Keahi (Sideroxylon polynesicum)

Photo courtesy of MNBG

Hawaiian name: Keahi
Botanical name: Sideroxylon polynesicum
Family: Sapotaceae (Sapodilla Family)
Status: Indigenous
Where found: Maui, Moloka‘i, Lāna‘i, O‘ahu & Kaua‘i K/ O/ Mo/ L/ M
Water/Light: Dry, with full to partial sunlight
Elevation range: 430 to 2,100 feet
Height: up to 32 feet

Once a common tree on the dry, leeward slopes of Moloka‘i, Lāna‘i, and Maui, keahi is now hard to find. Although keahi can grow tall, most plants in cultivation have been observed to grow shrublike with dense branches reaching all the way to the ground, making them excellent trees for screening. The brown to dark purple fruits of keahi look delicious, but they are extremely sticky and inedible. While no early Hawaiian uses are known, the stickiness of the fruits and the hard wood was surely put to use, and the leaves have been used in lei in modern times. Keahi is drought tolerant, slow growing, and relatively maintenance free.