Canoe plants
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Canoe plants or Polynesian introductions are plants taken from ancient Polynesia and transplanted to several different islands in the Pacific, covering an area of about 120,000 sq mi (310,000 km2). Sometime around 1,700 years ago, Polynesian explorers reached Hawaiʻi, bringing a variety of plants necessary for their survival and well-being.
The following species are generally considered to be canoe plants in Hawaiʻi:
- Aleurites moluccana (kukui or candlenut)
- Alocasia macrorrhiza (giant taro or elephant ear)
- Artocarpus altilis (breadfruit)
- Bambusa vulgaris (giant bamboo)
- Broussonetia papyrifera (paper mulberry)
- Calophyllum inophyllum (ballnut or kamani)
- Cocos nucifera (coconut)
- Colocasia esculenta (taro or kalo)
- Cordia subcordata (tou or kou)
- Cordyline fruticosa (ti or kī)
- Curcuma domestica (turmeric)
- Dioscorea alata (ufi or uhi)
- Hibiscus tiliaceus (hau)
- Ipomoea batatas (sweet potato)
- Lageneria siceraria (calabash)
- Morinda citrifolia (noni)
- Musa spp. (banana)
- Pandanus tectorius (hala)
- Piper methysticum (kava)
- Saccharum officinarum (sugarcane)
- Schizostachyum glaucifolium (bamboo)
- Syzygium malaccense (ʻōhiʻa ʻai or Malacca Apple)
- Tacca leontopetaloides (Polynesian arrowroot)
- Thespesia populnea (milo)
- Touchardia latifolia
- Zingiber zerumbet (ʻawapuhi)
Though recent studies have shown that some of the above (such as Pandanus tectorius and Cordia subcordata[1]) actually predate human arrival, similar or additional varieties could also have been transported by Polynesians.
[edit] References
- ^ TenBruggencate, Jan (2005-09-26). "Kou tree predates voyagers". The Honolulu Advertiser. http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050926/COLUMNISTS03/509260323/1121/NEWS.
