Alahe’e (Psydrax odorata)
Hawaiian Name: Alahe‘e
Botanical name: Psydrax odorata
Family: Rubiacae (Coffee Family)
Status: Indigenous
Where found: Maui, Moloka‘i, Lāna‘i, Hawai‘i, O‘ahu & Kaua‘i
Water/Light: Dry to moist, with full sun exposure
Elevation range: 30 to 3,800 feet
Height: 10 to 20 feet, with a 10 foot spread
Notes: Alahe‘e is locally renowned for its wonderfully fragrant flowers and, within a landscape, can be used to replace the non-native mock orange. In old Hawai‘i, a black kapa dye was produced using the leaves of alahe‘e. These leaves were also an ingredient in a medicinal remedy to cleanse the blood. From the hard wood, early Hawaiian fashioned farming tools such as ‘ō‘ō (digging sticks), fishhooks, shark hooks (makau manō) and dip nets for catching fish and crab. Alahe‘e is drought and wind tolerant.

From Work Done by Whit Germano to Catalog Native Hawaiian Plants
MNBG

Join Us for the
20th Annual
Arbor Day Garden Expo!
Trees Giveaway
A Few Native Hawaiian Plants from the MNBG Collection
- ‘A‘ali‘i (Dodonaea viscosa)
- Alahe'e (Psydrax odorata)
- ‘Ānapanapa (Colubrina asiatica)
- Hala (Pandanus tectorius)
- Hala pepe (Dracaena auwahiensis)
- Hau (Hibiscus tileaceus)
- Hō‘awa (Pittosporum glabrum)
- ‘Iliahi (Santalum haleakalae)
- Kamani (Callophyllum inophyllum)
- Koa (Acacia koa)
- Koai‘a (Acacia koaia)
- Koki‘a, Hau hele ‘ula (Kokia drynarioides)
- Koki‘o ke‘o ke‘o (Hibiscus arnottianus subsp. arnottianus)
- Koki‘o ke‘oke‘o (Hibiscus arnottianus subsp. immaculatus)
- Koki‘o ‘ula‘ula (Hibiscus kokio ssp. kokio)
- Koki‘o ‘ula‘ula (Hibiscus kokio ssp. saintjohnnianus)
- Koki‘o ke‘o ke‘o (Hibiscus waimeae ssp. waimeae)
- Kou (Cordia subcordata)
- Kukui (Aleurites moluccana)
- Loulu (Pritchardia remota)
- Maʻo (Gossypium tomentosum)
- Ma‘o hau hele (Hibiscus brackenridgei)
- Māmaki (Pipturus albidus)
- Mau‘u lā‘ili (Sisyrinchium acre)
- Milo (Thespesia populnea)
- Naio (Myoporum sandwicense)
- Nānū (Gardenia brighamii)
- Ōhai (Sesbania tomentosa)
- ʻŌhiʻa ʻai (Syzygium malaccense)
- ‘Ōhia lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha)
- Pōhinahina (Vitex rotundifolia)
- Pōkalakala (Polyscias racemosa)
- ʻUlu cv. ‘Maʻafala’(Artocarpus altilis)
- Wauke (Broussonetia papyrifera)
- Wiliwili (Erythrina sandwicensis)