Hawaiian Medicinal Plants



KENNETH M . NAGATA 1

Assistant in Horticulture, Harold L. Lyon Arboretum Honolulu, Hawaii. Submitted for publication 13 April 1970.

Reprinted with permission from Society for Economic Botany The Hawaiian flora has long been considered to be one of the most distinctive in the world. Hawaii is probably the most isolated archipelago in the world, 2,000 miles from the nearest high islands, (Marquesas Islands), 600 miles from the nearest low island, (Johnston Island), and 2,100 miles from the nearest continent, (North America). This isolation and subsequent floral speciation has resulted in a flora of remarkably high endemism. Fosberg (4) calculated 94.4% of the 1,729 native species and varieties of seed plants to be unique to Hawaii, and Chock (2) states that 62.5% of the 226 species and varieties of native mosses are endemic to Hawaii. Dr. Maxwell Doty in Chock (2) claims 13% of the 420 species of marine algae to be strictly Hawaiian and, while recent studies indicate no evidence of endemism in Hawaiian fungi (1, 2, 9), 38% of the 678 species of lichens are endemic (6). While the original settlers of Hawaii undoubtedly brought many important food and medicinal plants along with them, for in-stance the coconut (Cocos nucifera), the “ti” or “ki” (Cordyline terminalis), and the sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), they also learned to utilize the native flora. They like-wise exploited the later introductions of ‘”awa” (Piper methysticum) and guava (Psidium guajava) and the even more re-cent introduction of the pagoda flower (Clerodendrum buchananii var. fallax), onion (Allium cepa) and eucalyptus (Eucalyptus spp.).



The following is a compilation of plants which are known to have been used by the Hawaiians for medicinal purposes and includes introduced species as well as many endemics. It was derived primarily from the Kaaiakamanu and Akina publication (5) and expanded by other sources (2, 3, 7, 8). Its purpose is to present a list oriented according to the current botanical binomials (Table I). Since the Hawaiians often had different uses for different varieties of the same species (for instance in Musa), the Hawaiian names are retained. In several cases, the Latin name could not be found for the available Hawaiian name. These are numerated in Table II. Literature Cited 1. Anastasiou, C. J. 1964. "Some aquatic Fungi Imperfecti from Hawaii." Pacific Sci. 18: 202-206. 2. Chock, A. K. 1968. Hawaiian Ethnobotanical Studies 1: Native Food and Beverage Plants. Econ. Bot. 22: 221-238. 3. Doty, Maxwell. Unpublished listing of Hawaiian Algae. (Professor of Botany, University of Hawaii.) 4. Fosberg, F. R. 1948. Derivation of the flora of the Hawaiian Islands in Zimmerman, E. C. Insects of Hawaii. I: 107-119. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu. 5. Kaaiakamanu, D. M. & J. K. Akina. 1922. Hawaiian herbs of medicinal value, found among the mountains and else where in the Hawaiian Islands and known to the Hawaiians to possess curative and palliative properties most effective in removing physical ailments. Territory of Hawaii Board of Health, Honolulu. 77 pp. 6. Magnusson, A. H. 1955. A catalogue of the Hawaiian lichens. Ark. Bot., Ser. 2 band 3 (10):223-402. 7. Neal, M.C. 1965. In Gardens of Hawaii. Special Publication 50, Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 924 pp. 8. Pukui, M. K. & S. H. Elbert. 1965. Hawaiian-English Dictionary. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu. 370 pp. 9. Sparrow, F. K. 1965. The occurrence of Physoderma in Hawaii with notes on other Hawaiian Phycomycetes. Mycopath. Mycol. Appl. 25: 119-143. Note: The following tables have been modified from Nagata ( 1970) to include Flowering Plant Families (APG, 1998) and corrected mispellings of several scientific names.