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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, April 18, 2003

HAWAI'I GARDENS
Gingers from around world make their home in Hawai'i

By Heidi Bornhorst

Q. I don't want to turn into a pest, so I promise not to bug you anymore for a long time ... after this one last question. :-)

Does 'awapuhi refer to all varieties of ginger? For example, could you call the pink or red ginger people have commonly growing around their homes 'awapuhi? Or does 'awapuhi refer to a specific variety of ginger? (OK, three last questions.)

A. 'Awapuhi is shampoo ginger, Zingiber zerumbet. This and olena or turmeric, Curcuma domestica, were brought here by the ancient Hawaiians in their sailing canoes.

Many kinds of ginger were brought in by people from other parts of the world.

Hawaiians gave these ginger introductions names like 'awapuhi melemele for yellow ginger, 'awapuhi pake for cooking ginger and 'awapuhi ke'o ke'o for white ginger. They recognized the family resemblance and named them accordingly.

We have many wonderful gingers in Hawai'i today. Now is the time to feed your soil, with homemade or commercial, made-in-Hawai'i compost, for good summer blooming.

'Awapuhi luheluhe is shell ginger. This gorgeous, old-fashioned plant is an asset in any garden. The leaves are tough and durable, and so are the blossoms. It is easy to care for, pest-resistant and long-lived.

Shell ginger is aptly named. The clusters of buds look like pearly white seashells with a blush of pink. The scientific name is Alpinia speciosa. It is closely related to red ginger, Alpinia purpurata.

The Hawaiian name 'awapuhi luheluhe refers to the long, drooping flower clusters. 'Awapuhi is the generic Hawaiian name for gingers; luheluhe means drooping.

The leaves and stems are very useful, especially in its native Southeast Asian home. As we use ti leaves, shell-ginger leaves are used to wrap and steam delicious food. The leaves impart a special flavor, and they make a beautiful wrapping. The durable leaf sheaths are woven into rope, and the stems are made into paper.

See the flowers at the art museum

The Garden Club of Honolulu's flower show, "The Academy in Bloom," will be held at the Honolulu Academy of Arts Friday through April 27. In charge is Pat Schnack. "Celebrating Hawaiian Medicinal Plants," an educational exhibit at the show, will showcase the plants used most often for medicinal purposes in Hawai'i before Western contact.

Liz Keller, a garden club member for 10 years, has a special interest in Hawaiian medicinal plants. Her background is in nursing and her husband is a physician. She has spent a year researching Hawaiian medicinals, reading every book and reference piece she could find. She also has consulted with Isabella Abbott (Bishop Museum and University of Hawai'i professor emeritus) and with native plant grower Dennis Kim.

Keller discovered that although most Hawaiian plants probably were used in some way for medicine, about 30 plants, both endemic and those brought in by early Polynesians, seem to have been used most often. This exhibit will include plant specimens and photos of the plants used most often in Hawaiian medicine. It also will include information on how these plants grow, how they were used in old Hawaii, whether they are still used today, and how they are used today. Keller will have a list of the references she and assistant Katie Anderson used in preparing this exhibit.

Viewing audiences probably will find surprises among the plants used most often as medicinals in former times. According to Abbott, among the most important were kukui (Aleurites moluccana), noni (Morinda citrifolia) 'ohi'a 'ai (Eugenia malaccensis) popolo (Solanum nigrum) and koali 'awa (Ipomoea species). Ko (Saccharum officinarum) was used to sweeten many of the bitter medicinal preparations. And although she was familiar with the use of noni, ko'o ko'olau (Bidens sp.), and 'awa (Piper methysticum) as medicinals, Keller was surprised to learn that kalo (Colocasia esculenta), ki (Cordyline terminalis), 'awapuhi, hala (Pandanus odoratissimus) and 'ala'ala wai nui (Peperomia sp.) also were used.

Last fall, Keller was part of a group of garden club members that gave horticulture and flower-arranging classes at the Women's Community Correctional Center in Kailua. Her classes focused on native plants. The women of the center have been growing 'ala'ala wai nui to exhibit in the flower show.

Through this project, Keller has gained a tremendous respect for the kahuna la'au lapa'au, the Hawaiian healing experts, trained in the use of herbal and mineral compounds. Liz says it is important for us to remember that though we have information on how Hawaiians used plants for medicine in the past, we don't know the exact formulas they used. And that is the reason so much research is now taking place today. Please phone Keller at 261-2850 for more information on celebrating Hawaiian medicinal plants.

Earth Day work

On April 26, the Army Natural Resources Center and state Department of Public Works, Environmental Division, is hosting a volunteer service project in Makua Valley. Meet at the Army Natural Resources Center (across the street from the Wheeler main gate) at 8 a.m.

After a drive to the North Shore, we will be hiking about 30 minutes on a trail that overlooks the beautiful valley. There, we will eradicate alien weed species and helping to restore a native Hawaiian forest. You will see native plants such as maile, palapalai, lama, koa and ohi'a as well as the endangered kahuli tree snail. Phone Kapua Kawelo or Vince Costello at 656-7641 to reserve a spot. Space is limited. See you there!