Myoporum sandwicense
Encyclopedia
Myoporum sandwicense is a species of flowering
tree
in the figwort
family
, Scrophulariaceae
. Common names include Naio, bastard sandalwood or false sandalwood. It is native to Hawaii
and Mangaia
in the Cook Islands
.
, large tree, or dwarf shrub
, depending on the elevation and conditions. As a small tree, it reaches a height of 9 metres (29.5 ft) with a trunk diameter of 0.3 metre (0.984251968503937 ft). The largest naio have a height of 18 metres (59.1 ft) and a trunk diameter of 0.9 metres (3 ft). At the tree line, naio grows as a 0.6 metres (2 ft) shrub. The leaves
are green, waxy, and typically pointed, while the bark
of the naio tends to be dark gray, although the bark of one unique variety on the island of Oahu
is covered in fine, brown hairs. The flower
s of M. sandwicense bloom year round
and are generally white or pink and bell-shaped, with a fragrant odor and a turpentine
taste. The fruit is a waxy white drupe
that is 8 millimetre (0.31496062992126 in) in diameter, juicy, and bitter. They usually dry out and remain attached to the branch.
. A number of varieties exist, specifically degeneri Webster, fauriei (Levl.) Kraenzlin, lanaiense Webster, st.-johnii Webster, and stellatum Webster. In addition, a prostrate, shrubby variety known as naio papa ("flat naio") grows only at South Point
on the island of Hawaii
and is characterized by its similarities to creeping shrubs.
is limited to the state of Hawaii
. Within the state, it is found on all of the major islands at elevations from sea level to 2380 metres (7,808.4 ft). Naio can be found in a variety of habitats, including low shrublands
, dry forests
, mesic forests, and wet forests, but is most common in subalpine shrublands
.
Outside of the United States, M. sandwicense is also found on Mangaia
in the Cook Islands
.
s separated from the fruit
- the average germination
time varies by reports but is most commonly noted as taking between six and eighteen months. Propagation by cuttings and air layering is also possible.
of 0.55. Native Hawaiians
, who called the wood aaka, used it to make manu (bow and stern
ornamental end pieces) and pale (gunwale
s) for waa (outrigger canoe
s), pou (house posts), haha ka upena (fishing net
spacers), and lamalama (long-burning torches for night fishing
). The oily
wood was also used as a substitute for iliahi (Santalum
spp.) due to the similarity in smell when burned. For a short time in the 19th century after most illiahi had been harvested, naio was exported to China
, where it was made into incense
and burned in Joss house
s. However, unlike true sandalwood, the wood of naio does not retain its scent for long periods, as when made into furniture.
(Sophora chrysophylla)-naio forest on the island of Hawaii serves as the home of the Palila
(Loxioides bailleui), an endangered native bird
.
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
in the figwort
Scrophularia
The genus Scrophularia of the family Scrophulariaceae comprises about 200 species of herbaceous flowering plants commonly known as figworts. Species of Scrophularia all share square stems, opposite leaves and open two-lipped flowers forming clusters at the end of their stems...
family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
, Scrophulariaceae
Scrophulariaceae
Scrophulariaceae, the figwort family, are a family of flowering plants. The plants are annual or perennial herbs with flowers with bilateral or rarely radial symmetry. Members of the Scrophulariaceae have a cosmopolitan distribution, with the majority found in temperate areas, including...
. Common names include Naio, bastard sandalwood or false sandalwood. It is native to Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
and Mangaia
Mangaia
Mangaia is the most southerly of the Cook Islands and the second largest, after Rarotonga.-Geography:...
in the Cook Islands
Cook Islands
The Cook Islands is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand...
.
Description
M. sandwicense grows as either a small treeTree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
, large tree, or dwarf shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
, depending on the elevation and conditions. As a small tree, it reaches a height of 9 metres (29.5 ft) with a trunk diameter of 0.3 metre (0.984251968503937 ft). The largest naio have a height of 18 metres (59.1 ft) and a trunk diameter of 0.9 metres (3 ft). At the tree line, naio grows as a 0.6 metres (2 ft) shrub. The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are green, waxy, and typically pointed, while the bark
Bark
Bark is the outermost layers of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside of the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consists of the inner bark and the outer bark. The inner...
of the naio tends to be dark gray, although the bark of one unique variety on the island of Oahu
Oahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
is covered in fine, brown hairs. The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s of M. sandwicense bloom year round
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
and are generally white or pink and bell-shaped, with a fragrant odor and a turpentine
Turpentine
Turpentine is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin obtained from trees, mainly pine trees. It is composed of terpenes, mainly the monoterpenes alpha-pinene and beta-pinene...
taste. The fruit is a waxy white drupe
Drupe
In botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovaries...
that is 8 millimetre (0.31496062992126 in) in diameter, juicy, and bitter. They usually dry out and remain attached to the branch.
Taxonomy
The common variety of M. sandwicense was described by Asa GrayAsa Gray
-References:*Asa Gray. Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928–1936.*Asa Gray. Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed. 17 Vols. Gale Research, 1998.*Asa Gray. Plant Sciences. 4 vols. Macmillan Reference USA, 2001....
. A number of varieties exist, specifically degeneri Webster, fauriei (Levl.) Kraenzlin, lanaiense Webster, st.-johnii Webster, and stellatum Webster. In addition, a prostrate, shrubby variety known as naio papa ("flat naio") grows only at South Point
Ka Lae
Ka Lae , also known as South Point, is the southernmost point of the Big Island of Hawaii and of the 50 United States. The Ka Lae area is registered as a National Historic Landmark District under the name South Point Complex...
on the island of Hawaii
Hawaii (island)
The Island of Hawaii, also called the Big Island or Hawaii Island , is a volcanic island in the North Pacific Ocean...
and is characterized by its similarities to creeping shrubs.
