Antidesma pulvinatum
Genus
Antidesma
Species
pulvinatum
Hawaiian Names with Diacritics
- Hame
- Hamehame
- Haʻā
- Haʻāmaile
- Mehame
- Mehamehame
Hawaiian Names
- Haa
- Haamaile
- Hame
- Hamehame
- Mehame
- Mehamehame
Distribution Status
Endemic
Endangered Species Status
No Status
Plant Form / Growth Habit
- Tree
Mature Size, Height (in feet)
- Tree, Dwarf, Less than 15
- Tree, Small, 15 to 30
- Tree, Medium, 30 to 50
Mature Size, Width
15 to 20 or more feet wide.
Life Span
Long lived (Greater than 5 years)
Landscape Uses
- Accent
- Screening
- Specimen Plant
Additional Landscape Use Information
Hame is an attractive tree or shrub and fairly easy to care for. Daily watering is fine in well drained soil but reduce once plant is established. [Rick Barboza, Hui Kū Maoli Ola]
Currently hame has been used as an accent or a specimen plant, but perhaps could be used to provide screening.
Plant Produces Flowers
Yes
Flower Type
Not Showy
Flower Colors
- Cream
- White
Blooming Period
- February
- March
- April
- May
- June
- July
- August
- September
- October
Additional Blooming Period and Fruiting Information
The flowers are small and insignificant. Hame are dioecious, that is, they produce male and female flowers on separate plants. The blooming period above is based on observations of cultivated plants. [David Eickhoff, Native Plants Hawaiʻi]
The berries are reddish, dark purple, or blackish, and are much smaller, 1/4 inch (6 mm), than Antidesma platyphyllum. [2]
Plant texture
- Medium
- Coarse
Leaf Colors
- Light Green
- Medium Green
Additional Leaf Color Information
Leaves of this hame (A. pulvinatum) can be green and bronze to shades of reds.
The two hame species (A. platyphyllum & A. pulvinatum) can be distinguished by looking at the leaf petioles--that's the portion that connects the leaf with the twig. In A. platyphyllum the petioles are very short and curved to nearly "C-shaped;" in A. pulvinatum they are straight and long.
Additional Pest & Disease Information
Young trees are more susceptible to damage from either mealybugs or aphids, but these problems can easily be remedied by pruning off affected leaves. [Rick Barboza, Hui Kū Maoli Ola]
If not controlled, Chinese rose beetles will chew holes and give the leaves an unsightly lacey appearance. [David Eickhoff, Native Plants Hawaiʻi]
Fertilizer
Fertilize trees every six months with 8-8-8 NPK fertilizer or a foliar feed monthly.
Water Requirements
- Dry
- Moist
Additional Water Information
This hame (A. pulvinatum) naturally is found in drier areas than A. platyphyllum, and is fairly drought tolerant.
Soil must be well drained
Yes
Light Conditions
- Full sun
- Partial sun
Additional Lighting Information
Though hame can grow in full sun, the trees seem to do best in partial sun.
Soils
- Clay
- Organic
Natural Range
- Oʻahu
- Molokaʻi
- Lānaʻi
- Maui
- Hawaiʻi
Natural Zones (Elevation in feet, Rainfall in inches)
- Less than 150, 0 to 50 (Dry)
- Less than 150, 50 to 100 (Mesic)
- 150 to 1000, 0 to 50 (Dry)
- 150 to 1000, 50 to 100 (Mesic)
- 1000 to 1999, 0 to 50 (Dry)
- 1000 to 1999, 50 to 100 (Mesic)
- 2000 to 2999, 0 to 50 (Dry)
- 2000 to 2999, 50 to 100 (Mesic)
- 3000 to 3999, 0 to 50 (Dry)
- 3000 to 3999, 50 to 100 (Mesic)
- 4000 to 4999, 0 to 50 (Dry)
- 4000 to 4999, 50 to 100 (Mesic)
Habitat
- Terrestrial
Additional Habitat Information
This hame is occasionally found from 385 to about 1970 feet in dry to mesic forest and is endemic to Oʻahu (Waiʻanae Mountains and the southeastern end of the Koʻolau Mountains), East Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi (Maunalei Valley), Maui (West Maui and East Maui), and Hawaiʻi. [Joel Lau, Botanist]
This hame is rare in the Koʻolau Mountains, Oʻahu. [Joel Lau, Botanist] Recently found on Lānaʻi. On Hawaiʻi Island, it can be found as low as 100 or less to as high as 4000 feet.
