Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Trees or shrubs, occasionally subscandent, ± branched, often only sparsely so, or with a palmoid habit.

Stems: Young branchlets often compressed or quadrangular. Pubescence of simple hairs at least on young growth, rarely glabrous, pubescence ephemeral or persistent, foliage and floral parts usually glandular punctate, also often with waxy scales, particularly on young growth.

Roots:

Leaves: Leaves simple. Opposite or whorled. Blades oblanceolate to spatulate or oblong, midrib sulcate on upper surface, glandular punciate. Lower surfaces glabrous or finely puberulent; blades soft to firm-coriaceous or chartaceous. Margins entire, ± revolute. Veins pinnate, lateral veins connected by an arched submarginal vein, higher order venation forming a reticulate pattern. Sessile or short–petiolate. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers few in axillary, cymose inflorescences shorter than the leaves, often very contracted. Flowers functionally unisexual (and the plants polygamous) or rarely bisexual (perfect). Calyx of (3–)4(–7) sepals, in imbricated pairs, broad, rounded. Corolla of 4 petals, green, white, cream, pale yellow, or pinkish, imbricate or valvate. Stamens 8, in 2 whorls, distinct, reduced but always present in functionally pistillate flowers, longer fertile Stamens equal to or exserted from corolla. Ovary superior, 4-lobed, the carpels connate adaxially at base to throughout their length, when connate throughout, then ± separating during development; ovules 5–8 per carpel, pendulous on short, broad funiculi; style columnar; stigmas linear, erect, connate, slightly thickened apically.

Fruit: Fruit of 4 nearly distinct follicles or a 4–lobed; 4–valved; cruciate or cuboid capsules; the carpels dehiscing along the upper suture; exocarp ± pubescent; endocarp cartilaginous; glabrous to densely pubescent; pericarp thin; woody. Seeds glossy black; bony; ellipsoid to ovoid; somewhat angular; embryo with thin; broad; rounded cotyledons; hypocotyl very short; embedded in white endosperm.

Ploidy:

Habitat:

Elevation Range:

Historical Distribution

Images

Accepted Subtaxa (in Hawai'i) (62)

Melicope adscendens (H.St.John & E.P.Hume) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope anisata (H.Mann) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope balloui (Rock) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope barbigera A.Gray

Melicope bonwickii (F.Muell.) T.G.Hartley

Melicope christophersenii (H.St.John) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope cinerea A.Gray

Melicope clusiifolia (A.Gray) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope cornuta (Hillebr.) Appelhans, K.R.Wood & W.L.Wagner

Melicope cruciata (A.Heller) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope degeneri (B.C.Stone) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope denhamii (Seem.) T.G.Hartley

Melicope elleryana (F.Muell.) T.G.Hartley

Melicope elliptica A.Gray

Melicope feddei (H.Lév.) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope haleakalae (B.C.Stone) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope haupuensis (H.St.John) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope hawaiensis (Wawra) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope hiiakae (B.C.Stone) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope hosakae (H.St.John) W.L.Wagner & R.K.Shannon

Melicope iolensis K.R.Wood, Lorence & W.L.Wagner

Melicope kaalaensis (H.St.John) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope kavaiensis (H.Mann) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope knudsenii (Hillebr.) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope latifolia (DC.) T.G.Hartley

Melicope lydgatei (Hillebr.) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope macropus (Hillebr.) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope makahae (B.C.Stone) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope molokaiensis (Hillebr.) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope mucronulata (H.St.John) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope munroi (H.St.John) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope nealae (B.C.Stone) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope oahuensis (H.Lév.) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope obovata (H.St.John) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope oppenheimeri K.R.Wood, Appelhans & W.L.Wagner

Melicope orbicularis (Hillebr.) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope ovalis (H.St.John) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope ovata (H.St.John & E.P.Hume) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope pallida (Hillebr.) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope paniculata (H.St.John) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope peduncularis (H.Lév.) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope pseudoanisata (Rock) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope puberula (H.St.John) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope quadrangularis (H.St.John & E.P.Hume) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope radiata (H.St.John) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope reflexa (H.St.John) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope remyi (Sherff) Appelhans, K.R.Wood & W.L.Wagner

Melicope revoluta J.Florence

Melicope rostrata (Hillebr.) Appelhans, K.R.Wood & W.L.Wagner

Melicope rotundifolia (A.Gray) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope saint-johnii (E.P.Hume) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope sandwicensis (Hook. & Arn.) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope seemannii (Gillespie) A.C.Sm.

Melicope sessilis (H.Lév.) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope spathulata A.Gray

Melicope stonei K.R.Wood, Appelhans & W.L.Wagner

Melicope triphylla (Lam.) Merr.

Melicope volcanica (A.Gray) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope waialealae (Wawra) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope wailauensis (H.St.John) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope wawraeana (Rock) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Melicope zahlbruckneri (Rock) T.G.Hartley & B.C.Stone

Uses and Culture

USES

The leaves were used as a cosmetic for the skin and faces of young chiefs (la‘au ho‘o‘ui‘ui). Portions of leaf buds are used for ‘ea and pa‘ao‘ao. The bark is used as a la‘au ho‘oma‘ema‘e koko (blood purifier) (Chun 1994:42).
Wood of some species use as kapa beaters, canoe trim, & rigging, mokihana (Kaua‘i only) fruits for lei (see Lamb 1981:53–9), wood also scented (Little & Skolmen 1989:156–9; Malo 1996:154), used in canoe making (Malo 1951:21) says poles used in rigging. Chun (1994:41–2) notes that alani is for chiefs, not commoners.