Koki'o/Hau hele 'ula | Pareu - All Colors

Koki'o/Hau hele 'ula

ʻAuhea ke Aloha i nā Kūpuna Lāʻau o Hawaiʻi Nei?

Ke piʻi ke kanaka i kekahi kilohana a kilo iho i lalo o ka ʻāina, ʻaʻohe wahi like o ia ʻikena me ka mea a nā kūpuna i ʻike aku ai i ke au i hala. Ma mua, pāhola aʻe ke kapa ʻōmaʻomaʻo he nahele, i piha i nā lāʻau Hawaiʻi e ulu haʻaheo ana. I ka māhuahua ʻana aʻe nō naʻe o ka heluna kanaka e noho ana ma Hawaiʻi (me nā holoholona a nāhelehele ʻē a lākou e lawe mai ai), emi ihola nā ʻano nahele like ʻole a me nā lāʻau Hawaiʻi. He mau kūpuna kēia mau lāʻau no kākou, a ʻo ke kahua nō lākou o ka nohona o ka ʻāina i ola nui ai nā kānaka mua loa. Aloha nō ke emi ʻana o ia mau kūpuna lāʻau, ʻoiai e like me ka ʻōlelo a kekahi hoa mālama ʻāina, ke ʻole ka nahele Hawaiʻi, ʻaʻole e ola nā hana Hawaiʻi a nalo iho nō ko kākou Hawaiʻi ʻana. ʻO ia ke kumu e haku lau ai mākou no nā mea Hawaiʻi. He kūʻē aku ia i ka heleleʻi ʻana o nā mea makamae o ka ʻāina, e laʻa hoʻi ke kokiʻo, ka pua nani lua ʻole o ka ʻāina e hoʻohiwahiwa ʻia nei ma kēia lau (e kanu hou ʻia nei nō hoʻi e ka lima nāna nei lau i kaha kiʻi!). He lāʻau kamaʻāina ʻole paha ke kokiʻo i ka hapa nui o ka lehulehu ma muli hoʻi o ke komo ʻole mai o nā lāʻau Hawaiʻi i loko o ka hoʻonaʻauao o nā kula aupuni. A pēlā nō hoʻi e lilo ai ka mālama ʻāina i mea ʻole i ke ākea. A no laila he leo ʻualo kēia e kākoʻo i nā kumu ʻike Hawaiʻi a me nā mea mālama ʻāina o kēia au. Aia ma luna o lākou ke koʻikoʻi o ka mālama ʻana i ke kahua o ko kākou Hawaiʻi ʻana. Iā lākou pū ka paipai ʻana i nā ʻōpio e ʻauamo i nei kuleana nui i ka wā e hiki mai ana.

 

It’s a wild notion, but Hawaiʻi’s most stunning native flower—the blossom that’s stolen the heart of those who’ve learned our flora intimately—is one you’ve likely never seen or heard of. Kokiʻo is a critically endangered endemic genus (called Kokia in Latin) comprising four species of small to medium sized trees that used to be found in mid elevation dry and mesic forests. It’s part of the hibiscus family Malvaceae, which includes ʻilima, maʻo, hau kuahiwi and others. The large, fleshy, bright red petals of kokiʻo flowers come together and form a subtle curve suited to the beak shapes of the birds that once pollinated them. Large honeycreepers now extinct would dip deep into chambers holding copious amounts of sweet nectar (possibly the most of all the native flowers). It was a power packed meal rich in sugars and proteins. These gorgeous blossoms were used in lei and also to produce pink and lavender dyes. A brownish red dye, or hili, was extracted from the bark of the tree for dyeing fishing nets, which helped to preserve them. The sap was also used to treat thrush. Kokia lanceolata is now extinct on Oʻahu. The other three species are all critically endangered. K. cookei, a Molokai endemic, now exists only in botanical gardens grafted onto the Kauaʻi species K. kauaiensis, which has well under 100 individuals left in the wild. K. drynarioides from Hawaiʻi may have fewer than ten wild plants left. The dry to mesic habitats where these species once lived are some of the rarest ecosystems in our islands.