DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS
- shrub up to 10 feet tall with multiple dark grey stems arising from the base
- leaves finely toothed alternately arranged on stems
- small plants may have small, roundish, finely toothed leaves
- berries dark red or scarlet when mature
- strictly in wet forests, berries always red
TRADITIONAL HAWAIIAN USES
- fruits eaten
- fruits, leaf buds, and leaves mixed with many other native plants and mashed into a mixture to treat stomach pains
HAWAIIAN RAIN FOREST ECOLOGY
- becoming more common at Ni`aulani after the removal of ginger; small shrubs on nurse logs on forest floor, where tree ferns are not too dense
- largest `ōhelo kau la`āu in Ni`aulani epiphytic high in the forks of major trunks or on large, mossy lateral trunks of `ōhi`a, above the kahili ginger
- also grows occasionally rooted in the soil or epiphytic on tree ferns
(TREE `ŌHELO)
(VACCINIUM CALYCINUM)
HOW TO SAY “`ŌHELO” IN HAWAIIAN
Hawaiian Rain Forest 