DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS
- often a vine climbing on nearby vegetation when more than 12 inches long
- leaves opposite each other in pairs on stem, occasionally with three leaves opposite each other in whorls of three leaves
- crushed or torn leaves have white, milky latex juice exuding from break in leaf
TRADITIONAL HAWAIIAN USES
- widely used by Native Hawaiians for lei making
- one of five native plant species offered on hula altar for the four maile sisters
- fragrance of the maile plant due to presence of coumarin, found in all plant parts
HAWAIIAN RAIN FOREST ECOLOGY
- grows as slender, woody vine, climbing or twining on other vegetation
- in rain forest, grows best in canopy gaps with higher light levels
- all maile plants in Ni`aulani are plantings
HOW TO SAY “MAILE” IN HAWAIIAN