:Limu (algae)

File:Ahi limu poke.jpg: raw fish with limu]]

Limu, otherwise known as rimu, remu or {{okina}}imu (from Proto-Austronesian *limut){{cite web|url=https://acd.clld.org/cognatesets/30638#2/-10.7/151.9|title=*limut: moss, algae|last1=Blust|first1=Robert|author-link1=Robert Blust|last2=Trussel|first2=Stephen|website=Austronesian Comparative Dictionary|date=2010|publisher=Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology|access-date=7 December 2022}} is a general Polynesian term for edible plants living underwater, such as seaweed, or plants living near water, like algae.{{Cite web|url=http://www.temarareo.org/PPN-Limu.html|title=Limu: Seaweed, mosses and algae of polynesia|website=Te Māra Reo: The Language Garden|year=2022|publisher=Benton Family Trust}}{{Cite web|url=http://wehewehe.org/gsdl2.85/cgi-bin/hdict?e=q-11000-00---off-0hdict--00-1----0-10-0---0---0direct-10-ED--4-------0-1lpm--11-haw-Zz-1---Zz-1-home-limu--00-3-1-00-0--4----0-0-11-00-0utfZz-8-00&a=d&d=D11135|title=Nā Puke Wehewehe ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi|website=wehewehe.org|access-date=2019-04-26}} In Hawaii, there are approximately one hundred names for kinds of limu, sixty of which can be matched with scientific names.{{Cite web | url = http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/ethnobotany/pdf/Limu-092107AKC.pdf | title = Limu | accessdate = 2008-09-05 | first = Isabella | last = Aiona Abbott

| website = }} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}} Hundreds of species of marine algae were once found in Hawaii.{{Cite journal|last=MacCaughey|first=Vaughan|date=1916|title=The Seaweeds of Hawaii|journal=American Journal of Botany|volume=3|issue=8|pages=474–479|doi=10.1002/j.1537-2197.1916.tb05429.x|issn=0002-9122|jstor=2435240|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/312671}} Many limu are edible, and used in the cuisine throughout most of Polynesia.

Uses

Several species of limu are used as food throughout Polynesia and is typically eaten raw as accompaniment to meals, usually fish.

In Hawaii, limu was seen as a major component of the Hawaiian diet alongside fish and poi. Hawaiians cultivated several varieties of seaweed for food as well as to feed fish farmed within fish ponds. As many as 75 types of limu were used for food, more than the 35 used in Japanese cuisine, which is also well known for its use of seaweed. In modern times, limu is often used as a condiment, typically in raw fish dishes such as poke.{{Cite web|url=http://www.hawaii.edu/gk-12/evolution/pdfs/algae.uses.highschool.pdf|title=Got limu? Uses for algae in Hawaii and beyond|last=Spalding|first=Heather|website=University of Hawaii|access-date=April 25, 2019}}

Limu was used in hoʻoponopono, the ancient Hawaiian process of conflict resolution. Injured and accused parties gathered to pray, seek forgiveness and eat {{lang|haw|limu kala}} leaves as a symbol of reconciliation.{{Cite web|url=https://www.mauimagazine.net/the-lure-of-limu/|title=The Lure of Limu|last=Wianecki|first=Shannon|date=2010-03-01|website=mauimagazine.net|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-22}} It is also used in traditional hula attire{{Cite web|url=https://www.papahanaumokuakea.gov/news/new_species_algae.html|title=New Algae Species Discovered in Hawaii's Deep Waters|website=www.papahanaumokuakea.gov|access-date=2019-04-26}} and as medicine.{{Cite book|url=http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10125/42229|title=Economic seaweeds of Hawaii and their food value.|last=Reed|first=Minnie|date=1907|publisher=Washington, U.S. Government Printing Office|hdl=10125/42229}}

Due to the shape of its foliage, the Maori also applied the name {{lang|mi|rimu}} to the native tree Dacrydium cupressinum.

Types

Limu comes from multiple genera{{Cite web|url=http://www.hawaii.edu/reefalgae/publications/ediblelimu/|title=Edible Limu of Hawaii|website=www.hawaii.edu|access-date=2019-04-22}}

=Cook Islands=

class="wikitable sortable"
Image !English name !Indigenous name !Description and use
70px \|Crowned sea bells (Turbinaria ornata) \|{{lang\|rar\|Remu taratara}} (Rarotonga and Mauke), {{lang\|rar\|Rimu taratara}} (Aitutaki), {{lang\|pkp\|Limu}} (Pukapuka){{Cite web\|url=http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org/species.asp?id=6762\|title=Cook Islands Biodiversity: Turbinaria ornata - Spiny-leaf Seaweed\|website=Cook Islands Biodiversity & Natural Heritage\|access-date=December 8, 2023}} \|
70px \|Double-edge sargassum (Sargassum aquifolium) \|{{lang\|rar\|Rimu akau}}{{Cite web\|url=http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org/species.asp?id=6630\|title=Cook Islands Biodiversity: Sargassum echinocarpum\|website=Cook Islands Biodiversity & Natural Heritage\|access-date=December 8, 2023}} \|
70px \|Open-sponge seaweed (Hydroclathrus clathratus) \|{{lang\|rar\|Remu oma}} (Rarotonga){{Cite web\|url=http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org/species.asp?id=6249\|title=Cook Islands Biodiversity: Hydroclathrus clathratus - Sponge Seaweed\|website=Cook Islands Biodiversity & Natural Heritage\|access-date=December 8, 2023}} \|
70px \|Sargassum obtusifolium (Sargassum obtusifolium) \|{{lang\|rar\|Remu {{okina}}ūmoemoe}} (Rarotonga){{Cite web\|url=http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org/species.asp?id=6631\|title=Cook Islands Biodiversity: Sargassum obtusifolium\|website=Cook Islands Biodiversity & Natural Heritage\|access-date=December 8, 2023}} \|
70px \|Sea grapes (Caulerpa racemosa) \|{{lang\|rar\|Remu kai}} (Rarotonga and Mauke), {{lang\|rar\|Remu kōnini}} (Mangaia), {{lang\|rar\|Rimu kai}} (Aitutaki){{Cite web\|url=http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org/species.asp?id=5895\|title=Cook Islands Biodiversity: Caulerpa racemosa - Sea-Grapes Seaweed\|website=Cook Islands Biodiversity & Natural Heritage\|access-date=December 8, 2023}} \|
70px \|Turkeytail seaweed (Padina boryana) \|{{lang\|rar\|Remu ta{{okina}}iri{{okina}}iri}} (Rarotonga){{Cite web\|url=http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org/species.asp?id=6467\|title=Cook Islands Biodiversity: Padina australis - Fan-leaf Seaweed\|website=Cook Islands Biodiversity & Natural Heritage\|access-date=December 8, 2023}} \|

class="wikitable sortable"

Image

!English name

!Indigenous name

!Description and use

:Limu (algae)

Uses

Types

=Cook Islands=

=Easter Island=

=French Polynesia=

=Hawaii=

=New Zealand=

=Niue=

=Samoa=

=Tonga=

=Tuvalu=

Threats

See also

Further reading

References

External links