Antidesma platyphyllum
H. Mann
Hame, Haa
(c) mariacostantini, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
(c) Hubert Szczygieł, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Hubert Szczygieł
(c) Ulf Swenson, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Ulf Swenson
What to Eat
Edible parts: Fruit
The fruit are used for syrup, jellies, and wine.
Where to Find It
A tropical plant. It is native to Hawaii. It grows in wet forests. It grows between 150-1,525 m above sea level.
Cuba, Hawaii, North America, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, PNG, USA, West Indies,
How to Identify
A small tree. It grows 7-15 m tall. The leaves are simple and alternate. Plants are separately male and female. The fruit are 1.2 cm long. They are purple to pink berries.
How to Grow
A plant of the moister tropics. A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required.
Other Uses
A dye is obtained from the ripe fruit which was traditionally used to colour tapa - a paper-like cloth make from the bark of several different trees, especially Broussonetia papyrifera. The reddish-brown wood is hard and close-grained. Resistant to shipworms. Excellent for boat building. It is used by Hawaiians to make the anvil upon which bark cloth is made.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Antidesma platyphyllum is a species of flowering tree in the leafflower family, Phyllanthaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. Common names include hame, haʻā, mehame, hamehame, mēhamehame, and haʻāmaile. It inhabits coastal mesic forests, mixed mesic forests, wet forests, and bogs at elevations of 150–1,525 m (492–5,003 ft) on all main islands.
Notes
There are about 100-170 Antidesma species.
Names & Synonyms
Hamehame, Mehame
References (6)
- Barwick, M., 2004, Tropical and Subtropical Trees. A Worldwide Encyclopedic Guide. Thames and Hudson p 28
- Bircher, A. G. & Bircher, W. H., 2000, Encyclopedia of Fruit Trees and Edible Flowering Plants in Egypt and the Subtropics. AUC Press. p 35
- Bourke,
- Kermath, B. M., et al, 2014, Food Plants in the Americas: A survey of the domesticated, cultivated and wild plants used for Human food in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. On line draft. p 77
- Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 7:202. 1867
- World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
