Beach Hibiscus
Hawaiian name: Hau
Chamorro Name: Pago
Chuukese Name: Sinife
Kosraen Name: Lo
Pohnpeian name: Keleu
Yapese Name: Gal

Classification:

Hibiscus tiliaceus L.
Kingdom: Plantae-Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta-Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta-Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta-Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida-Dicotyledons
Subclass: Dilleniidae
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae - Mallow Family
Genus: Hibiscus L. - Rosemallow
Species: Hibiscus tiliaceus L.- Beach Hibiscus
(National Plant Database. 2004.)

Leaves are spirally arranged with a pointed tip and slightly toothed, dark green above and whitish and short-hairy below. The long-stemmed leaves are rounded, heart-shaped, with several major veins. The few-flowered inflorescences are found at the branch tips or leaf angles. The flowers are large and conspicuous, bright yellow in the early morning,turning dark reddish purple before dropping off in the evening. The flowers open at about 9 am and drop off at about 4 pm. The filaments of the stamens are joined together into a light yellow tube and the stigmas are a deep crimson purple. The flowers appear in early summer. The capsules are somewhat spherical, topped by the persistent sepals. The seed are black or sometimes brown in color including the seed coat.
(Lim, K. et al.(editors) 2001. A Guide to Mangroves of Singapore.)
(Kepler,A.K. 1984. Hawaiian Heritage Plants.)

The beach hibiscus is a coastal tree with a spreading crown found on sand dunes and ridges above the beach, associated with mangroves, or sometimes around freshwater streams in low country or even extending up into wet valleys and mountain slopes.
Seeds and cuttings of hau were brought by early Polynesian voyagers to Hawai'i Nei, and planted by the settlers to yield a light-weight tough white wood with a brown heart. Hau is found and used throughout tropical and subtropical Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia and is held in high regard for its usefulness to the traditional life of oceanic people.
(Lim,K and all. 2001 (editors). A Guide to Mangroves of Singapore.)
(Lebler, B.A. 1977. Wildflowers of South-Eastern Queensland.)
(Kepler,A.K. 1984. Hawaiian Heritage Plants.)

For adults and older children, the small white dome-shaped bump inside the bottom of the flower petals was used. The buds were also chewed and eaten for dry-throat. Slime from soaking the bark of the stems was medicine for congested chests. The lubricant quality of the inner bark was of value as an enema or could assist in the passage of a baby at childbirth.
Hibiscus tiliaceus is use to cool fevers and soothe coughs (leaves), treat dysentery (bark), ear infections and abscesses (flowers) and as laxative (bark and flower).
(Kepler,A.K. 1984. Hawaiian Heritage Plants.)
(Lebler, B.A. 1977. Wildflowers of South-Eastern Queensland.)


** The information provided above is not intended to be used as a guide for treatment of medical conditions using plants.

Today it is often called "hau bush" in Hawai'i and is sometimes regarded as an invasive plant, as it has taken over some areas covering many acres, at the same time creating windbreaks and stabilizing the soil.
Hibiscus tiliaceus is listed as invasive in Florida and has naturalised elsewhere, so care should be taken to prevent it from spreading in areas where it is not native.
(Lebler, B.A. 1977. Wildflowers of South-Eastern Queensland.)
(Kepler,A.K. 1984. Hawaiian Heritage Plants.)

One Hawai'i legend says that hau is a sister of the goddess Hina, changed into a tree. The people of Tahiti say hau is the grandchild of heaven and earth. Some people equate the brief span of the hau flower as representative of the transitory nature of human life.
(Kepler,A.K. 1984. Hawaiian Heritage Plants.)

In Tahiti, the leaves were wrapped around food to be cooked, and were also used as plates. The leaves are fed to cattle in Southeast Asia. The roots and young shoots are reported to have been eaten by aborigines in Queensland. The Polynesians ate the young leaves and used the bast fibres to make ropes and the adult bark to make "tapa", a traditional clothing used in pre-European Polynesia. On some islands the dried inner bark is used to make "grass skirts" worn by dancers. On Pohnpei, the fresh inner bark is used for squeezing the liquid from freshly pounded kava roots. A Singaporean source states that the fibre is used for strings and ropes for making fishing nets and caulking boats. In Hawaii the wood is used to make outrigger canoes. The unprocessed bark is also used by hunters or farmers as an immediate source of cordage for binding game or produce.
(Lim,K et al. (editors) 2001. A Guide to Mangroves of Singapore.)
(Lebler, B.A. 1977. Wildflowers of South-Eastern Queensland.)
(Kepler,A.K. 1984. Hawaiian Heritage Plants.)

(Information for this species compiled and recorded by Camelia Cirnaru, NTBG Consultant.)