Alaheʻe (Psydrax odorata)

Alahee by Forest and Kim Starr
Photo courtesy of Forest & Kim Starr

Hawaiian Name: Alahe‘e
Botanical name: Psydrax odorata
Family: Rubiaceae (Coffee Family)
Status: Indigenous
Where found: Maui, Moloka‘i, Lāna‘i, Hawai‘i, O‘ahu & Kaua‘i (HI exc. Ni, Ka)
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

 

Alahe‘e is locally renowned for its wonderfully fragrant flowers and, within a landscape, can be used to replace the non-native mock orange. 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, Hawaiian woodworkers fashion farming tools from the hard wood such as ‘ō‘ō (digging sticks), makau (fishhooks), makau manō (shark hooks) and dip nets for catching fish and crab.

Alahee tree by Forest and Kim Starr

Photo credit: Forest and Kim Starr

Alahee fruit by MNBG

Photo credit: MNBG

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