HAU
Hibiscus tiliaceus Linneaus
One of the strangest of the native trees is the Hau (pronounced “how”). It is found on all the South Sea islands and is, indeed, cosmopolitan in the tropics everywhere. This tree is often grown on Hawaiian beaches to cast shade on the sand by training it over an arbor. It is normally a creeping or procumbent tree, spreading along the ground. Its long, sinuous branches interlock, if not trained, and eventually form jungles too thick to penetrate except by cutting. When this mass of branches is lifted off the ground, by being trained over some strong support, they form a thick green roof which keeps out light showers. These arbors are called Hau lanais in Hawaii. They have been made at many places along Waikiki beach, one of the best being on the seaward side of the Halekulani hotel. Here the central tree is very old, its trunk, gnarled and twisted and several feet through, creating an unusually impressive specimen.
The Hau is a true Hibiscus, its flowers having the typical form with a central column rising from the center of the five petals. When the petals unfold they are a bright yellow color, usually with a dark spot at the base. As they grow older during the day they turn to an apricot color and when they finally fall, they are a deep red. The leaves are heart-shaped, green and leathery above, whitish and silky with hairs, beneath.
The bent branches of the Hau furnish the crooked sticks used to attach the outrigger log to native canoes. And as might be expected of such a unique tree, many legends cluster around it. ([Plate V])
HALA. LAUHALA. PUHALA. SCREWPINE
Pandanus odoratissimus Linnaeus
Another plant of strange and curious appearance is the Hala, or Screwpine. It might be taken at first sight for a palm, since its leaves have the tough, fibrous quality of palm leaves. Actually it belongs to a family which takes its name from this genus, the Pandanaceae. It grows all over the South Seas and the East Indies, and India.
The descriptive name of Screwpine comes from the way in which the long, narrow, spiny-edged leaves grow out of the branches, in winding whorls. On young specimens they often create curious spirals. On older trees the leaves have a tendency to form tufts at the ends of the branches. These branches divide in pairs, the tree forming a series of ascending Y’s.
The most striking feature of this tree is the way in which it sometimes puts out aerial roots to support the main trunk. These roots grow out and downward, as stiff and straight as a stilt, propping up the tree in what seems an entirely artificial manner. Such roots seem to appear only when the plant needs them, when it is old and heavy or when the soil is moist and loose and does not offer a firm hold.
Male and female flowers grow on different Hala trees. The male flowers, called Hinano Hala, appear as a long, white, pendulous cluster of blossoms, the showy portion being the bracts. They have many stamens and the flower is extremely fragrant. In Hawaii these male flowers are not so frequently seen as the female. The latter appear as a solid, round ball at the ends of the branches, looking a good deal like the fruit of a pineapple, (see [Plate V]). It is a standard joke to point these out to tourists as proof that pineapples grow on trees.
The Hala fruit is a drupe, the various sections colored orange and very smooth and shining. When separated, the sweet scented fleshy part is strung into leis by the Hawaiians, making one of the most curious of these native garlands.