Wild Edibles in Hawaii - Edible Flowers and Spices

Plants on Hawaii have many different origins, some indigenous, others alien. Endemic plants are those species that evolved in isolation on the Hawaiian islands and are found nowhere else. Indigenous plants are those that colonized the island before the arrival of humans, such as those that arrive on the winds or over the ocean. Plants introduced by the first travelers to Hawaii, the Polynesians, are regarded as native. Most of these plants have important uses for food, fiber, medicine, and spiritual significance. Alien species are the plants introduced after the late 1700s since contact with European explorers. Some plants were brought purposely, many were accidental weed introductions. Many alien species are escaped cultivated plants and fruit trees, and many are causing damage to the native and less hardy Hawaiian plants. Here we'll discuss two edible flowers and two other plants, parts of which are used as spices. Three of these plants were shown to us by Matt Kirk of the Kauai Nature School on the walk we took with him on Kauai.

Sensitive plant (Mimosa pudica) is only found here in Connecticut as a greenhouse curiosity, but on Hawaii it is a common weed. It is native to South and Central America, and is now so common it is considered naturalized. It grows along roadsides, in agricultural areas, and edges of the forests, preferring full sun. It is a small creeping herb with pinnately compound leaves, with 10 to 26 pairs of oval leaflets along the stem. When touched, the leaflets droop and fold up along the stem, happening right before your eyes. The leaflets also close at night. The sensitive plant produces a pink puff-ball flower that is edible. While pretty, it is a bit bitter, and is mostly used as a garnish or for Ayurvedic medicinal treatments.

Another much tastier flower we tried was Jamaican vervain (Stachtarpheta sp.), also known as porterweed or rat's tail. It is native to tropical Central America, and there are several species found in Hawaii. It grows along roadsides and disturbed areas at lower elevations, we found plenty on seaside cliffs. The leaves are opposite and toothed, with a rough surface. The plant produces a long, spindly flower spike about 12" above the leaves, and there are a few tubular, 5-petaled, blue or purple flowers blooming along this flower spike at a time. This flower tastes like shiitake mushrooms, and Matt explained to us that the flowers have a slight sedative effect when eaten in quantity.

Ti (Cordyline fruticosa) is a common plant in Hawaii, brought by the Polynesians for its many uses. It is used in traditional Hawaiian cooking as a food wrapper, and thereby food flavoring, and it is useful medicinally. The roots of mature plants are starchy and also edible. Ti is planted in yards for good luck, and is a common landscaping addition with its many possible color varieties. It is found in shaded areas of wet forests in mountainous areas of Hawaii. Ti  has a long, spindly stalk topped with a whorl of long, oval leaves, 18"-30" long. It can produce sprays of white 6-petaled flowers from the center of the leaf whorl. The leaves were once used to thatch the roofs of houses, in the making of skirts, twisted into cordage, and to wrap and cook food in the traditional volcanic rock ground oven. The mature roots can be cooked into a sweet treat, or fermented into a potent liquor.

Finding a cinnamon tree (Cinnamomum sp.) was not at all on our list of expectations, but it may be one of our favorite finds. There are several species on Hawaii, each with varying levels of the essential oil that gives cinnamon its distinct flavor. Cinnamon is a recently introduced alien native to southeast Asia and Indonesia. It grows as an understory tree in wet forests and has the potential of becoming a pest. It has dark green, glossy pointed elliptical leaves with 3 prominent veins running from the stem to the tip. New leaf growth is coppery red. What I noticed first were green, unripe berries on a tree that led to closer inspection. The bark is light brown, and Robert peeled off a chunk. All parts of the tree are aromatic, with the distinct spicy-sweet smell of cinnamon. We dried a bit of bark and are grinding it to use fresh at home on oatmeal and in drinks.

