:Myoporum sandwicense
{{Short description|Species of tree}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Starr_060305-6527_Myoporum_sandwicense.jpg
|status =
|status_system =
|genus = Myoporum
|species = sandwicense
|synonyms =
- Myoporum degeneri {{small|(G.L.Webster) O.Deg. & I.Deg.}}
- Myoporum fauriei {{small|H.Lév.}}
- Myoporum sandwicense var. degeneri {{small|G.L.Webster}}
- Myoporum sandwicense subsp. lanaiense {{small|(G.L.Webster) Chinnock}}
- Myoporum sandwicense var. lanaiense {{small|G.L.Webster}}
- Myoporum sandwicense subsp. st-johnii {{small|G.L.Webster}}
- Myoporum st-johnii {{small|(G.L.Webster) O.Deg. & Greenwell}}
- Polycoelium sandwicense {{small|A.DC.}}
|synonyms_ref = {{cite web |title=Myoporum sandwicense (A.DC.) A.Gray |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:585317-1 |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=21 March 2025}}
}}
Myoporum sandwicense, commonly known as naio, bastard sandalwood or false sandalwood is a species of flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae. It is a tree or shrub highly variable in its form, the size and shape of its leaves, in the number of flowers in a group and in the shape of its fruit. It is native to the Hawaiian Islands{{cite book|last1=Chinnock|first1=R.J. (Bob)|title=Eremophila and allied genera : a monograph of the plant family Myoporaceae|date=2007|publisher=Rosenberg|location=Dural, NSW|isbn=9781877058165|pages=142–145|edition=1st}}{{cite web|title=Myoporum sandwicense|url=http://www2.hawaii.edu/~eherring/hawnprop/myo-sand.htm|publisher=College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii at Manoa|access-date=2 December 2015}} and the island of ʻEua in Tonga.
Description
Myoporum sandwicense grows as either a small tree, large tree, or dwarf shrub, depending on the elevation and conditions. As a small tree, it reaches a height of {{convert|9|m|ft}} with a trunk diameter of {{convert|0.3|m|ft}}. The largest naio have a height of {{convert|18|m|ft}} and a trunk diameter of {{convert|0.9|m|ft}}. At the tree line, naio grows as a {{convert|0.6|m|ft|adj=on}} shrub. The bark on older specimens is often dark, rough and furrowed.{{cite web|last1=Little Jr.|first1=Elbert L.|last2=Skolmen|first2=Roger G.|title=Naio, false-sandalwood|url=http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/forestry/trees/CommonTreesHI/CFT_Myoporum_sandwicense.pdf|publisher=College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii at Manoa.|access-date=2 December 2015}} The leaves are arranged alternately, often crowded near the ends of the stems, mostly {{convert|60-135|mm|in|sigfig=1}} long, {{convert|11-25|mm|in|sigfig=1}} wide, elliptic to lance-shaped and with a distinct mid-vein on the lower surface.
Flowers are present all year and are arranged in groups of 2 to 6 in leaf axils on stalks {{convert|4.5-18|mm|in|sigfig=1}} long. They are a tubular bell shape with a fragrant odor and there are 5 lance-shaped sepals and 5 petals forming the tube. The tube is generally white or pink with darker blotches at the base of the lobes and the tube is usually {{convert|1.5-3.5|mm|in|sigfig=1}} long with lobes about the same length. The fruit is a waxy white drupe that is {{convert|8|mm|in}} in diameter, juicy, and bitter to taste. The fruit usually dry out and remain attached to the branch.
Taxonomy
The species was first formally described as Polycoelium sandwicense by Alphonse Pyramus de Candolle in 1847. In 1862 Asa Gray renamed the species Myoporum sandwicense in Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.{{cite journal|last1=Gray|first1=Asa|title=Characters of some New or Obscure Species of Plants|journal=Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences|date=1862|volume=6|page=52|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/22221#page/58/mode/1up|access-date=2 December 2015}} The specific epithet sandwicense refers to the Sandwich Islands, the name given by James Cook to the Hawaiian Islands, where the type specimen was collected.
- Myoporum sandwicense A.Gray subsp. sandwicense which occurs on all the Hawaiian Islands and has fruit which is oval to almost spherical;
- Myoporum sandwicense subsp. lanaiensis (G.L.Webster) Chinnock which is only found on Lanai and has fruit which is cone-shaped to lens-shaped.
