Santalum haleakalae

Main Plant Information

Genus

Santalum

Species

haleakalae

Hawaiian Names with Diacritics

• ʻAʻahi
• ʻAoa
• ʻIliahi
• Lāʻau ʻala
• Wahie ʻala

Hawaiian Names

• Aahi
• Aoa
• Iliahi
• Laau ala
• Wahie ala

Common Names

• Haleakala iliahi
• Haleakala sandalwood

Plant Characteristics

Plant Form / Growth Habit

• Tree

Mature Size, Height

• Shrub, Tall, Greater than 10
• Tree, Small, 15 to 30

Mature Size, Width

8 feet. [Ethan Romanchak, Native Nursery, LLC]

Life Span

Long lived (Greater than 5 years)

Landscape Uses

• Screening

Plant Produces Flowers

Yes

Flower Characteristics

Flower Type

Showy

Flower Colors

• Red
• White

Additional Flower Color Information

Dense bright red or scarlet bunches (inflorescence) of flowers.

Blooming Period

• Sporadic
• June
• July

Additional Blooming Period Information

Flowering is sporadic but mostly blooms in summer. Dark purple fruits (drupes) hang from tree for a few weeks at maturity. [Ethan Romanchak, Native Nursery, LLC]

Leaf Characteristics

Plant texture

• Fine

Additional Plant Texture Information

Leaves are somewhat round and very similar to some ʻiliahialoʻe ( Santalum ellipticum ) on Oʻahu. [2] Leaves are olive green often purple tinged. They range between 1 and 7 inches long.

Leaf Colors

• Light Green
• Medium Green

Additional Leaf Color Information

Leaves are a glaucous olive-green, often with a purplish hue.

Source of Fragrance

Flower

Additional Fragrance Information

Flowers are mildly fragrant. [Ethan Romanchak, Native Nursery, LLC] The dark yellowish brown wood is very fragrant. [2]

Pests and Diseases

Growth Requirements

Water Requirements

Dry

Additional Water Information

Medium watering. [Ethan Romanchak, Native Nursery, LLC]

Soil must be well drained

Yes

Light Conditions

• Full sun

Tolerances

• Drought

Soils

• Cinder
• Organic

Limitations

If bees are a concern, this tree attracts them when blooming. This species does best above 2500 foot elevation. [Ethan Romanchak, Native Nursery, LLC]

Environment and Miscellaneous

Natural Zones

• 4000 to 4999, 0 to 50

Natural Range

• Maui

Additional Growth Environment Information

This spectacular species is found on the dry slopes and alpine shrubland of Haleakalā, East Maui at 5,000 to nearly 9,000 feet in elevation.

Special Notes and Information

ʻIliahi and ʻiliahialoʻe belong to the Sandalwood family or Santalaceae which comprises about 1,000 species worldwide and includes several species endemic to the Hawaiian Islands in the genera Santalum , Exocarpus and Korthalsella .

ʻIliahi and ʻiliahialoʻe are hemiparasitic, which means they derive some nutrients from their host but are not totally dependent on them as are other native plants such as mistletoe or hulumoa ( Korthalsella spp.), kaunaʻoa ( Cuscuta sandwichiana ), and kaunaʻoa pehu ( Cassytha filiformis ), which are all parasitic. [3]

Santalum haleakalae is very closely related to the rare and endangered S. freycinetianum var. lanaiense and sometimes difficult to distinguish the two apart.

Early Hawaiian Use

The early Hawaiians used the powdered heartwood to perfume kapa. [1]

One older source (Charles Gaudichaud,1819) states that Hawaiians “used all fragrant plants, all flowers and even colored fruits” for lei making. The red or yellow were indicative of divine and cheifly rank; the purple flowers and fruit, or with fragrance, were associated with divinety. Because of their long-standing place in oral tradition, the leaves, new leaves (liko) and flowers of ʻiliahi were likely used for lei making by early Hawaiians, even though there are no written sources. [4]

The Sandalwood Trade:

The captivating scent of the heartwood has fueled greed among men throughout the world. This was the case with a collaboration of Chinese, American and Hawaiian merchants and monarchy in the late 18th century. Due to China’s, as well as a few other countries, insatiable appetite for sandalwood, the white sandalwood ( Santalum album ) imported from India was becoming scarce because of over harvesting and even to this day it is an endangered species. With fewer imports from India, and with the help of American fur traders, China now turned their attention to the Hawaiian sandalwoods or ʻiliahi. From the 1790’s to mid-1830’s, ʻiliahi and the Hawaiian people who harvested the logs experienced an incredible hardship with the exportation of sandalwood to China. For obvious reasons, the Chinese in the Canton-Macao area began to call the Hawaiian Islands Tang Heung Shan [Tahn Heung Sahn], or the “Sandalwood Mountains.” [6] Many thousands of Hawaiians, at the order of the aliʻi, under Kamehameha I (the Great), left off agriculture and worked to supply the Sandalwood Trade. The consequences were devastating. Many of the common people (makaʻāinana) who were used as laborers died from exposure to cold weather, exhaustion, malnutrition, disease or other causes. As a result, during this dark period, Hawaii suffered through one of the worst famines in its history. [5] By the mid-1830’s, the sandalwood supply was nearly exhausted and the remaining inferior or smaller pieces were driving prices and demand down. Even naio ( Myoporum spp.) was trying to be passed off as genuine sandalwood with little success. Naio has thus acquired a pitiful nickname “bastard sandalwood.” In 1839, King Kamehameha III (Kauikeaouli) placed a kapu on the remaining ʻiliahi, reserving it for himself. By 1840 the Hawaiian sandalwood trade basically came to a finish. [7] Fortunately, the people, the land and the ʻiliahi have recovered but not without scars. While not as common as in the past, ʻiliahi is fairly easy to see in its native habitat though very large trees are still difficult to find.

Modern Use

Fruit is used as a dye. [Ethan Romanchak, Native Nursery, LLC] Flowers are used for lei. [4]

Landscape Use

Haleakalā ʻiliahi will grow in a medium to high elevation landscape. Keep host plant fertilized and vigorous. A suggested host plant is kuluʻī because it prunes well and thus will not out compete and shade the young ʻiliahi. Too, kuluʻī has a good root system for the hemiparistic nature of ʻiliahi. [Ethan Romanchak, Native Nursery, LLC]

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 135.

[3] “Distribution and Status of Sandalwood i Hawaiʻi” by Lani Stemmermann. Presented at the Symposium on Sandalwood of the Pacific, April 9-11, 1990, Honolulu, Hawaii.

[4] “Nā Lei Makamae–The Treasured Lei” by Marie A. McDonald & Paul R. Weissich, pages XIV-XV, 28.

[5] “Part II–Species Descriptions Santalum freycinetianum Gaudich.” by James A. Allen, Paul Smiths College, Paul Smiths, NY, pages 705-706.

[6] “A Hawaiian King Visits Hong Kong, 1881,” Tin-Yuke Char, page 93; http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:ezbdf7pOkv4J:sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/hkjo/view/44/4401330.pdf+Sandalwood+Mountains+Tan+Heng+San&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1≷=us&client=firefox-a [accessed 12/15/08]

[7] “The History of Human Impact on the Genus Santalum in Hawaiʻi” by Mark Merlin and Dan VanRavenswaay. Presented at the Symposium on Sandalwood of the Pacific, April 9-11, 1990, Honolulu, Hawaii.