Jacquemontia sandwicensis
[syn. Jacquemontia ovalifolia subsp. sandwicensis]
Pāʻūohiʻiaka or Oval-leaf clustervine
Convolvulaceae
Endemic to the Hawaiian Islands
Barber's Point, Oʻahu
White-flowered form
Hawaiian Names
Kākuaohiʻiaka. The word kākua means "to bind or fasten on, as a sarong or belt."
Pāʻuohiʻiaka or Pāʻū o Hiʻiaka is translated to mean "Hiʻiaka's skirt," the goddess sister of Pele.
Dried leaves and stems were made into a tea or mixed with niu (coconut) and eaten by early Hawaiians.
Medicinally, pāʻūohiʻiaka was used to treat babies with thrush (ʻea), as a laxative for lepo paʻa (constipation), and for babies with general weakness (pāʻaoʻao). It also was used to help babies and adults with ʻeha makaʻu (frightening pains or aches). The plant was mixed with kalo (taro) leaves and salt for cuts.
Etymology
The generic name Jacquemontia is named in behalf of Victor Jacquemont (1801-1832), a French geologist and botanical explorer.
The specific epithet sandwicensis refers to the "Sandwich Islands," as the Hawaiian Islands were once called, and named by James Cook on one of his voyages in the 1770s. James Cook named the islands after John Montagu (The fourth Earl of Sandwich) for supporting Cook's voyages.
Jacquemontia sandwicensis
[syn. Jacquemontia ovalifolia subsp. sandwicensis]
Pāʻūohiʻiaka or Oval-leaf clustervine
Convolvulaceae
Endemic to the Hawaiian Islands
Barber's Point, Oʻahu
White-flowered form
Hawaiian Names
Kākuaohiʻiaka. The word kākua means "to bind or fasten on, as a sarong or belt."
Pāʻuohiʻiaka or Pāʻū o Hiʻiaka is translated to mean "Hiʻiaka's skirt," the goddess sister of Pele.
Dried leaves and stems were made into a tea or mixed with niu (coconut) and eaten by early Hawaiians.
Medicinally, pāʻūohiʻiaka was used to treat babies with thrush (ʻea), as a laxative for lepo paʻa (constipation), and for babies with general weakness (pāʻaoʻao). It also was used to help babies and adults with ʻeha makaʻu (frightening pains or aches). The plant was mixed with kalo (taro) leaves and salt for cuts.
Etymology
The generic name Jacquemontia is named in behalf of Victor Jacquemont (1801-1832), a French geologist and botanical explorer.
The specific epithet sandwicensis refers to the "Sandwich Islands," as the Hawaiian Islands were once called, and named by James Cook on one of his voyages in the 1770s. James Cook named the islands after John Montagu (The fourth Earl of Sandwich) for supporting Cook's voyages.