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Chenopodium oahuense

ʻĀheahea, ʻĀweoweo or Hawaiian goosefoot

Amaranthaceae (Amaranth or pigweed family)

Endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. This wide-ranging endemic species is found on all of the main islands, recently found on Kahoʻolawe, and also on Lisianski (Papaʻāpoho), Laysan (Kauō), French Frigate Shoals (Mokupāpapa), Necker (Mokumanamana), and Nīhoa.

Photo: Oʻahu (Cultivated)

 

Habit

www.flickr.com/photos/dweickhoff/6904266227/in/photolist-...

 

Early Hawaiians used the wood to form shark hooks (makau mano) fitted with bone points.

 

Medicinally, it was used to treat children with ‘ea (thrush) and pā‘ao‘ao (a general term for ailments).

 

ʻĀweoweo leaves and shoots were wrapped in ti (kī) leaves, cooked in an ʻimu and eaten in times of food scarcity by early Hawaiians. This added greens and roughage to their diet.

 

Etymology

The generic name is from the Greek chen, goose, and pous, foot, referring to the goose-like foliage. See www.flickr.com/photos/dweickhoff/37896864336/in/photolist...

 

The specific epithet oahuense refers the island of Oʻahu.

 

nativeplants.hawaii.edu/plant/view/Chenopodium_oahuense

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Uploaded on October 26, 2017
Taken on March 11, 2017