In 1951 Grady Webster included a form found in the Cook Islands as Myoporum sandwicense subsp. wilderi{{cite journal|last1=Webster|first1=Grady L.|title=The Polynesian Species of Myoporum|journal=Pacific Science|date=1951|volume=5|issue=1|pages=52–77|url=http://herbarium.ucdavis.edu/publications/webster/2.Pacific%20Science%201951.pdf|access-date=2 December 2015}} but it is now known as Myoporum wilderi Skottsb. {{IPNI| id =585317-1|accessdate = 2 December 2015}}
Some sources describe varieties including degeneri Webster, fauriei (Levl.) Kraenzlin, st.-johnii Webster, and stellatum Webster.{{cite web| url = http://zipcodezoo.com/index.php/Myoporum_sandwicense
| title = Myoporum sandwicense (Bastard Sandalwood, Naio, Sandal-wood)| publisher = Bayscience Foundation Inc| location = Potomac, MD, USA| access-date = 2013-03-03}} In addition, a prostrate, shrubby variety known as naio papa ("flat naio") grows only at South Point on the island of Hawai{{okina}}i and is characterized by its similarities to creeping shrubs.{{cite news| url = http://starbulletin.com/2003/01/24/features/garden.html| title = In the Garden - Naio papa| date = 24 January 2003| first = Rick | last = Barboza| work = Honolulu Star-Bulletin| access-date = 2008-03-07}}
Distribution and habitat
The distribution of M. sandwicense in the United States is limited to the state of Hawai{{okina}}i. Within the state, it is found on all of the major islands at elevations from sea level to {{convert|2380|m|ft}}.{{cite web |url=http://www2.bishopmuseum.org/ethnobotanydb/resultsdetailed.asp?search=naio |title=naio, naeo, naieo |work=Hawaiian Ethnobotany Online Database |publisher=Bernice P. Bishop Museum |access-date=2009-03-28}} Naio can be found in a variety of habitats, including low shrublands, dry forests, mesic forests, and wet forests, but is most common in subalpine shrublands.
Uses
=Indigenous uses=
The finely-textured wood of M. sandwicense is hard and has a specific gravity of 0.55.{{cite web |url=http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/forestry/data/CommonTreesHI/CFT_Myoporum_sandwicense.pdf |title=Naio, false-sandalwood |first=Elbert L. |last=Little Jr. |author2=Roger G. Skolmen |publisher=United States Forest Service |year=1989}} Native Hawaiians, who called the wood {{okina}}a{{okina}}aka, used it to make manu (bow and stern
ornamental end pieces) and pale (gunwales) for wa{{okina}}a (outrigger canoes), pou (house posts),{{cite web |url=http://www.hear.org/naturalareas/auwahi/ethnobotany_of_auwahi.pdf |title=Auwahi: Ethnobotany of a Hawaiian Dryland Forest |first=A. C. |last=Medeiros |author2=C.F. Davenport |author3=C.G. Chimera |publisher=Cooperative National Park Resources Studies Unit, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa |year=1998}} haha ka {{okina}}upena (fishing net spacers), and lamalama (long-burning torches for night fishing). The oily wood was also used as a substitute for {{okina}}iliahi (Santalum spp.) due to the similarity in smell when burned.{{cite web |url=http://old.kcc.hawaii.edu/campus/tour/plants/pnaio.htm |title=Naio |work=Native Hawaiian Plants |publisher=Kapiʻolani Community College |access-date=2008-03-07}}
=Horticulture=
M. sandwicense can be cultivated using seeds separated from the fruit - the average germination time varies by reports but is most commonly noted as taking between six and eighteen months. Propagation by cuttings and air layering is also possible.
=Other uses=
For a short time in the 19th century after most {{okina}}Iliahi (Santalum freycinetianum) had been harvested, naio was exported to China, where it was made into incense and burned in Joss houses.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2uwKAAAAIAAJ&q=naio |first=Thomas George |last=Thrum |authorlink=Thomas George Thrum |title=Hawaiian almanac and annual for 1892 |publisher=Press Publishing Co. Steam Print |location=Honolulu, Hawaiʻi |year=1891 |page=93 |oclc=746499177 |archive-url=http://evols.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/handle/10524/662/Thrums-1892.pdf?sequence=2 |archive-date=2009-08-24 |url-status=live |access-date=2013-03-03}} See also Thrum's Hawaiian Annual
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{cite web |url=http://old.kcc.hawaii.edu/campus/tour/plants/pnaio.htm |title=Naio
|work=Native Hawaiian Plants |publisher=Kapiʻolani Community College }}
- [http://www.hear.org/species/myoporum_sandwicense/ Myoporum sandwicense (naio) information] from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR)
- [http://www.hear.org/starr/plants/images/species/?q=myoporum+sandwicense Myoporum sandwicense (naio) images] from Forest & Kim Starr
{{Taxonbar|from=Q3331467}}
Category:Biota of Hawaii (island)