Sida fallax
{{short description|Species of plant}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Starr 020112-0026 Sida fallax.jpg
|image_caption =
|image2 = 黃花稔屬 Sida fallax -香港公園 Hong Kong Park- (33216289433).jpg
|image2_caption =
|genus = Sida
|species = fallax
|authority = Walp.
}}
File:Sida fallax Nihoa.jpg island ]]
Sida fallax, known as yellow ilima{{PLANTS|id=SIFA|taxon=Sida fallax|access-date=12 November 2015}}, golden mallow,{{cite journal|title=The Vasuclar Plants of Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands|last=Velde|first=Nancy Vander|journal=Atoll Research Bulletin|date=August 2003|volume=503|pages=1–141|publisher=Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History|location=Washington, D.C.|doi=10.5479/si.00775630.503.1|url=https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/5922/00503.pdf|access-date=August 30, 2021}}, or {{okina}}Ilima is a species of herbaceous flowering plant in the Hibiscus family, Malvaceae, indigenous to the Hawaiian Archipelago and other Pacific Islands. Plants may be erect or prostrate and are found in drier areas in sandy soils, often near the ocean. {{okina}}Ilima is the symbol of Laloimehani and is the flower for the islands of O{{okina}}ahu, Hawai{{okina}}i, and Abemama, Kiribati.
It is known as {{okina}}ilima or {{okina}}āpiki in Hawaiian{{Cite web |title={{okina}}ilima |url=https://wehewehe.org/gsdl2.85/cgi-bin/hdict?a=q&r=1&hs=1&m=-1&o=-1&qto=4&e=d-11000-00---off-0hdict--00-1----0-10-0---0---0direct-10-ED--4--textpukuielbert%252ctextmamaka-----0-1l--11-haw-Zz-1---Zz-1-home---00-3-1-00-0--4----0-0-11-00-0utfZz-8-00&q=%CA%BBilima&fqv=textpukuielbert%252ctextmamaka&af=1&fqf=ED |access-date=2021-08-28 |website=Ulukau Hawaiian Electronic Dictionary}} and as kio in Marshallese,{{cite web |title=Native plants of the Marshalls |url=http://biormi.org/index.shtml?en/native_plants.shtml |website=Republic of the Marshall Islands Biodiversity Clearing House Mechanism |date=April 2004 |publisher=RMI Office of Environmental Planning and Policy Coordination (OEPPC) |access-date=7 September 2019}} te kaura in Kiribati, idibin ekaura in Nauruan,{{cite journal|title=Plants of Kiribati: A Listing and Analysis of Vernacular Names|last=Thaman|first=R.R.|journal=Atoll Research Bulletin|date=August 1987|volume=296|pages=1–42|publisher=Smithsonian Institution|location=Washington, D.C.|doi=10.5479/si.00775630.296.1|url=https://nauru-data.sprep.org/system/files/60_2.pdf|access-date=August 30, 2021}} and akatā in Tuvalu.{{cite report|last=Naikatini|first=A.|date=2021|title=Field Guide for the Biodiversity Rapid Assessment Program (BioRAP) of Funafuti Atoll, Nukulaelae Atoll, Niutao Island and Vaitupu Island, Tuvalu – Technical Report|publisher=Ridge to Reef Unit, Department of Environment|location=Vaiaku, Tuvalu|url=https://www.pacific-r2r.org/sites/default/files/2021-07/Tuvalu%20R2R%20BioRAP%20Field%20Guide.pdf|access-date=September 1, 2021}}
In Hawaiian religion, the {{okina}}ilima flowers are associated with Laka, the goddess of the hula, and the plant's prostrate form with Pele's brother, Kane-{{okina}}apua, the god of taro planters.{{cite journal|title=Batiri Kei Baravi: The Ethnobotany of Pacific Island Coastal Plants|last=Thaman|first=R.R.|journal=Atoll Research Bulletin|date=May 1992|volume=361|publisher=Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History|location=Washington, D.C.|url=https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/5070/00361.pdf|access-date=August 30, 2021|page=43|doi=10.5479/si.00775630.361.1}} Lei made from {{okina}}ilima were believed to attract mischievous spirits (thus its alternative name, {{okina}}āpiki), although some considered them to be lucky.{{Cite web |title={{okina}}āpiki|url=https://wehewehe.org/gsdl2.85/cgi-bin/hdict?a=q&r=1&hs=1&m=-1&o=-1&qto=4&e=d-11000-00---off-0hdict--00-1----0-10-0---0---0direct-10-ED--4--textpukuielbert%252ctextmamaka-----0-1l--11-haw-Zz-1---Zz-1-home-%25ca%25bbilima--00-4-1-00-0--4----0-0-11-00-0utfZz-8-00&q=%CA%BB%C4%81piki&fqv=textpukuielbert%252ctextmamaka&af=1&fqf=ED |access-date=2021-08-28 |website=Ulukau Hawaiian Electronic Dictionary}}
Description
The flowers are small, {{convert|0.75|-|1|in|cm|abbr=on}} in diameter; have five petals; and range from golden yellow to orange in color.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/hawnprop/plants/sid-fall.htm|title=Sida fallax ('Ilima)|website=www.ctahr.hawaii.edu|access-date=2019-04-12}}
{{okina}}Ilima grows from {{convert|6|in|mm}} to {{convert|10|ft|m}} tall in prostrate (beach growing) and erect (upland shrub) forms. Lowland {{okina}}ilima, known as {{okina}}ilima papa, has silver-green foliage; mountain varieties have smooth, green foliage. Leaves can be long and narrow or rounded or heart-shaped with finely to coarsely serrated leaf margins. Flowers may be solitary or occur in small clusters.{{cite news|last1=Rauch|first1=Fred D.|title=Ilima|date=1997|publisher=Cooperative Extension Service, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawai{{okina}}i at Mānoa|pages=1|url=http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/OF-15.pdf|access-date=17 September 2015}}
Uses
Native Hawaiians used {{okina}}ilima flowers to make lei,{{cite web|url=http://data.bishopmuseum.org/ethnobotanydb/ethnobotany.php?b=d&ID=ilima|title={{okina}}ilima, apiki, {{okina}}ilima lei, kapuaokanakamaimai. {{okina}}ilima ku kala, {{okina}}ilima makana{{okina}}a|last=|first=|date=|work=Hawaiian Ethnobotany Database|publisher=Bernice P. Bishop Museum|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2009-03-29}} and it is possibly the only plant cultivated specifically for lei-making in ancient Hawai{{okina}}i. About 1,000 {{okina}}ilima blossoms are needed to make one strand of a lei.{{Cite book |last=Bornhorst |first=Heidi Leianuenue |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n-OESYDpr6wC&pg=PA19 |title=Growing Native Hawaiian Plants: A How-to Guide for the Gardener |date=2005 |publisher=Bess Press |isbn=1-57306-207-3 |edition=Rev. |location=Honolulu, Hawai'i |page=19 |oclc=60589490}} {{okina}}Ilima is now planted as a commercial crop for flowers and garlands in Hawai{{okina}}i and Kiribati; where it was once seen as only for use in lei for royalty, but it now can be worn by anyone.
The flowers are sometimes also used as a food garnish,{{Cite web|url=http://nativeplants.hawaii.edu/plant/view/Sida_fallax|title=Native Plants Hawaii - Viewing Plant: Sida fallax|website=nativeplants.hawaii.edu|access-date=2019-04-12}} and flowers and tender meristems are sometimes used to scent coconut oil in Nauru. The stems are used in weaving rough baskets, floor coverings, and in house thatching. The bushes are used to help prepare swamp taro beds in Hawai{{okina}}i, and dried leaves and flowers are used as fertilizer, mulch, and sometimes compost in Kiribati. S. fallax is sometimes used as a groundcover in tropical areas.
Traditionally, {{okina}}ilima was used medicinally to ease pregnancy and as a mild laxative. The flowers were used in magic, particularly love magic; for example, in Kiribati S. fallax flowers were mixed with coconut milk and bark from Premna serratifolia trees to promote true love.{{cite journal|title=Kiribati Agroforestry: Trees, People and the Atoll Environment|last=Thaman|first=R.R.|journal=Atoll Research Bulletin|date=January 1990|volume=333|publisher=Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History|location=Washington, D.C.|url=https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/5915/00333.pdf|doi=10.5479/si.00775630.333.1|page=21}}
References
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{{commons category|position=left|Sida fallax}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q3015052}}