Cinnamon bark

Wild Edibles in Hawaii - Breadfruit and Banana Poka

Waimea Canyon, Koke'e State Park, Kauai

Plants on Hawaii have many different origins, some indigenous, others alien. Endemic plants are those species that evolved in isolation on the Hawaiian islands and are found nowhere else. Indigenous plants are those that colonized the island before the arrival of humans, such as those that arrive on the winds or over the ocean. Plants introduced by the first travelers to Hawaii, the Polynesians, are regarded as native. Most of these plants have important uses for food, fiber, medicine, and spiritual significance. Alien species are the plants introduced after the late 1700s since contact with European explorers. Some plants were brought purposely, many were accidental weed introductions. Many alien species are escaped cultivated plants and fruit trees, and many are causing damage to the native and less hardy Hawaiian plants. Here we'll discuss a native plant, breadfruit, and a very destructive alien, banana poka.

breadfruit leaves and male flower

Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) is a fruit we have encountered before on a few Caribbean islands. It was one of the trees brought to Hawaii by the Polynesians as a food source, as lumber, and its sticky latex sap was useful as a glue. It grows in the forest lowlands where it was most likely planted on now-invisible homesteads. It can be a tall tree, up to 60 feet. The leaves are very large, hairy, deeply lobed, and glossy dark green with light green veins. All parts of the tree will exude a sticky, white latex when cut. The breadfruit tree produces two types of flowers, male and female on the same tree. The female flower develops into the fruit, which is about the size of a cantaloupe when fully grown. The flesh of the ripe fruit is light green, and it is starchy and needs to be cooked before eating. The tree produces the fruit all year around on Hawaii. It is closely related to another tree we spotted on Maui, jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus).

sprouted seeds in breadfruit!

Most literature we have read on the Hawaiian breadfruit states that it cannot produce viable seeds, and all breadfruit trees have been planted. We found several fruits in the forest, and inside of one of them, we found 3 large seeds, one which had sprouted and was starting to grow! We also questioned this bit of information when we spotted breadfruit trees growing in impossibly steep ravines off the side of the road. Who would have planted a food tree there, where you can't pick the fruit?

breadfruit

Breadfruit tastes a lot like potatoes, so we boiled up some we foraged from a large tree in Hana, Maui. Robert served it with a sprinkle of soy sauce, and Gillian gobbled it up. On Kauai, we purchased a breadfruit at the Sunshine Market, and Robert boiled it to mash. It may have been more ripe than the ones we found, since it was a bit sweet like a pumpkin. In Barbados, we ate breadfruit at a restaurant scalloped like potatoes.

ripe poka

One of the many destructive alien plants on Hawaii, banana poka (Passiflora mollissima), is a variety of passionfruit. It prefers to grow in wet forests at a higher elevation. Banana poka is spread by pigs and birds. It was originally introduced from South America as an ornamental plant for its beautiful pink flowers. Banana poka is a vine that can climb trees very easily, often smothering the plants below. Its leaves are 3-fingered and veined, and the vine uses tendrils to grab and climb. The 10-petaled pink flower dangles from a long stem, and develops into a green, cucumber-shaped fruit, about 3 inches long. The fruit ripens to yellow, and inside is an orange pulp with black seeds, tasting like a tart passion fruit.

sliced banana poka

We saw thickets of banana poka in Koke'e State Park on Kauai and Polipoli Springs Recreational Area on Maui. As we drove up the mountainsides into the wet forests, we noticed the vines over large areas, and then noticed the pretty pink flowers. We stopped to examine the yellow fruits hanging from the trees, and sliced one open to see the orange pulp and seeds, and the smell was fragrant and sweet. The taste was a bit tart, it needed a bit of honey to make a good juice. Some people don't like the flavor, but we thought it was fine for juice.

Wild Edibles in Hawaii - Common Guavas and Strawberry Guavas

The 3 Foragers on a black sand beach on Maui

Every winter we take a trip to some warm, tropical location to escape New England winters. This year we headed to Hawaii, which we thought would become a once-in-a-lifetime trip experience. It turns out, we are already planning to return to this fantastic environment, lush and filled with edible plants, vines, and trees in every forest, beach, and mountainside. We did partake in many typical touristy activities, but we also got just a sample of the wild adventures that we hope to find on future trips.

