By Linda Pascatore on 8 October 2009 for Island Breath -

Image above: Sliced Mountain (Malay) Apple showing pit. From http://www.pbase.com/selvin/image/43609292

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m age above: View up at Ohia ai (Mountain Apple) tree with hanging fruit. From age above: View up at Ohia ai (Mountain Apple) tree with hanging fruit. From http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/kBnp3xZpat-mJGuFvf0pGg

O Hinaia‘ele‘ele ka malama, ‘aluka ka pala a ka ‘ohi‘a

Olelo Noeau, Pukui: Ka ua ho‘opala ‘ohi‘a

‘Ohi‘a noho malu

Nawele ka maka o Hinaulu‘ohi‘a

Image above: Flower blossom of the Syzygium malaccense (Mountain Apple). From

http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/forestry/trees/Samanea_Syzygium.html

SUBHEAD: This fruit was one of the original canoe plants brought by Polynesians to Hawaii.Since coming to Hawaii, I have often enjoyed mountain apples. They are a red, elongated pear shaped fruit, juicy and slightly crunchy, with a soft skin and delicate flavor. I have purchased these at the farmer’s market, or been given surplus fruit by neighbors.Recently, a friend gave me a mountain apple tree to plant. So I began to research this species. I always thought this fruit, which is also called the Malay Apple, was brought here from Asia, after Western Contact.I was surprised to discover that it is a canoe plant, with a Hawaiian name, Ohia ai. Canoe plants were brought by ancient Polynesians who traveled by canoe to settle in the large Polynesian Triangle that spans from New Zealand to Hawaii to Rapa Nui (Easter Island). These travelers brought a package of food plants and animals to sustain them in their new homes. The scientific name for the Mountain Apple or Malay Apple is Syzygium malaccense.It is native to Malaysia, and spread through Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. It was brought to the Americas from Polynesia by Captain Bligh. The tree is of the Myrtaceae family, and is related to the Java Plum, Guava, Eucalyptus and Surinam Cherry trees.The Ohia ai or Mountain Apple tree can grow to 50 feet. The tree begins to fruit after 7 years. The bark is mottled gray and smooth, and the leaves are shiny dark green ovals. Blossoms come in the spring, and are bright pinkish red tufts that look like pompoms, with nectar that attracts birds and insects. The fruit forms all along the branches and trunk, rather than from the ends of branches. It ripens in about 3 months, in late summer or early autumn.The fruit is red or can be pinkish, with white flesh and a brown seed. The Ohia ai is a tropical tree, and can be found growing wild in mesic lowland forest, shady mountain valleys up to 1800 feet, or the humid windward areas of the Hawaiian islands. Hawaiians traditionally used all parts of the Ohia ai. The wood of the trunk was used for house rafters and posts, and for carving statutes.A dye from the roots and bark were used for coloring tapa cloth. Parts of the tree were used medicinally. A tonic from the leaves and bark was used by new mothers to help expell the placenta after giving birth. The bark was also used in tonics for lacerations, mouth lesions, and thrush. Bark was chewed to help a sore throat, and leaves chewed for treating bronchitis. Eating large amounts of the fruit can cause diarreha.There is a Hawaiian saying, “”, meaning Hinaia‘ele‘ele is the month when the mountain apples ripen everywhere. Hinaia’eleele is the month that falls during July or August, when the rains begin to return after the hot dry summer. Another reference to this time is “”, the rain that ripens the mountain apples. This refers to the rain that comes just as the mountain apple is beginning to ripen.The ripe ohia ai was also a metaphor for human beauty: “”, Mountain apple in the shade. Said of a beautiful or handsome person, who is compared to a mountain apple that ripens to perfection in the shade. Another reference to beauty is one to the moon goddess Hina, “”. Pale is the face of Hinaulu‘ohi‘a.Said of the pink rim around the blossom end of the white mountain apple. The red fruit of the Ohia ai is associated with Pele, Fire Goddess of the Volcano. The fruit is often used to decorate hula altars, and is used ceremonially in Tahiti.We will be planting our Ohia ai tree soon. While waiting the seven years for it to bear fruit, I will continue to look for Mountain Apples at our local weekly Sunshine Markets during the late summer season here on Kauai, to experience a refreshing taste of Ohai ai.See also: