Diospyros sandwicensis

Diospyros sandwicensis is a species of flowering tree in the ebony family, Ebenaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. It belongs to the same genus as both persimmons and ebony. Its common name, lama, also means enlightenment in Hawaiian. Lama is a small to medium-sized tree, with a height of 6–12 m (20–39 ft) and a trunk diameter of 0.3 m (0.98 ft).[1] It can be found in dry, coastal mesic, mixed mesic, and wet forests at elevations of 5–1,220 m (16–4,003 ft) on all major islands.[2] Lama and olopua (Nestegis sandwicensis) are dominant species in lowland dry forests on the islands of Maui, Molokaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, and Lānaʻi.[3]

"Lama (tree)" redirects here. For the closely related species that is restricted to Kauai and Oahu, see Diospyros hillebrandii.

Diospyros sandwicensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ebenaceae
Genus: Diospyros
Species:
D. sandwicensis
Binomial name
Diospyros sandwicensis
Synonyms

Maba sandwicensis A.DC.
Diospyros ferrea var. sandwicensis (A.DC.) Bakh.

Uses

The sapwood of lama is very white and forms a wide band inside the trunk. The heartwood is reddish-brown, fine-textured, straight-grained, and extremely hard.[1] Native Hawaiians made aukā (upright supports) out of lama wood, which were used in hīnaʻi (basket fish trap) construction. The white sapwood represented enlightenment, and thus had many religious uses. The pou (posts), ʻaho (thatching sticks) and oʻa (rafters) of a special building called a hale lau lama were made of the sapwood. A pā lama is a fenced enclosure made from lama sapwood. A block of the sapwood, covered in a yellow kapa and scented with ʻōlena (Curcuma longa), was placed on the kuahu (altar) inside of a hālau hula (building in which hula was performed). This block represented Laka, goddess of hula. The piʻoi (berries) are edible.[4]

  • Fruits
  • Flowers
  • Leaves
  • Bark
  • Plant

References
  1. Little Jr., Elbert L.; Roger G. Skolmen (1989). "Lama" (PDF). Common Forest Trees of Hawaii (Native and Introduced). United States Forest Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-02-03. Retrieved 2009-11-12.
  2. "lama, elama". Hawaiian Ethnobotany Online Database. Bernice P. Bishop Museum. Retrieved 2013-07-22.
  3. The Nature Conservancy – Hawaiʻi Operating Unit (March 2004). "Kānepuʻu Preserve Lānaʻi, Hawaiʻi Long-Range Management Plan Fiscal Years 2005–2010" (PDF). Hawaii Department of Land & Natural Resources Natural Area Partnership Program: 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-16. Retrieved 2009-04-09. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. Medeiros, A. C.; C.F. Davenport; C.G. Chimera (1998). "Auwahi: Ethnobotany of a Hawaiian Dryland Forest" (PDF). Cooperative National Park Resources Studies Unit, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa: 26–27. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

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