Olonā - One of a Kind

Touchardia latifolia, or Olonā in Hawaiian, is a type of flowering shrub that grows in the valleys and wet forests at elevations of 70-1200m. Olonā is endemic to Hawaii and can be found on most islands of the archipelago with the exceptions of Ni'ihau and Kaho'olawe. It is such a unique plant that it belongs to an endemic monotypic genus, that is, a genus having only one species. Meaning that this genus is one of kind - and only found in Hawai'i. 
Hawaiians would the fibers of this tree were to make cordage and are considered the strongest natural fibers on earth. Olonā cordage was extensively used in weaponry, building and construction, net making, sailing and so on. 

Words to know: 
Endemic - Plants or animals of a certain species only found in particular place in the world.
Indigenous - Plants or animals that naturally arrived to a certain area, but can be found in other parts of the world. 
Introduced -Plants or animals of a certain species that were brought by humans.
Invasive - Usually introduced plants or animals of a certain species that cause harm to the native species. 
                                                  http://www.gilmorearts.com/Olona.html

Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 4, 2018 at 10:44 PM

    Thank you for sharing this plant with us. I really appreciated that you gave definitions of those terms, which is important when talking about this endemic plant. Itʻs neat knowing what plants are only native to Hawaiʻi and the amazing things it could do. So Mahalo again for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownNovember 11, 2018 at 3:09 PM

    I appreciate for providing us one of the greatest blogs. It is a good opportunity for me to get to know plants or animals that is endemic to Hawaii. Native Hawaiian people are quite smart to find this strong fibers and make cordages. Thank you for your informative blogs!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousNovember 13, 2018 at 6:57 PM

    Wow, so cool! The Hawaiian culture was able to responsibly utilize the land and oceans for plentiful resources and opportunity. Mahalo Nui Loa for sharing this post!

    ReplyDelete

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