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THE HALA TREE -- AN ANCIENT PLANT OF MANY USES |
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Hawaii by natural means, since its seed is able to float. Some plants with special uses were later brought by Polynesian voyagers. The hala tree, which can grow 20 feet tall and lives from sea level to elevations 2,000 feet high, is a very important plant in Hawaii and most of the Pacific. All parts of the tree, from its aerial roots (growing above ground) to its long, bent leaves, have been used for many purposes. LAUHALA: THE LEAVES OF THE HALA The lauhala (hala leaves) grow in a spi-ral at the ends of the branches, like threads on a screw. This gives the plant its other name, "screwpine." The edges of the leaves and the mid-ribs have very sharp spines. You have probably seen hats, purses or table and floor mats woven from lauhala. It was also used by the Hawaiians to line roofs and to weave pillows, fans, mat-tresses, mats for gathering salt and for making small cube-shaped game balls. |
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| THE HALA TREE IS EITHER FEMALE OR MALE There are female and male hala trees. The main differences are in the shape and purpose of the blossoms and the hardness of the wood. The flowers of the female hala trees produce fruit clusters that look a lot like pineapples. Each cluster is about eight inches long and is made of 50 or more fruit sections called "keys." The fibers on inner ends of dry keys were used as brushes for painting kapa. They also contain tasty seeds which are difficult to remove, as the key is very hard. Keys fall from the fruit cluster when they are ripe. Ripe fruits fill the air with a pleasant aroma, much like flowers. The narrow inner ends of the hala keys are starchy and have been used as food. These ends of unripe hala fruit are often strung with lauae fern to make leis. These can be lucky or unlucky. The Hawaiian word hala means pandanus, but it also means "slip, error or mistake." A hala lei at New Year's is lucky - the old year is slipping away. But at other times it is very unlucky, especially for hula dancers |
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| and people doing important business. Hawaiians knew that when the hala fruit was ripe on the tree they could catch fat par-rot fish and sea urchins. They also knew that when the fruit fell from the trees they should not go out in the ocean, for the waves would be high and dangerous. The male hala flower, called hinano, has a pleasant fragrance. Its pollen was used to preserve feather leis and kahilis (feather symbols of royalty) and was also used by Hawaiian girls as a love charm. The white bracts, special leaves around the flower, were made into very fine mats which could be used only by Hawaiian chiefs and kahunas. An oil from the bracts was used to ease headaches. The flowers were said to cure consti-pation. The wood of the female hala tree has a hard outside but a soft inside that can be scraped out. The hollowed-out limbs have been used as water pipes. The wood of the male hala tree is hard throughout and was used for calabashes and posts. | |
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Male Hala Flower |
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THE FUTURE OF THE HALA TREE IN HAWAII |
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| However, excellent hala groves may still be found at Kahana and Nuuanu on Oahu, along the Hana coast on Maui, in the Puna district of Hawaii, or at Naue on Kauai, where the special fragrant red hala grows. The hala is one of our most beautiful and interesting trees. It makes an excellent plant for the yard. You may also try growing one in the house, since they do grow well indoors. |  |
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Make
a Hala Key and Fern Lei!
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