Plant Profile
Guilandina bonduc
Hihikolo, Kākalaioa
Main Plant Information
Genus
Guilandina
Species
bonduc
Hawaiian Names with Diacritics
- Hihikolo
- Kākalaioa
Hawaiian Names
- Hihikolo
- Kakalaioa
Common Names
- Gray nickerbean
- Gray nickers
- Hawaiian pearls
Synonyms
- Caesalpinia bonduc
- Caesalpinia bonducella
- Caesalpinia crista
- Guilandina bonduc
- Guilandina bonducella
Plant Characteristics
Distribution Status
Indigenous
Endangered Species Status
No Status
Plant Form / Growth Habit
- Sprawling Shrub
- Shrub
Mature Size, Height (in feet)
- Shrub, Medium, 6 to 10
- Shrub, Tall, Greater than 10
- Tree, Dwarf, Less than 15
Mature Size, Width
Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawaiʻi , Vol.1 (Wagner, et al) describe Hihikolo, or Gray nickers, as “climbers up to 30 m long or scandent shrubs or shrubby trees.”
Life Span
Long lived (Greater than 5 years)
Landscape Uses
No data available.
Plant Produces Flowers
Yes
Flower Characteristics
Flower Type
Not Showy
Flower Colors
- Yellow
Additional Flower Color Information
The flowers have yellow petals and the upper one may or may not be orange at the base. The flowers, arranged on a inflorescence, are abundant and notecable, but not necessarily showy.
Additional Blooming Period and Fruiting Information
After flowering, green semi-flat prickly pods form. When ripe the pods will turn gray-brown to very dark brown, almost blackish, and contain one or two pale gray or olive gray oval seeds.
Leaf Characteristics
Plant texture
- Coarse
Additional Plant Texture Information
Plants have prickles or thorns along the stems.
Leaf Colors
- Medium Green
Pests and Diseases
Growth Requirements
Water Requirements
- Dry
- Moist
Light Conditions
- Full sun
Environmental Information
Natural Range
- Niʻihau
- Kauaʻi
- Oʻahu
- Molokaʻi
- Maui
- Hawaiʻi
- Northwest Islands
Natural Zones (Elevation in feet, Rainfall in inches)
- Less than 150, 0 to 50 (Dry)
- 150 to 1000, 0 to 50 (Dry)
- 1000 to 1999, 0 to 50 (Dry)
Habitat
- Terrestrial
Additional Habitat Information
This is a Pantropic species and is found as far north as Western European shores, although the seeds are said to be a rare and prized find on beaches.
Found from about 50 to over 750 feet in dry, mostly open, disturbed areas on the islands of Niʻihau, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, East Maui and Hawaiʻi Island, as well as on Laysan (Kauō) and Midway Atoll (Sand Island) in the Northwest Islands.
Special Features and Information
General Information
The over 100 species of Caesalpinia belong to the Fabaceae or Pea family. There is one indigneous ( C. bonduc ) and one questionably native ( C. major ) species in the Hawaiian Islands.
There is also one naturalized species, the Mysore thorn ( Caesalpinia decapetala ), which has been given the Hawaiian name puakelekino.
Another common non-native landscape species is Pride of Barbados ( Caesalpinia pulcherrima ), locally known as ʻohai aliʻi. The yellow and red, bright yellow or pinkish flowers are used in lei work.
Etymology
The former generic name Caesalpinia is named for Andrea Cesalpino (1519-1603), Italian botanist, philosopher and physician.
The specific name bonduc is from the Arabic vernacular name, bonduq , for a nut. [5]
Hawaiian Names:
Kākalaioa means thorny in Hawaiian, a most apropos name for this thorny shrub.
Background Information
Though indigenous, it is considered as a “weed” by some in Hawaiʻi. [2]
The vernacular, or common, name Gray nickers appears to come from the Dutch word ‘knikker’, which was a boy’s clay marble. [6] The gray seeds do indeed look like irregular-shaped marbles.
Early Hawaiian Use
Games:
Children are said to have used the seeds as marbles.
Medicinally:
Hihikolo seeds, or beans, were pounded with other plants, squeezed and liquid taken to purify blood or to clear chest of tough phlem. The beans were grounded and taken as a laxative by infants, children and adults. [3] A medicine was also made from young leaf buds for mīmī ʻeha (painful urination) and hilo (gonorrhea), and the leaf and tap root pounded applied to ʻeha māui (sore bruises). [4]
Modern Use
The attractive gray seeds are strung as permanent lei. [1]
Additional References
[1] “Hawaiʻiʻs Seeds and Seed Leis–An Indentification Guide” by Laurie Shimizu Ide; pages 40-41, Mutual Publishing, 2000.
[2] “Handbook of Hawaiian Weeds” by E. L. Haselwood, page 178.
[3] “Hawaiian Herbs of Medicinal Value, by D.M. Kaaiakamanu & J.K. Akina, page 47.
[4] “Native Hawaiian Medicine–Volume III” by The Rev. Kaluna M. Kaʻaiakamanu, page 53.
[5] “The Names of Plants” by David Gledhill, page 76.
[6] West Word . March 2002 issue http://www.road-to-the-isles.org.uk/westword/march2002.html [Accessed on 3/22/14]
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