The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1886-02-19
Hawaiian Botany.

tor c. NJ. Hyde. But an examination OF
the article was very disappointing. II
swarms with errors. An enumeration OF
| our common plants with the Hawaiian and
scientific names is valuable for reference.
But to be valuable, it should be correct.
Some of the errors in the Doctors article
are no doubt typographical. While there
may be some excuse for such errors in q
daily, or even weekly, there is no excuse
| for their appearance in an annual We
note only the errors in the section "Botan-
ical names of some Hawaiian Plants
| Correct Hawaiian names are indicated in
/ quotations.
The Hawaiian name of the algarOba is
| ''kiawe," and not keawe; and it is the Pro-
sOpis dulcis, native of South America, and
not the CeratOnia siliqua. The latter is the
CarOb tree, native of portions of Europe,
Asia and Africa about the Mediterranean
Sea. It's pod has the flavor of the algaroba
pod, and has different popular names, as
Carob bean, Locust, st. Johns bread,
and its name in Spanish is Algarobo.
This last title has doubtless misled the
Doctor. Again, any Latin scholar knows
that the "nest fern" would be Asplenium
indus, and not A. nicus. The Hawaiian
name is "ekaha." The Hawaiian name of
the Castor oil plant is "koli, - and not
"kolii." 1t is also called "aila."
The Hawaiian name of our common
Hibiscus tree is "hau, - and not 'hao;" and
the scientific name is Hibiscus tiliaceus,
and not Thespesia populnea. The latter is
the Hawaiian milo" tree. Freycinetia
scandens is not found on the Hawaiian
Islands. Freycinetia arborea is the correct
name of our plant. The name sic" applies
to the plant or more particularly to the
aerial roots from which baskets are made,
and "ie ie'' to the leaves.
The name 'kikania," derived from the
New Testament Greek word rendered
"tares," is generally applied by Hawaii
ans to any thorny plant of foreign origin,
and is applied by the Doctor to the Solanum
xanthocarpum, or Feejee tomato. But its
more special application is to the Acanthos-
permum Brasilum, which produces the
horse tail burr, and to the Datura
stramonium. The ''kou" is the Cordia sub
cordata, and not the Cordia sprengelii.
The latter is a species found on the Feejee,
Tongan and Samoan islands. The Yer
bena bonariensis is the "Oi' and not the
lantana. The latter is probably the Ian
tana annua.
The Doctor has also much confused the
Citrus family. Citrus medica is the citron,
and not the lemon. Citrus limonium, not
imonum, is the lemon, and not the lime.
Citrus limetta is the lime. The Hawaiian
name for the Bermuda grass is "manienie,"
and not maniania; and the scientific name
is Cynodon dactylon. The "ohia lehua" is
the Metrosideros polymorpha. L am unable
to discover where the Doctor obtained the
name 81. tomentosa for this tree.
The "olona," Hawaiian fax, is the Boeh-
meria stipularis or its synony m, Urtica
grandis, and not the Urtica argentea. This
latter species is found in the Feejee, So
ciety, Marquesas, and other islands of the
South Pacific. The Doctor calls the silver
sword the Argyroxiphium macrocephalum.
Mr.. w. 7. Brigham, in his Hawaiian Vol
canoes" refers to it as the A. Sandwicense,
and think he is correct. The Hawaiian
name is "ahinahina.
Tamanu is the Southeastern Polynesian
name of the Calophyllum inophyllum.
The proper Hawaiian name is "kamani."
This tree, a native of the Hawaiian
Islands, produces a beautiful wood; and so
its name is applied to what is fair and
beautiful outside, and hence the term
''hookamani'' for hypocrisy. The UNI
brella tree, also called ''kamani," is an
introduced tree, and is the Terminalia
catappa. The "wiliwili" tree is the Fry
thrina monosperma, and rot the E. coral
lodendron. This latter tree is found in the
Feejee, Society and Tongan Islands.
In addition to the above errors we notice
the following misspelt words: Guayava
should be guajava, Dracena should be ORA
cana, papaia should be papaya, BroussO-
malta should be Brousonettia, calyophyllum
should be calophyllum, corallOdendru m
should be corallodendron, milikana should
be "milikani," and palapalae should be
'palapalai."
1 add number of some of our common
plants, both indigenous and introduced,
which have been omitted by the Doctor.
Hawaiian names are indicated by quotation
marks. Plants having edible fruits and
introduced are:
Citrus aurantium, orange, "alani;" Wits
vinifera, grape, " Waina;' Amygdalus
persica, peach, ''piki;' Eugenia jambosa
rose apple; Citrullus vulgaris, water melon,
''ipuhaole;" Cucumis melo, musk melon,
"ipuala;" Cucumis sativus, cucumber,
"kaukama:" Passifora quadrangularis,
granadilla: Passifora laurifolia, water
lemon; Opuntia vulgaris, priclzly pear,
''papipi;" Morus nigra, black mulberry, . XII
hka;" Morus alba, white mulberry; Ficus
carica, fig, "fku;" Ananassa saliva, pine
apple, "halakahiki;" Musa cavendishii,
Chinese banana, ''maia Pake;" Musa Uran-
oscopos, ''bolabola," banana or "fei;'
Lycopersicum esculentum, tomato.
Plants having edible fruits and indigen-
Gus to the Islands are:
Artocarpus incisa, bread fruit, zulu"
Musa paradisiaca, plantain, "maia;" Musa
sapientum, banana, "maia;" Rubus Ha-
waiiensis, raspberry, "akala;" Fragaria
Chilensis, strawberry, "ohelopapa.
Other plants having commercial value
are:
Piper methysticum, AVA" Nicotiana
tabacum, tobacco, "baka;" Arachis hypo-
g9a, peanut; Gossypium religiosum, cot
ton, "pulupulu;" Pritchardia Martii, fan
palm, "hawane;" Dioscorea pentaphylla,
! yam, ''uhi:" Coffea Arabica, coffee,
"kope."
The following are plants indigenous to