Distribution
The distribution of M. sandwicense in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
is limited to the state of Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. Within the state, it is found on all of the major islands at elevations from sea level to 2380 metres (7,808.4 ft). Naio can be found in a variety of habitats, including low shrublands
Hawaiian tropical low shrublands
The Hawaiian tropical low shrublands are a tropical savanna ecoregion in the Hawaiian Islands. These shrublands cover an area of in the leeward lowlands of the main islands and most of the smaller islands, including the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The ecoregion includes both grasslands and...
, dry forests
Hawaiian tropical dry forests
The Hawaiian tropical dry forests are a tropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregion in the Hawaiian Islands. They cover an area of on the leeward side of the main islands and the summits of Niihau and Kahoolawe. These forests are either seasonal or sclerophyllous. Annual rainfall is less than and...
, mesic forests, and wet forests, but is most common in subalpine shrublands
Hawaiian tropical high shrublands
The Hawaiian tropical high shrublands are a tropical savanna ecoregion in the Hawaiian Islands. They cover an area of on the upper slopes of the volcanoes Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, Hualālai, and Haleakalā. It includes open shrublands, grasslands, and deserts...
.
Outside of the United States, M. sandwicense is also found on Mangaia
Mangaia
Mangaia is the most southerly of the Cook Islands and the second largest, after Rarotonga.-Geography:...
in the Cook Islands
Cook Islands
The Cook Islands is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand...
.
Cultivation
M. sandwicense can be cultivated using seedSeed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s separated from the fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
- the average germination
Germination
Germination is the process in which a plant or fungus emerges from a seed or spore, respectively, and begins growth. The most common example of germination is the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm. However the growth of a sporeling from a spore, for example the...
time varies by reports but is most commonly noted as taking between six and eighteen months. Propagation by cuttings and air layering is also possible.
Uses
The finely-textured wood of M. sandwicense is hard and has a specific gravitySpecific gravity
Specific gravity is the ratio of the density of a substance to the density of a reference substance. Apparent specific gravity is the ratio of the weight of a volume of the substance to the weight of an equal volume of the reference substance. The reference substance is nearly always water for...
of 0.55. Native Hawaiians
Native Hawaiians
Native Hawaiians refers to the indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands or their descendants. Native Hawaiians trace their ancestry back to the original Polynesian settlers of Hawaii.According to the U.S...
, who called the wood aaka, used it to make manu (bow and stern
ornamental end pieces) and pale (gunwale
Gunwale
The gunwale is a nautical term describing the top edge of the side of a boat.Wale is the same word as the skin injury, a wheal, which, too, forms a ridge. Originally the gunwale was the "Gun ridge" on a sailing warship. This represented the strengthening wale or structural band added to the design...
s) for waa (outrigger canoe
Outrigger canoe
The outrigger canoe is a type of canoe featuring one or more lateral support floats known as outriggers, which are fastened to one or both sides of the main hull...
s), pou (house posts), haha ka upena (fishing net
Fishing net
A fishing net or fishnet is a net that is used for fishing. Fishing nets are meshes usually formed by knotting a relatively thin thread. Modern nets are usually made of artificial polyamides like nylon, although nets of organic polyamides such as wool or silk thread were common until recently and...
spacers), and lamalama (long-burning torches for night fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
). The oily
Vegetable fats and oils
Vegetable fats and oils are lipid materials derived from plants. Physically, oils are liquid at room temperature, and fats are solid. Chemically, both fats and oils are composed of triglycerides, as contrasted with waxes which lack glycerin in their structure...
wood was also used as a substitute for iliahi (Santalum
Santalum
Santalum is a genus of woody flowering plants, the best known and commercially valuable of which is the Indian Sandalwood tree, S. album. Members of the genus are trees or shrubs. Most are root parasites which photosynthesize their own food but tap the roots of other species for water and...
spp.) due to the similarity in smell when burned. For a short time in the 19th century after most illiahi had been harvested, naio was exported to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, where it was made into incense
Incense
Incense is composed of aromatic biotic materials, which release fragrant smoke when burned. The term "incense" refers to the substance itself, rather than to the odor that it produces. It is used in religious ceremonies, ritual purification, aromatherapy, meditation, for creating a mood, and for...
and burned in Joss house
Joss house
A Shenist temple or Chinese folk temple is a place for worshiping the variety of indigenous Chinese shen from Chinese folk religion and Chinese mythology....
s. However, unlike true sandalwood, the wood of naio does not retain its scent for long periods, as when made into furniture.
Ecology
Currently, a large mixed māmaneMamane
Sophora chrysophylla, known as Māmane in Hawaiian, is a species of flowering plant in the pea and bean family, Fabaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. It is highly polymorphic, growing as a shrub or tree, and able to reach a height of in tree form. Yellow flowers are produced in winter and...
(Sophora chrysophylla)-naio forest on the island of Hawaii serves as the home of the Palila
Palila
The Palila is a critically endangered finch-billed species of Hawaiian honeycreeper. It has a golden-yellow head and breast, with a light belly, gray back, and greenish wings and tail...
(Loxioides bailleui), an endangered native bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
.
External links
olani Community College]] |accessdate=}}- Myoporum sandwicense (naio) information from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR)
- Myoporum sandwicense (naio) images from Forest & Kim Starr