Plants on Hawaii have many different origins, some indigenous, others alien. Endemic plants are those species that evolved in isolation on the Hawaiian islands and are found nowhere else. Indigenous plants are those that colonized the island before the arrival of humans, such as those that arrive on the winds or over the ocean. Plants introduced by the first travelers to Hawaii, the Polynesians, are regarded as native. Most of these plants have important uses for food, fiber, medicine, and spiritual significance. Alien species are the plants introduced after the late 1700s since contact with European explorers. Some plants were brought purposely, many were accidental weed introductions. Many alien species are escaped cultivated plants and fruit trees, and many are causing damage to the native and less hardy Hawaiian plants. Two alien species we found very often were these guavas, the common guava and the strawberry guava, both edible.

The common guava (Psidium guajava) is a small tree usually found along roadsides in wetter areas, in disturbed habitats, and in wet forests. Guava is an alien pest on Hawaii, spread by pigs and birds, and often growing in single species thickets crowding out other plants. It is native to the tropical Americas. It has smooth reddish-brown bark and bears opposite leaves that are oval with blunt points, 2"-6" long. The leaves are a matte green with many prominent veins. The fruit is green when unripe, turning yellow and about the size of a lemon when ripe. When cut in half, the inside is pink or white, filled with many seeds. The taste is tart, but wonderfully aromatic. The skin and seeds are edible, adding a touch of bitterness and crunch to the fruit. The fruit is used to make juice, jams, and jellies, and the small tree has some medicinal properties.

The first time we saw this tree, we thought is was a lemon tree on the side of the road in Maui. Robert stopped the car, and I got out to pick a fruit. Immediately I noticed the fruit was not a lemon, since there was a crown at the end of the fruit. I sliced one open to see the beautiful pink flesh dotted with many seeds, and the aroma was pure tropical perfume. We scooped out the flesh with a spoon and Gillian adored the tartness, we all enjoyed the exotic tropical flavor. We picked many of these during our stay in Hawaii, eating them raw as dessert after dinner.

Strawberry guava (Psidium cattleianum) is the second guava we encountered in great quantities on Maui and Kauai. This small tree is found at higher elevations than the common guava, in damp forests and dry roadsides alike. It is spread by wild pigs and birds, and the tree produces soil chemicals that inhibit the growth of other plants. It is native to Brazil and tropical South America, and was introduced in 1825. The bark is light brown and smooth, and the leaves are shiny, smooth and lance-shaped, without veins. Unripe fruit is green, ripening to bright pinkish-red, and about the size of a quarter, often growing in clusters. The inside flesh of the ripe strawberry guava is creamy-white with many yellow seeds, and the flavor is like a tart strawberry. The skin and seeds are also edible. The leaves can be brewed into a tea.

 The Koke'e State Park and the trails at Waimea Canyon in Kauai are sadly turning into mono-forests of strawberry guava, but we were able to pick many of these as a nibble. We first encountered them in Maui on the Waikamoi Ridge Trail, where the forest was thick with strawberry guava trees. There were so many ripe guavas fermenting on the forest floor, Robert said it smelled like someone was making wine.

Sassafras Recipe - Sassafras Root Beer

This was the second time we tried to make sassafras beer, and the result was outstanding. I accidentally left one bottle in the fridge while on vacation, but it actually kept its fizz and tasted even better than it did three weeks ago. The beer was bottled in 4 quart sized hinge-lock bottles. The flavor was spicy and earthy, and the color was an odd orange. Adding in a few spicebush berries (Lindera benzoin) to the brew really added some character, and the lime juice added a good acidic taste. We used a commercial beer yeast, Munton's, available at the local brewing supply store. The roots are boiled to make a decoction, rather than steeped to make a tisane.

We gathered many sassafras roots (Sassafras albidum) during our mild autumn. This small tree grows in Connecticut abundantly, and gathering the roots, bark and leaves is relatively easy. It is easily identified in the summer by looking for its 3 different leaves: a mitten shaped leaf, an egg shaped leaf, and a 3-lobed leaf. The bark is green on the small saplings, but as the tree gets larger you can see a reddish-orange coloring in between the furrows of the grey bark. Small saplings for pulling roots will grow in dense clusters next to the mother tree. We grab the sapling and give it a slow, steady pull until about 12"-24" of root will come up before breaking. It's the roots that you will need for this recipe, and you can pull them fresh until the ground freezes.

This recipe is available in our book, available Spring 2016.

http://www.skyhorsepublishing.com/book/?GCOI=60239108626260&