Melicope anisata

Main Plant Information

Genus

Melicope

Species

anisata

Hawaiian Names with Diacritics

• Alani
• Alani kuahiwi
• Mokehana
• Mokihana

Hawaiian Names

• Alani
• Alani kuahiwi
• Mokehana
• Mokihana

Synonyms

• Evodia anisata
• Pelea anisata
• Pelea anisata var. haupuana
• Pelea hillebrandii
• Pelea kavaiensis var. glabra
• Pelea nodosa
• Pelea subpeltata

Plant Characteristics

Distribution Status

Endemic

Endangered Species Status

No Status

Plant Form / Growth Habit

• Shrub
• Tree

Mature Size, Height (in feet)

• Shrub, Medium, 6 to 10
• Shrub, Tall, Greater than 10
• Tree, Dwarf, Less than 15
• Tree, Small, 15 to 30

Life Span

Long lived (Greater than 5 years)

Landscape Uses

• Specimen Plant

Additional Landscape Use Information

Mokihana, as well as other types of alani, appear to be used little in home and commercial landscapes, but should prove to be wonderful addition if not only for its aromatic appeal alone.

It does fairly well at low elevations as a shrub with some shade and sufficient moisture. Use sufficient mulch at the base of the shrub or grow with ferns such as palapalai ( Microlepia spp.), which may help to the keep roots cooler in lower elevation gardens. [David Eickhoff, Native Plants Hawaiʻi]

Source of Fragrance

• All Parts

Additional Fragrance Information

All parts of the tree (wood, leaves, capsules, flowers) are fragrant with a medium to very strong anise ( anistata ) smell. [2]

Plant Produces Flowers

Yes

Flower Characteristics

Flower Type

Not Showy

Flower Colors

• White

Leaf Characteristics

Plant texture

• Coarse

Leaf Colors

• Medium Green

Pests and Diseases

Additional Pest & Disease Information

Leaf miners have been observed.

Growth Requirements

Fertilizer

Organic fertilizers, such as kelp or fish emulsion, have been used as a foliar spray once or twice a month with very good results. [David Eickhoff, Native Plants Hawaiʻi]

Pruning Information

Dead material can be trimmed. Othewise none is required. [David Eickhoff, Native Plants Hawaiʻi]

Water Requirements

• Moist

Additional Water Information

Mokihana does well with some constant moisture, though it can dry out somewhat if planted in the ground. Potted plants should not be allowed to dry out completely. [David Eickhoff, Native Plants Hawaiʻi]

Soil must be well drained

Yes

Light Conditions

• Full sun
• Partial sun

Additional Lighting Information

Does well with partial sun. The north- or east-sides, morning sun, work well for mokihana. [David Eickhoff, Native Plants Hawaiʻi]

Soils

• Cinder
• Organic

Environmental Information

Natural Range

• Kauaʻi

Natural Zones (Elevation in feet, Rainfall in inches)

• 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

Mokihana is found in diverse mesic to wet forests from about 1200 to 4000 feet only on the island of Kauaʻi.

Special Features and Information

General Information

Melicope belong to the Rutaceae or Citrus family. There are about 150 species of Melicope found throughout the Pacific to tropical Asia, Australia and New Zealand, of which about one third (48 species) are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, several of which are rare, endangered or extinct. These were once segregated into a separate genus Pelea , in reference to the Hawaiian goddess Pele.

Other native Hawaiian relatives include four endemic species of pilo kea ( Platydesma spp.) and four species of aʻe ( Zanthoxylum spp.).

Notable non-native family members include local favorites such as orange, lemon, lime, calamansi (kalamansi) or calamondin, kumquat, tangerine, pomello or jabong, and the commonly used hedge mock orange.

Etymology

The generic name Melicope is derived from the Greek meliko’phe , honey-parts or four nectaries, referring to the four nectar or honey-glands at the base of the ovaries of Melicope ternata , a species from New Zealand. [7]

The specific epithet anisata is from the Latin anisatus , anise-scented, referring to the similar fragrance of anise ( Pimpinella anisum ), of the unrelated Apiaceae or Parsely family, a spice used to impart a sweet licorice-like flavor and scent in foods.

