Plant Profile
Elaeocarpus bifidus
Kalia
Main Plant Information
Genus
Elaeocarpus
Species
bifidus
Hawaiian Names with Diacritics
- Kalia
Hawaiian Names
- Kalia
Plant Characteristics
Plant Form / Growth Habit
No data available.
Mature Size, Height (in feet)
No data available.
Life Span
No data available.
Landscape Uses
No data available.
Plant Produces Flowers
No data available.
Flower Characteristics
Additional Blooming Period and Fruiting Information
The small flowers are inconspicuous and but produce inch long olive-shaped drupes with usually one, sometimes two seeds.
Leaf Characteristics
Plant texture
No data available.
Pests and Diseases
Growth Requirements
Water Requirements
No data available.
Light Conditions
No data available.
Environmental Information
Natural Range
- Kauaʻi
- Oʻahu
Natural Zones (Elevation in feet, Rainfall in inches)
- 150 to 1000, 50 to 100 (Mesic)
- 150 to 1000, Greater than 100 (Wet)
- 1000 to 1999, 50 to 100 (Mesic)
- 1000 to 1999, Greater than 100 (Wet)
- 2000 to 2999, 50 to 100 (Mesic)
- 2000 to 2999, Greater than 100 (Wet)
- 3000 to 3999, 50 to 100 (Mesic)
- 3000 to 3999, Greater than 100 (Wet)
- 4000 to 4999, 50 to 100 (Mesic)
- 4000 to 4999, Greater than 100 (Wet)
Habitat
- Terrestrial
Additional Habitat Information
Kalia is scattered to sometimes relatively common in diverse mesic to wet forests and margins of bogs. On Kauaʻi it can be found from around 2950 to 4000 feet; on Oʻahu from about 330 to around 2950. Kalia has also apparently been reported from Niʻihau in 1832. [2]
Special Features and Information
General Information
Kalia ( Elaeocarpus bifidus ) belongs to the family Elaeocarpaceae with some 350 species in tropical and subtropical regions of Madagascar, India, Southeast Asia, Malaysia, Southern China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and Hawaiʻi–where there is a single endemic species.
Notable relatives include the Yoga tree ( Elaeocarpus joga ) with whitish, soft, straight-grained wood used in the interior parts of furniture on Guam; the Blue marble tree ( E. angustifolius ) with its attractive blue fruit; and the fruit of several species of Elaeocarpus collectively called bhadrasey used to make pickles and chutney in some parts of India.
Etymology
The generic name Elaeocarpus is from the Greek elaia , olive, and karpos , fruit, in reference to the olive-like fruit of these plants.
The specific epithet bifidus is derived from the Latin meaning for deeply two-cleft or bifid.
Early Hawaiian Use
J.F. Rock notes that early Hawaiians fashioned the strong woody fibers (bast) of kalia into cordage, and the slender branches for thatching rods, while the larger branches used for rafters. [1,2]
Modern Use
Additional References
[1] “The Indigenous Trees of the Hawaiian Islands” by J.F. Rock, page 291.
[2] “Common Forest Trees of Hawaii (Native and Introduced)” by Elbert L. Little Jr. and Roger G. Skolmen, page 214.
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