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Chenopodium oahuense subsp. oahuense

(2020)

This name is accepted

Kingdom: Viridiplantae Phylum: Magnoliophyta Class/Clade: Eudicot-CoreEudicot Order: Caryophyllales Family: Amaranthaceae Genus: Chenopodium

‘ahea, ‘āheahea, ‘āhewahewa, ‘āweoweo, alaweo, alaweo huna (Ni‘ihau), aweoweo, kāha‘iha‘i

Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Scentless to weakly scented shrubs, sometimes tree-like.

Stems: Stems erect or sometimes ascending or prostrate, 5–20(–30) dm long, branched, usually densely grayish mealy pubescent, sometimes young growth greener and only sparsely mealy pubescent.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Alternate. Blades broadly deltate to rhombic, (1.5–)2–4.2(–10) cm long, (0.6–)1.3–2.5(–5.5) cm wide. Base truncate to cuneate. Surfaces densely mealy pubescent, but Upper surfaces less so and greener than lower surface; blades thick and somewhat fleshy. Margins usually 3-lobed, sometimes sinuate–dentate, the lobes or teeth obtuse to rounded. Petioles (0.5–)1.3–2.5(–4.5) cm long. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers in small, dense glomerules grouped into large, terminal, leafless or nearly leafless panicles. Flowers bisexual (perfect), small. Calyx ca. 0.8 mm long, completely enclosing the fruit at maturity, the lobes ovate, mealy pubescent, margins scarious, especially toward apex. Corolla (petals) absent. Stamens 1–5; anthers dithecal, opening by longitudinal slits. Ovary superior, 2–3(–5)-carpellate, 1-celled; ovule 1, placentation basal; styles 2–5; stigmas dry.

Fruit: Fruit a simple dry utricle; Seeds 1 per fruit; dark brown; horizontal or sometimes vertical; ca. 0.8 mm in diameter; the surface papillose; margins indistinct.

Ploidy: 2n = 36

Habitat: Dry habitats; including coastal; dry forest; and subalpine shrubland.

Elevation Range: 0–2520 m.

Historical Distribution

Uses and Culture

USES

  • Leaves cooked and eaten as greens (Hillebrande 1888:380; Malo 1951:23). Part of composite fish hooks (Kamakau 1976:77; Krauss 1993:43) "The kahuna ho‘omanamana called this plant ‘iloe holokula, because it was used everywhere to induce death…[also used] with the ‘ākia lau nui (Wikstroemia) and some bitter plants as firewood in the fireplaces used to send prayers" but also positive medicinal qualities (Chun 1994:64). The wood of the ‘aheahea is not true wood, but secondary growth (Lamb 1981:36)

  • This plant is used to treat ‘ea (thrush, etc.) and pa‘ao‘ao (ailments). The leaf buds are used to treat children; the bark is ingested [sometimes with niu (coconut, Cocos nucifera), kukui (Aleurites moluccana), lipoa (Dictyopteris spp.), or poi] as a cosmetic for children. For ‘ea, ‘aweoweo is ground together with uluhe (wawae ‘iole kuahiwi, cf. Huperzia spp. or Lycopodium spp.), ‘ala‘ula (wawae ‘iole kahakai, cf. Codium edule), ‘ilima (Sida fallax), and marine shells, then mixed with water and fed to children in poi or possibly ‘uala (sweet potato, Ipomoea batatas) (Chun 1994:64–66).

PROPAGATION/CULTIVATION

  • Easy. Seed bearing utricles are easily collected by hand, don't bury deep, seeds germinate in 1 week & continues for 2–3 weeks; 1st or 2nd set of true leaves appear in 1 month & should be transplanted to indivudual pots, 2-3 months after it reaches 1 foot it should be planted out (Culliney and Koebele 1999:39–41).

Natural History

Statewide Status

Endemic

Island Status

Ka'ula Endemic
Ni'ihau(Incl. Lehua) Endemic
Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll) Only found in cultivation
Kaua'i Endemic
O'ahu Endemic
Kapou(Lisianski Island) Endemic
Molokai Endemic
Kamole(Laysan Island) Endemic
Lana'i Endemic
Kaho'olawe Endemic
Lalo (French Frigate Shoals) Endemic
Maui Endemic
Mokumanamana(Necker) Endemic
Hawai'i Endemic
Nihoa Endemic

Dispersal Agents


Pollinators

Bibliography

Name Published In: Cantley et al., (2020)

Other References

Wagner et al. 1990:538 (Li, La, FF, Ne, N, Ni, K, O, Mo, L, M, H); Starr et al. 2006:34 (Ka); Cantley et al. 2020 (now subsp. oahuense with addition of subsp. ilioense of Mo, KEY)

Occurrences

SNo. Scientific Name Scientific Name Authorship Locality Habitat Basis of Record Recorded By Record Number Island Source Date
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