Hawaiian Names:

Alani is also the name for some native brown seaweeds ( Dictyota spp.).

Alani kuahiwi means “mountain alani” and generally refers to all native Hawaiian species.

Mokihana is also a name for a variety of kava famous on Kauaʻi and named for the mokihana fruit because of its fragrance. It is also a named use for a variety of kalo (taro). [8]

Mokehana is likely a variant spelling of this species.

Background Information

Mokihana is the plant that represents the island of Kauaʻi, as designated in 1923 by the Territorial legislature. [8]

The scent is retained in the dry wood and capsules even after many years. But this is not the only species is this genus that possesses the anise odor. J.F. Rock reports ‘a species from the Kohala Mountains…has an exceedingly strong anise odor, even more so than in the Kauaʻi plant, but it does not retain its odor.’ [2]

The fragrance of other species of alani ( Melicope spp.) vary from citrus to anise to rootbeer. [4]

Early Hawaiian Use

Clothing:

Handy and Handy (1972:237) wrote that alani leaves were used in perfuming kapa cloth, to offset the foul smell produced in the retting stages. [3,10]

Lei:

The anise-scented fruit capsules and leaved twigs were used in lei mokihana. [1]

Medicinal:

Handy and Handy (1972:240) wrote of the genus Melicope in Hawai’i, “The nuts, yielding an oil smelling like orange rind, were chewed for therapeutic purposes, and the bark was also used medicinally.” [10]

The leaves were used as a cosmetic for the skin and faces of young chiefs (lā‘au ho‘o‘ui‘ui) and portions of the leaf buds were used for ‘ea (thrush) and pā‘ao‘ao (a childhood disease). The bark was used as a lā‘au ho‘oma‘ema‘e koko (blood purifier). [9]

Wood:

The yellowish-white fine textured, tough but soft fragrant wood of all alani ( Melicope spp.) was used for kapa beaters and trim and rigging for canoes (waʻa). [4]

Other Alani Used by Early Hawaiians:

The leaves and fruit of the Oʻahu alani ( Melicope oahuensis ), restricted to Oʻahu, was also used for lei called Lei o Hiʻiaka , referring to the Hawaiian goddess Hiʻiaka, sister of Pele, the volcano goddess. [5,6]

Modern Use

Occasionally, mokihana fruit and leaves is still used in lei, but mostly on Kauaʻi. Lei mokihana often incorporates maile. [4,5] Fresh and dried capsules contain a chemical called coumarin which can cause a painful irritation on a perspiring neck, even burning through clothing, to the point of reddness and blistering. This pain can recur later when skin is moistened by perspiration. [4]

Collecting capsules for lei has caused a reduction in numbers. [4] Plants should be cultivated as they are not difficult to grow even at lower elevations given some attention to their requirements. [David Eickhoff, Native Plants Hawaiʻi]

Additional References

[1] “Plants in Hawaiian Culture” by Beatrice H. Krauss, page 70. [2] “The Indigenous Trees of the Hawaiian Islands” by J.F. Rock, page 229.

[3] “Lāʻau Hawaiʻi: Traditional Hawaiian Uses of Plants” by Isabella Aiona Abbott, pages 58, 125.

[4] “Common Forest Trees of Hawaii (Native and Introduced)” by Elbert L. Little Jr. and Roger G. Skolmen, pages 172, 174.

[5] “Nā Lei Makamae–The Treasured Lei” by Marie A. McDonald & Paul R. Weissich, pages 13, 94.

[6] Hawaiian Dictionaries online http://www.wehewehe.org [Accessed on 11/18/11]

[7] “Paradisus: Hawaiian Plant Watercolors” by Geraldine King Tam and David J. Mabberley, page 36.

[8] Hawaiian Dictionaries online http://wehewehe.org [Accessed 01/01/12]

[9] “Hawaiian Ethnobotany Online Database” http://data.bishopmuseum.org/ethnobotanydb [Accessed 2/5/13]

[10] “Auwahi: Ethnobotany of a Hawaiian Dryland Forest” by A.C. Medeiros, C.F. Davenport & C.G. Chimera, page 23.