaii.

1B

Chart- Syzygium malaccense migration to Jamaica

Captain William Bligh was born in 1754 in Devon, England. At the age of 16 he joined the navy and in 1776 was appointed by James Cook for the position of sailing master and accompanied Cook on his third voyage of discovery. It was on this voyage that Bligh witnessed the slaughter of Cook in Hawaii.

In the 1780s, there was a devastating hurricane in Jamaica that resulted in a food shortage. British Colonial plantation landowners were concerned their slaves would revolt because of the lack of food. In 1787, Bligh was appointed by the Royal Navy for the botanical mission to bring breadfruit and other fruit trees, as an experiment, from the Pacific to Jamaica, to stablize the food supply.

Bligh's first attempt on the Bounty failed when it was ended by a mutiny in the Pacific in 1789 where all the cargo was thrown overboard and destroyed.

It wasn't until 1791 that a Bligh would attempt a 2nd Breadfruit voyage. In June 1792, after spending several weeks loading breadfruit and the other trees onto the ship, they set said for the Carribean. The voyage back to the Carribean would take almost one and a half years and in February of 1793. The breadfruit and other fruit trees (including Syzgium malaccense) was taken to the Hope Botanical gardens for the experiment.

Commemorative stamps of Captain Bligh's two voyages from 1787-1793

ARCH 696 Ѡ Spring 2022

ME LA

St. Helena- December 17

2nd Breadfruit voyage- 1791-93

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McWhorter

Jamaica- January 23

Aitutaki- July 25

Fiji-August 7

Tahiti- June 1

1C

8'

Ohi'a ai (Syzyg Ohi'a ai is autotrophic- the process of p water, mineral salts and carbon dioxide

Portraiture

CO2

6'

4'

2'

0

Lateral root extends horizontal, provides anchorage and participates in uptake and transport Tertiary root- formed by secondary roots, these roots grow in different directions and help fix the tree securely in the soil

gium malaccense) preparing the it's food simply through e in the presence of the sun.

O2

H2O

Secondary root- side branches of main root Tap root- provides stability and absorbtion

10'

8'

6'

4'

2'

0

Ohi'a ai (Syzygi

Makiki V

ium malaccense)

Valley Trail

10'

8'

6'

4'

2'

0

Ohi'a ai (Syzygi

Makiki Va

ium malaccense)

Valley Trail

Leaves: Foliage- Elliptical, oblong Type- Simple, unfoliated V- Pinnacle/ net Margin- entire

Fruits: Fleshy, ellipsoid Typically dark red with white or pink streaks, can also be white

Flowers: Bright reddish pink, pom-pom shaped flowers that cluster on branches

Flesh- dark red with white or pink streaks, flesh could also be white Seed

1D

Plant Phenology + Morphogenesis

Sepal Petal Leaves Flower Bloom Flower Bud

Fruit

Stem

Ohi'a ai exhibits cauliflory, a botanical term referring to plants/ trees that produce flowers and fruits directly from the trunk or larger branches

Bud Development

The process of anthesis is the flowering period from the opening of the flower bud

Fruit Set is the transition phase from the flower to develop fruit

Fruit

10'

8'

Chinese Rose Beetles (Adoretua sinicus Burmeister) Is a reddish brown beetle about 1/2" long and feed on the leaves at night, leaving the leaves looking like lace. They can decimate a juvenial Ohi'a ai tree.

6'

Pigeons aka Rock Dove: (Columbidae Iivia) Comes in a wide variety of colors, usually about 19-25" long.

They feed on the Ohi'a fruit as they ripen on the tree.

4'

Pigs aka. Pua'a Thought to have been brought over by canoe by Polynesian voyagers to Hawaii.They feed on the ripe and over ripe Ohi'a ai fruit on the ground.

2'

0

Fruit Bat (Pteropus Maiannus) They are an indigenous animal to the Pacific and are considered an endangered species.

They feed on the Ohi'a fruit as they ripen on the tree.

Humans Feed on the ripe Ohi'a ai fruit straight from the tree. Also, there is a variety of recipes using the fruit for apple sauce, apple pie, pickled fruit and more.

10'

8'

6'

4'

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0

0 Months

3 Months

6 Months

Establishment StageSeeds can be planted directly into the soil at 1.5" below surface and will germinate in approximately 4-6 weeks. Seedlings will sprout approximately 6 months.

1 Year

2 Years

Vegatative Stage Seeds can be planted directly into the soil ta sprout. The growth rate is moderate and will

3 Years

aking approximately 6 months to grow approx. 30" per year.

4 Years

5 Years

Maturity Stage The tree will flower Fruits begin to produce around year 5. Flowering usually occurs in early summer followed by fruit ripening 3 months later.

Sequence of germination: A: breaking of the integument (bi) B: opening of the cotyledons (oc) C: beginning of the emission of the primary roots (pr) D: primary roots (pr) E: plumule (plu), hypocotyl (hp) F: primary leaf (pl), nomophylls (nm), epicotyl (ep) G: second pair of leaves under expansion (sl), secondary roots (sr)

oc

bi A

C

B

D

pr

pr

sl nm ep plu pl E hp

G

F sr

2A Plant Practices + Cultural Production

Ulu

Ohi'a ai Coffee Common Name mountain apple. ohi'a ai

coffee

banana, mai'a

breadfruit, ulu

Mai'a Botanical Name Syzygium malaccense (myrtaceae)-grows in a variety of soil conditions, mid-high story tree that provides shade to lower trees and produces medium term fruit crop.

