Native plants of the uplands that you can eat (or drink).
Actually there are relatively few of these. Many many for laʻau lapaʻau, of course, but for actual sustenance, there are relatively few. Iʻm not talking about the canoe plants or other polynesian introductions, such as kalo, uala, ulu, maiʻa, ʻawa, ʻōhiʻa ʻai, pia, hoi, uhi, a pela aku. I am talking about our endemic plants, found only in Hawaiʻi nei and nowhere else on earth. Because there were not any large animals before people brought them, most of the edible parts of our native plants are small fruit, since birds were the main feeders. Nonetheless, hiki ke ʻai ia (can eat). How many of you know of these:
lama - when the fruit are ripe, they are like mini persimmons, and they were important in some dryland places. You can get a feel for this in the place name: ʻAihualama, "Eat lama fruit" on the side of Mānoa.
ʻōhiʻa hā - the little red fruit taste like tart miniature ʻōhiʻa ʻai
mahoe - a rare dry forest tree, the fruit meat is edible, and the seeds have a nice almond-like kernel, though (of course) small.
ʻulei - our native rose with round fruit, white tinged with lavendar when ripe, tasting kind of grape-like, but with lots of hard seeds.
uki - a large native sedge, the tender bases of the youngest leaves taste like hearts of palm, very delicate.
hāwane - the green fruit of the loulu palm is like coconut spoon meat, and you feel like you eating the eyeball of a large fish.
koʻokoʻolau - the young leaves (and even the bright yellow flowering heads) make a fine beautiful golden tea, a tea that makes the tongue taste sweetness, so that after a few sip[s, even a sip of plain water has a nice sweet edge to it.
mamaki - another famous plant for tea brewing, but did you know you can also eat the bumpy white fruit? They taste like iceberg lettuce, no lie!
ʻālaʻa - this is another uncommon tree of the dry forest, and in some places (like Puʻu waʻawaʻa, Kona) the fruit actually get about an inch across. Until they are over-ripe, the sap of the fruit is sticky white glue, but when they fall from the tree, soft and bright yellow, they lose the sap and taste like yam.
ʻohelo - a famous edible fruit, but be sure to offer up some for Pele mā before you eat.
hāhā or ʻōhāwai - the uncommon and rare Hawaiian lobelioids that the birds drink nectar from (hence the name hāhā-ʻai-a-ka-manu) after the flowers are pollinated, the fruit can be about an inch round, and like a little pumpkin, though tasting more like a bland watermelon.
kōpiko - a native tree in the coffee family, and like coffee, if you pick the ripe fruit, you can actually eat the ripe fruit flesh. If not ripe its not very good, but when perfectly ripe, not bad!
ʻākala - our native Hawaiian raspberry is a delight, large, luscious, garnet colored!
Well, thatʻs a good start, but I must have missed something obvious and important! Tell us about any that Iʻve missed in this quick review of edible native plants of the mountains! Also tell us if youʻve had any of these mea ʻono in the wild, and what you thought of them.
aloha,
ʻOhu
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