Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 39, Number 12, 1 December 2022 — Lama and Hulumoa [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Lama and Hulumoa

<NĀ MEAKANU 'ĀPA'AKUMA O HAWAI'I NEI < ENDEMIC PLANTS OF HAWAI'I r

Ka Mauikiikii o ka Hooilo (The Winter Solstice) By Bobby Camara

Lomo, decorated with liko lomo ond K. remyana, thrives in dry lovolonds. - Photo: KPT

K complanata, shown growing on olopua, hos wide flot stems. - Photo: Karl Magnacca

Tender leoves of liko lomo remind us of liko monokō. - Photo: Forest and Kim Starr

As the sun turns northward on the winter solstiee, we look forward to inereasing hours of light. Lama or Ēlama (Diospyros sandwicensis), our endemic ebony, is associated with light and enlightment. Among ritual uses, a hloek of its wood wrapped in kapa dyed with olena is included on some traditional kuahu hula (hula altars). Male and female trees are separate, though both host hulumoa (or kaumahana), our mistletoe (Korthalsella sp.). Whether endemic or native, our six species of hulumoa are parasitic, and also inhabit other endemic trees such as koai'a, 'ōhi'a, opiko, olopua, and koa. Rounded dark green crowns of lama punctuate its home in dryland or moist forests, while bronze-colored liko, and

bright red or yellow fruits add flashes of color. Hua lama are edible, but unripe ones are surprisingly tart, like those of its cousin persimmon. ■

Pi'oi (huo lomo) up to on ineh long punctuote bronches. Red fruits ore ripe. - Photo: PP