Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Trees or shrubs, pubescent with 3–4–celled hairs, these with basal stalks or 2–armed terminal cells, sometimes also with 6–celled glandular hairs, or glabrate, with well–developed schizogenous secretory canals in parenchyma tissues.

Stems:

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Alternate, usually clustered toward the ends of the branches. Blades coriaceous. Margins entire or occasionally crenulate or serrate, usually revolute. Petiolate or subsessile. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers in axillary cauline, or terminal, simple or compound, corymbose or cymose inflorescences, pedicels subtended by a caducous bract. Flowers bisexual (perfect) or unisexual (and then plants polygamous or dioecious), actinomorphic or sometimes zygomorphic. Calyx of 5 sepals, distinct or connate, imbricate in bud. Corolla of 5 petals, white to cream–colored, red, or yellowish purple, distinct, coherent at anthesis to form a corolla tube, imbricate in bud, valvate toward base. Stamens 5, alternate with the petals, distinct; filaments small in pistillate flowers; anthers dithecal, sterile in pistillate flowers. Ovary superior, 2–3-celled, on a short gynophore, placentation parietal; ovules numerous, in 2 rows per placenta; style 1; stigma capitate.

Fruit: Capsules variously smooth to sulcate or rugose; sometimes compressed; style persistent; exocarp coriaceous to woody; endocarp flesh. Seeds black or reddish black; numerous; embedded in viscid resin; endosperm well–developed; fleshy; oily; and proteinaceous.

Ploidy:

Habitat:

Elevation Range:

Historical Distribution

Images

Accepted Subtaxa (in Hawai'i) (41)

Pittosporum arborescens Rich. ex A.Gray

Pittosporum argentifolium Sherff

Pittosporum balfourii Cufod.

Pittosporum boninense Koidz.

Pittosporum brackenridgei A.Gray

Pittosporum comptum K.Schum. & Lauterb.

Pittosporum confertiflorum A.Gray

Pittosporum crassifolium Banks & Sol. ex A.Cunn.

Pittosporum daphniphylloides Hayata

Pittosporum ferrugineum W.T.Aiton

Pittosporum flocculosum (Hillebr.) Sherff

Pittosporum gayanum Rock

Pittosporum glabrum Hook. & Arn.

Pittosporum glabrum × Pittosporum kauaiense

Pittosporum glabrum × Pittosporum napaliense

Pittosporum halophilum Rock

Pittosporum hawaiiense Hillebr.

Pittosporum hosmeri Rock

Pittosporum hosmeri × Pittosporum hawaiiense

Pittosporum kauaiense Hillebr.

Pittosporum kauaiense × Pittosporum napaliense

Pittosporum multiflorum (A.Cunn. ex Benth.) L.W.Cayzer, Crisp & I.Telford

Pittosporum napaliense Sherff

Pittosporum pentandrum (Blanco) Merr.

Pittosporum pickeringii A.Gray

Pittosporum pullifolium Burkill

Pittosporum purpureum H.St.John

Pittosporum rapense F.Br.

Pittosporum rarotongense Hemsl.

Pittosporum resiniferum Hemsl.

Pittosporum rhytidocarpum A.Gray

Pittosporum senacia Putt.

Pittosporum spinescens (F.Muell.) L.W.Cayzer, Crisp & I.Telford

Pittosporum tenuifolium Gaertn.

Pittosporum terminalioides Planch. ex A.Gray

Pittosporum tetraspermum Wight & Arn.

Pittosporum tobira (Thunb.) W.T.Aiton

Pittosporum undulatum Vent.

Pittosporum viridiflorum Sims

Pittosporum yunckeri A.C.Sm.

Pittosporum × monae Rock ex H.St.John

Uses and Culture

USES

For a swollen neck (‘a‘i palaha) or other similar illnesses, the inner fleah of the hō‘awa fruit is mixed with dried kukui nuts (Aleurites moluccana), leaves and root of kupukupu hohonu (cf. Nephrolepis spp.), and leaves, root, and bark of ‘ilie‘e (Plumbago zeylandica) added to ‘okolehao (distilled from ki, Cordyline fruticosa) (Chun 1994:91–92).
Wood was "no doubt good for fuel" (Malo 1951:22–23) Sometimes used as gunwales (canoe part) (Krauss 1993:50); fruits as medicines (Neal 1965:382). Used by certain kahuna for "evil and troublesome work" (Chun 1994:92).

PROPAGATION/CULTIVATION

Intermediate. Treat seeds with bleach solution or lemon juice. Slow germination and growth. Growth occurs in spurts & accelerates once branching begins in plants over 30cm tall (Bornhorst 1996:58; Culliney and Koebele 199:61–64).