ʻōhiʻa lehua

Scientific Name: Metrosideros polymorpha

Family: Myrtaceae

Description: A tree or shrub that varies in height depending on the environmental conditions. The flowers are a bundle of stamen that can range from red to yellow in color.

Habitat: Usually in acidic to neutral soils, but are first spotted in lava fields. Can tolerate dry or moist environments. Indigenous to Hawaii.

Uses: The wood was used for house construction, poi boards, tools, weapons, idols, and firewood. The flowers were used in leis, or to treat pain caused in childbirth.

Mythology: In Hawaiian mythology, ʻŌhiʻa and Lehua were two young lovers. The volcano goddess Pele fell in love with the handsome ʻŌhiʻa and approached him, but he turned down her advances. In a fit of jealousy, Pele transformed ʻŌhiʻa into a tree. Lehua was devastated by this transformation and out of pity the other gods turned her into a flower and placed her upon the ʻōhiʻa tree.[15] Other versions say that Pele felt remorseful but was unable to reverse the change, so she turned Lehua into a flower herself. It is said that when a lehua flower is plucked from an ʻōhiʻa tree, the sky will fill with rain representing the separated lovers’ tears.

References

• Mary Kawena Pukui and Samuel Hoyt Elbert (2003). “lookup of ʻōhiʻa”. in Hawaiian Dictionary. Ulukau, the Hawaiian Electronic Library, University of Hawaii Press.; Mary Kawena Pukui and Samuel Hoyt Elbert (2003). “lookup of lehua”. in Hawaiian Dictionary. Ulukau, the Hawaiian Electronic Library, University of Hawaii Press.