Erythrina sandwicensis - a photo on Flickriver

Wiliwili
Fabaceae (Legume of Pea Family)
Endemic to the Hawaiian Islands (Legume or Pea family)
Oʻahu (Cultivated)

Early Hawaiians believed that when wiliwili were flowering along the coast, sharks were most likely to bite.

The lightweight wiliwili wood was the preferred choice for surfboards (papa heʻe nalu) by early Hawaiians. The wood was either for long boards (alaia) or short boards (olo). Since larger trees may have been difficult to find to be suitable for the surfboards, they were probably reserved for the nobility, including the chiefs (aliʻi).

Because the wood was light, it was used for fishing gear containers and would float if a canoe was upset. The wood was also used for net floats and on the canoes (waʻa) for the outrigger float (ama).

Flowers were used for venereal diseases and the pounded bark for various genital diseases. The bark was beaten with water and regularly drunk as a medicine [for unknown causes].

The seeds were used by early Hawaiians to make permanent lei and the flowers for temporary lei.

Etymology
The generic name Erythrina is from the Greek erythros, red, in reference to the flower color of many species.

The species name sandwicensis refers to the "Sandwich Islands," as the Hawaiian Islands were once called, and named by James Cook on one of his voyages in the 1770s. James Cook named the islands after John Montagu (The fourth Earl of Sandwich) for supporting Cook's voyages.

nativeplants.hawaii.edu/plant/view/Erythrina_sandwicensis

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Taken on: June 9, 2019

Tags:

Erythrina sandwicensis

Erythrina

Wiliwili

Hawaiian coral tree

Hawaiian erythrina

Fabaceae

Koko

Crater

Kohelepelepe

Oʻahu

tree

coral tree

plant

flower

Hawaii

surfboards

long boards

short boards

papa heʻe nalu

alaia

olo

aliʻi

canoe

waʻa

lei

seeds

medicine

outrigger

wood

Hawaiian

shark

taxonomy:binomial=Erythrina sandwicensis « less

Sets appears in: • Fabaceae (Legume or Pea family)

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