Psydrax odorata - Meet the Plants - National Tropical Botanical Garden Plant Database

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Psydrax odorata - branch detail with fruit

branch detail with fruit (photo)

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Psydrax odorata - Flowers, buds and new leaves

Flowers, buds and new leaves (photo)

In Flower (photo)

Taxonomy:

Psydrax odorata (Rubiaceae)

Synonyms:
Canthium lucidum
Canthium odoratum

Coffea odorata
Plectronia odorata

Common Names:
Alahe'e
Ohe'e
Walahe'e

Classification:

Psydrax odorata (G. Forst.) A. C. Sm. & S. P. Darwin
Kingdom: Plantae - Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta - Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta - Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida - Dicotyledons
Subclass: Asteridae
Order: Rubiales
Family: Rubiaceae - Madder family
Genus: Psydrax Gaertn.
Species: Psydrax odorata (G. Forst.) A. C. Sm & S. P. Darwin - Alahe'e
(Wagner, W. L., Herbst, D. R. and Sohmer, S. H. 1990. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawai'i.)
(USDA National Plant Database. 2006)

Description:

Psydrax odorata is a shrub or small tree ranging in height from 2 to 10 meters, but spreading only 1 to 2.5 m in width.

The elliptical leaves are glossy green on the top surface and up to 9 cm long. The small, white flowers are fragrant and are born in clusters up to 3.5 cm long. The fruits of alahe`e are between 0.5 and 1 cm in diameter, more or less round, and black at maturity. The fruits generally ripen in the late fall and winter and contain one or two seeds.
(Wagner, W. L., Herbst, D. R. and Sohmer, S. H. 1990. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawai'i)

Geographic Distribution:

The Alahe'e is indigenous to Hawai'i and is found on all the major Hawaiian Islands except Ni'ihau and Kaho'olawe.

It is also found on the islands of Micronesia, Fiji and Southern Polynesia. Alahe'e grows in lowland areas and in moist forests. It may also be seen growing on lava flows.
(Wagner, W. L., Herbst, D. R. and Sohmer, S. H. 1990. Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai'i)

Indigenous Practices:

Hawaiians used the hard wood for digging sticks and extracted a black dye from the leaves. The fragrant flowers and the seed are used for lei.

(Krauss, B.H. 1993. Plants in Hawaiian Culture.)

NTBG Herbarium Data:

Click to view an example from our herbarium

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