Special Features and Information
General Information
Hame or Mehame is a member of the Phyllanthus family or Phyllanthaceae along another native species of hame (A. platyphyllum) and two other native endemics such as pāmakani māhū (Phyllanthus distichus) and the extremely rare and endangered mēhamehame (Flueggea neowawraea), one of the largest native forest trees.
A close relative generally known by its Filipino name bignay or current tree (Antidesma bunius) has fruits that taste similar to cranberries when unripe, but a tart sweet flavor when ripe. Bignay is found in Southeast Asia, the Philippines to northern Australia and are locally eaten fresh, prepared with fish, and made into jams, jellies, syrup, and even wine. [6]
Etymology
The generic name Antidesma is derived from the Greek anti, against, and desma, literally headband, but used by J. Burman, friend and correspondent of Carl Linnaeus, Swedish botanist, to mean poison; the name was intended to refer to the use of a plant in the genus against snakebite.
The specific epithet pulvinatum is from the Latin pulvinatus, cushion-like or -shaped. [5]
Hawaiian Name:
Mehamehame. A similar spelling Mēhamehame, with kahakō over the first "e," is the name of its very rare cousin Flueggea neowawraea.
Background Information
Intermediate plants of Antidesma platyphyllum and A. pulvinatum, at least in South Kona, Hawaiʻi Island, were described by botanist Joseph Rock as Antidesma x kapuae, a punative hybrid. Hawaiʻi Botanist Joel Lau suggest that "this hybrid combination is potentially found on Oʻahu (Waiʻanae Mountains and the southeastern Koʻolau Mountains), East Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Maui (West Maui and East Maui), and Hawaiʻi."
Fossils of hame (Antidesma pulvinatum) are present in the solidified volcanic ash originating from the complex of volcanic vents in the land sections of Moanalua and Hālawa, Oʻahu. Included among these vents are the craters of Āliapaʻakai, Āliamanu, and Makalapa. [Joel Lau, Botanist]
Early Hawaiian Use
The wood is very hard, strong and durable. And being one of the heaviest native woods, it sinks in water.
Early Hawaiians, therefore, used for tools such as kapa tools, hut beams, javelins or spears, digging sticks (ʻōʻō), and scraping boards for olonā. [8]
Dye:
The red fruit juice mixed with kamani oil (Calophyllum inophyllum) was used to make a bright red dye for kapa cloth, particularly for the malo (loincloth). [1,4,8]
Clothing:
Hawaiians used the red-brown wood for kapa (tapa) beaters that were used to beat out olonā (Touchardia latifolia) fiber. [1,4]
Medicinal:
The leaves were chewed and swallowed for vomiting spells. The bark, mixed with other plants, was used as a wash for ulcers and scrofulous sores. [3]
Modern Use
The book Common Forest Trees of Hawaii notes that hame* "wood is reddish brown, fine-textured, and hard. It takes a fine polish and is suitable for cabinetwork but is not commonly found in commercial quantities. It is reported that the wood is resistent to marine borers or shipworms." [4,7]
* Although the information is in direct reference to Antidesma playtphyllum, it is quite possible that it would apply to A. pulvinatum as well since the names and uses are otherwise similar.
Additional References
[1] "Plants in Hawaiian Culture" by Beatrice H. Krauss, page 65.
[2] "The Indigenous Trees of the Hawaiian Islands" by Joseph F. Rock, page 253.
[3] "Hawaiian Herbs of Medicinal Value" by D.M. Kaaiakamanu & J.K. Akina, page 39.
[4] "Common Forest Trees of Hawaii" by Elbert L. Little & Roger G. Skolmen, page 168.
[5] "The Names of Plants" by David Gledhill, page 320.
[6] http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/bignay_ars.html [Accessed 2/14/11]
[7] "In Gardens of Hawaii" by Marie C. Neal, page 500.
[8] "Auwahi: Ethnobotany of a Hawaiian Dryland Forest" by A.C. Medeiros, C.F. Davenport & C.G. Chimera, page 15.
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