DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS
- usually small upright tree; sometimes vine-like and leaning or reclining on larger trees or on tree ferns
- stems at tips of branches with four, flattened sides, rather than round
- leaves opposite each other on stems; thick and leathery in older plants
- leaves usually upright when first emerge from bud
TRADITIONAL HAWAIIAN USES
- used in canoe construction as trim or rigging
HAWAIIAN RAIN FOREST ECOLOGY
- fast growing shrub or short tree growing into the tree fern layer of the forest
- becoming noticeably much more abundant in Ni`aulani Rain Forest since kahili ginger has been controlled
- seedlings and sapling found in forest, especially in clusters near the few older, fruiting trees, where tree ferns are less dense
HOW TO SAY “MANONO” IN HAWAIIAN