Leptecophylla tameiameiae

Leptecophylla tameiameiae, known as pūkiawe or maiele in the Hawaiian language, is a species of flowering plant that is native to the Hawaiian and Marquesas Islands.^[3] The specific epithet honors King Kamehameha I, who formed the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. It grows as a tree up to 4.6 m (15 ft) tall in forests and as a shrub 0.9–3 m (3.0–9.8 ft) in height elsewhere. Its small needle-like leaves are whitish underneath, dark green above. The round berries range in color from white through shades of pink to red.^[2] Pūkiawe is found in a variety of habitats in Hawaii at elevations of 15–3,230 m (49–10,597 ft), including mixed mesic forests, wet forests, bogs, and alpine shrublands.^[4]

Leptecophylla tameiameiae
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Ericales
Family:	Ericaceae
Genus:	Leptecophylla
Species:	L. tameiameiae
Binomial name
Leptecophylla tameiameiae (Cham. & Schltdl.) C.M.Weiller
Synonyms
Cyathodes tameiameiae Cham. & Schltdl.[1] Styphelia douglasii (A.Gray) Skottsb.[2] Styphelia tameiameiae (Cham.) F.Muell.[1]

Ecology

Pūkiawe is a hardy, adaptive, and morphologically variable plant that occupies a variety of ecosystems, from dry forest up to alpine bogs and shrublands.^[5] Despite being common, it is difficult to propagate, taking months to years for seeds to germinate and growing very slowly.^[6]

The nēnē and other birds eat the berries of this shrub and thus distribute it.^[6]

Human Uses

Native Hawaiians would inhale ground leaves of the pūkiawe to treat congestion, and used the fruit to make lei.^[4]

Hawaiian nobility used the smoke of pūkiawe to modify their mana before interacting with people of lower caste. ^[7][5] The bodies of executed criminals were cremated on pyres of pūkiawe to drive the mana from their bones and ensure their ghosts were harmless.^[5]