Coffea arabica (rubiaceae)- middle story tree, fast growing, short term fruit crop.

Musa spp. (musaceae)- middle story tree, fast growing short term fruit crop.

Artocarpus altilis (moraceae)- mid-high story tree that provides shade to lower trees and produces medium term fruit crop.

EMERGENT

HIGH

MEDIUM

LOW

The practice of agroforestry has sustained peoples in Hawaii for centuries. Agroforestry is a an intentional mixing of plants and trees in order to create a productive food source, the intent is to mimic a natural ecosystem where trees and crops create supportive relationships. Agroforests create microclimates that increase carbon storage, biodiversity, and nutrient cycling, resulting in lower air temperatures and higher soil moisture.

2B Plant Practices + Cultural Production

Materials:

Bark

Mortar and Pestle

Bowl

Steps to make dye:

Gather Ohi'a ai bark Shave Ohi'a ai bark with sickle

Mash bark with water in mortar and pestle

Place cloth into dye until desire color is obtained

In ancient Hawaii, the inner bark of the Ohi'a ai and water would be mashed together to create brown dye for kapa cloth.

Kona Field System

2C Plant Products N

500

750 1500

1000

750

1500

Agricultural zones

'Apa'a/ Ama'u Kalu'ulu Kula 0

Annual rainfall (mm) 5 10 Kilometres

1000

Kona Field System3 trees/ plants in the agricultural zones: Apa'a- ~600m: dryland crops- 'uala (Sweet potatoe), Kalo (Taro), Mai'a (banana), Ki (Ti plant), Ko (Sugar cane) 'Amau- up to ~900m agroforestry zone: above the Apa'a with an under story of Mai'a (Banana) and Uhi (Yam) under a native canopy.

Kalu'ulu- agroforestry zone between ~150m- 300m: Ohi'a ai (Mountain Apple), Ulu (Breadfruit), Kukui with an understory of 'uala (Sweet potato) and Mai'a (Banana). Associated with Kuaiwi walls and cleared fields.

Kula- from coast to ~150m- small household gardens and agricultural plots consisting of Wauke (Paper Mulberry) plantations

1836, Aina malo'o, Kona, Hawaii- drawing by Persis Goodale Thurston

Kala' ulu is the agroforestry zone of the Kona Field System at an altitude level of about 150m- 300m.

Ulu (Artocarpus altilis)

Ohi'a ai (Syzygium malaccense)

Mai'a (Musa paradisiaca)

150m

'Uala (Ipomea batatas)

Wauke (Broussonetia papyrifera)

2D Dimensions of Production + Performance

Alahe'e

Lowland Mesic Forest are an ecological system found on mesic slopes of Hawai'i, Moloka'i, Maui, Kaua'i, and O'ahu and typically between 8203000 feet and get an annual average rainfall of 47-98 inches.

'Ope'ape'a (Hawaiian hoary bat) maintains its highest densities in the lowland mesic forest

Loulu Ohi'a ai

Mai'a Kukui Ko

3A Dimensions of Plant Potential

Coffee Farm Entrance

Coffee Farm with Ohi'a ai windbreak Ohi'a ai trees can function as a windbreak around Kona coffee farms and tasting deck to protect precious coffee plots from strong winds and erosion protection.

Coffee Farm tasting deck In the spring time, visitors can sit back and enjoy the white flowers and green cherries of the coffee plants marking the beginning of the coffee season while coinciding with the Ohi'a ai trees blooming from greenish pink buds into vibrant pink pom pom shaped flowers.

Coffee Farm Entrance

Coffee Farm with Ohi'a ai windbreak

Coffee Farm tasting deck with Ohi'a ai windbreak As the coffee cherries continue to ripen, the flowers of the Ohi'a ai tree will drop it's stamens covering the floor below in a carpet of vibrant pink for visitors to enjoy and celebrate its beauty.

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Langston, Blaire, and Noa Lincoln. “The Role of Breadfruit in Biocultural Restoration a MDPI AG, 2018, p. 3965–, https://doi.org/10.3390/su10113965.

Lincoln, Noa, et al. “Restoration of ‘Āina Malo‘o on Hawai‘i Island: Expanding Biocult 2018, p. 3985–, https://doi.org/10.3390/su10113985.

Mark D McCoy, et al. “Evaluating Agricultural Bet-Hedging Strategies in the Kona Fie from Kealakekua, Hawai’i Island.” Archaeology in Oceania, vol. 52, no. 1, Wiley Subsc

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"Ohi'a ai." Bishop Museum- Ethnobotany database. data.bishopmuseum.org/ethnob

"Ohi'a ai." Canoe Plants of Ancient Hawaii. www.canoeplants.com/ohia.html. Access

"Ohi'a ai." Forestry program. dlnr.hawaii.gov/forestry/info/big-tree/ohia-ai/. Accessed

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Rock, Joseph F. The Indigenous Trees of the Hawaiian Islands. Lawai, Hawaii: Pacific

Thurman, Rosanna Mari Runyon. Archaeological Investigations at Maunawila Heiau: T

Vitousek, Peter M., et al. “Erosion, Geological History, and Indigenous Agriculture: A T ness Media, 2010, pp. 782–93, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-010-9354-1.

Weisler, M. (University of Berkeley, and G. .. Murakami. “The Use of Mountain-Apple ( Botany, vol. 45, no. 2, The New York Botanical Garden, 1991, pp. 282–85.

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