Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Coarse, glabrous perennial herbs 5–20 dm tall.

Stems: Rhizomes spreading close to ground level, ca. 1.5 cm in diameter, forming clumps of stems.

Roots: Roots fibrous.

Leaves: Leaves simple. Leaves crowded, 2-ranked, somewhat rigid. Blades linear–lanceolate, 30–100 cm long, 2–3(–4) cm wide, midrib prominent and keeled. Blades rather tough and flexible, folded toward base. Margins entire or sometimes minutely toothed. Sessile. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers in panicles (10–)20–40(–60) cm long, open or relatively narrow, branches corymbiform, 5–15 cm long, cymules 4–12(–25)–flowered, flowers secund, pedicels (3–)5–10 mm long, recurved. Flowers bisexual (perfect), nodding. Tepals pale blue to white, oblong–ovate, reflexed, outer ones 5–6 mm long, obscurely 5–nerved, inner ones 4–5.5 mm long, obscurely 5–nerved, the outer 2 veins obscure. Stamens 6; filament swelling orange and turgid; anthers yellow. Ovary superior, 3–grooved, 3-celled; ovules 2 to numerous per cell; style filiform.

Fruit: Berries dark translucent blue to sky blue; obovoid to depressed–globose; often somewhat irregular; ca. 7–10 mm long. Seeds 2–3(4) per cell; black; glossy; variable in shape; ranging from hemispherical; the inner face angular and with a single crest; to irregular in outline; angular and ribbed with 1 or both ends tapered; 2–3 mm long; seed coat crustaceous.

Ploidy: 2n = ca. 32*; ca. 40*; ca. 70*

Habitat: Occurring in open to somewhat shaded sites; primarily in mesic forest; but also in dry shrubland and grassland; on lava; and in wet forest.

Elevation Range: 120–2140 m.

Historical Distribution

Images

Uses and Culture

USES

Long, slender leaves were braided to serve as lashing material in house construction (Abbott 1992:63; Summers 1990:104–106). Dark blue berries for purple-blue dye (Krauss 1993:67) and for lei (McDonald 1989:67).
Purple-blue to true blue dye with added lime (fruit) (Bishop Museum Ethnobotany Database)