ʻAʻaliʻi
Dodonaea viscosa
A dense shrub (4-8 ft.) with small green leaves and tiny flowers that develop into star shaped papery seed capsules. These plants are mostly dioecious meaning that they’re usually separate male and female flowered plants, rarely they can be hermaphroditic having both flower types on the same plant. However, the seed capsules that everyone loves for lei making and plant color only comes from the female flowers. These seed capsules vary in color from cream to yellow, green, pink all the way to deep dark maroon-red.
He wahi lāʻau pūnohunohu. Liʻiliʻi a uliuli nā lau. A he mau pua hunehune. Kuhihewa pinepine ʻia, ʻo nā “pua” lahilahi i wili ʻia i loko o nā lei, ʻo ia nō nā pua, eia kā, he ʻano hua nō ia, ʻoiai he ʻanoʻano i loko. ʻOkoʻa nō nā ʻano ʻaʻaliʻi, he ʻano kāne, a he ʻano wahine. Kākaʻikahi ka loaʻa ʻana o kekahi ʻaʻaliʻi māhū e pua ai nā pua kāne a me nā pua wahine. ʻO nā hua, ʻo ia hoʻi nā “pua” lahilahi o ka ʻaʻaliʻi, hua mai nā pua wahine. ʻOkoʻa nā ʻano o nā hua, melemele kekahi ʻano, ʻōmaʻomaʻo kekahi, ʻākala kekahi, a ʻulaʻula kekahi.
‘A’ali’i is an indigenous plant with a range that starts in the dry coastal lowland areas where it was once the most dominant shrub and up into the wetter mesic forests, on all the main islands except for Kahoʻolawe (where it most likely occurred in the past and presently it is being out planted there), and then dominant again in the upper dry forest and sub-alpine dry forests of Maui and Hawaiʻi.
He mea kanu ʻōiwi ka ʻaʻaliʻi e ulu ma ka ʻāina maloʻo i kahi o kapakai a ma laila nō i ulu lupalupa ai ma ka wā kahiko. Mai laila mai i ulu ai ka ʻaʻaliʻi a hiki i ka wao ʻeiwa ma nā mokupuni a pau o kēia pae ʻāina, koe ʻo Kahoʻolawe (ulu nō paha i laila ma ka wā kahiko, a ke kanu ʻia nei nā ʻaʻaliʻi i laila i kēia wā), a ulu lupalupa nō hoʻi i ke kuahea o Maui me Hawaiʻi.
The seed capsules are highly valued for used in lei weaving, and the red capsules are used for making a red dye. The beautiful wood of ʻaʻaliʻi is very hard and is used for making smaller hand tools and weapons.
Wili ʻia nā pua (hua) i loko o nā lei. He wai ʻulaʻula ke hoʻoluʻu ʻia nā pua ʻulaʻula. He lāʻau paʻa nō ia e kālai ʻia i pono hana lima a i mea kaua kekahi.
This plant does best in full sun with well drained soil and minimal watering. Once planted and there are signs of new growth water can be cut back to once or twice every week. Looks great as an accent plant around large boulders, as specimen plants or even as a hedge, it is also very wind and drought resistant. We use this plant quite often in our restoration work especially on slopes and stream banks, the ʻaʻaliʻi have pretty deep tap roots that act like structural pillars for slope support plus they’re tough plants that need practically no care once in the ground.
Māhuahua nā ʻaʻaliʻi i ka pā nui ʻana i ka lā ma ka lepo ʻākeke. ʻAʻole nō pono ka wai he nui. Ke kanu ʻia, a ʻike ʻia nā muʻo hou, he hōʻailona ia no ka hoʻēmi ʻana i ka hāinu. Lawa nō paha ka ʻaʻaliʻi i ka wai liʻiliʻi, hoʻokahi a ʻelua paha manawa e hāinu ai i ka pule hoʻokahi. Nani nā ʻaʻaliʻi ke kanu ʻia ma kahi o nā pōhaku nui, ma ke kū hoʻokahi ʻana, a ma ke ʻano he pā lāʻau kekahi. ʻAʻole hoʻi i pilikia ka ʻaʻaliʻi i ka makani, e like hoʻi me ka ʻōlelo kupuna, he ʻaʻaliʻi kū makani, ʻaʻohe makani nāna e kulaʻi. Kanu nui mākou i kēia mea kanu no ka hoʻopaʻa ʻana i nā pali a ma kapa kahawai. He mole nui ko ka ʻaʻaliʻi, a he mole ia e paʻa ai ia ʻano ihona; ʻaʻole pono ka mālama nui ma hope o ke kanu ʻana.
In Hawaiʻi there are tons of varieties of this plant but all are classified as the same indigenous species, yet on every island, in every climate zone or elevation zone the plants will look different in some slight way from each other. It is definitely clear that more work needs to be done on the classification of this species. Other names for this plant include: ʻaʻaliʻi ku makani, ʻaʻaliʻi ku ma kua or kumakani.
Ma Hawaiʻi nei, nui nā ʻano o ka ʻaʻaliʻi, akā naʻe, ua hoʻoholo ʻia he ʻano hoʻokahi ia poʻe ʻano ʻaʻaliʻi a pau. Ma kēlā me kēia mokupuni hoʻi, a ma nā wahi like ʻole mai uka a i kai, ʻokoʻa iki nā ʻaʻaliʻi ke nānā aku. Akāka nō paha, e aho e nānā hou i kēia poʻe ʻano ʻaʻaliʻi no ke ao Akeakamai. Eia hou nā inoa ʻē aʻe no kēia lāʻau: ʻaʻaliʻi kū makani, ʻaʻaliʻi kū ma kua, a i ʻole kumakani.