MAILE
Alyxia olivaeformis—Dogbane Family (Apocynaceae)

Maile is a twining shrub which you can see in Kipuka Puaulu (Bird Park) climbing high in the trees in a vinelike manner. The leaves are smooth and shiny, and are arranged in groups of two or three about the stem. Tiny flowers range in color from yellow to white. Fragrant at low elevations, maile is a favorite plant of the Hawaiians, and they commonly weave leis from its leaves instead of from more spectacular flowers. For this purpose the young twigs are used and the woody part removed from the bark to make it more flexible and easier to weave. The women formerly did this with their teeth. Maile was a symbol of an armistice in times of war. If the warring chiefs met on a heiau (temple) and wove a lei of maile, it signified peace, long life, and happiness.

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MORNING-GLORY
Ipomoea sp.—Morning-glory Family (Convolvulaceae)

The beach at Halape is blanketed with beach morning glory. OBERNANSLEY

The morning-glory (Ipomoea congesta) is common in Kipuka Puaulu.

Three kinds of morning-glories are indigenous to Hawaii National Park. The blue or purple, trumpet-shaped flowers are familiar to many of you. Although these flowers are attractive. the plant is a pest in many areas as it has a tendency to climb onto and kill other plants by forming such a dense growth that all sunlight is cut off. The beach morning-glory, found in the park at Halape, now grows on various Pacific islands to which its buoyant seeds were carried by ocean currents.

The morning-glory plays an important part in preventing wind and water erosion of beaches by forming a blanket over the sand. At the black sand beach near Kalapana you can see large dunes covered with the beach morning-glory, or pohuehue [Ipomoea pes-caprae].

KUKAENENE OR LEPONENE
Coprosma ernodeoides—Madder Family (Rubiaceae)

In both sections of the park you may notice a creeping, vinelike plant bearing conspicuous blueblack fruits. This is the kukaenene, which grows erect until the height of the main stem cannot support its own weight. It then bends earthward and begins its creeping growth, putting out roots along the main stem for anchorage and nutrition. The leaves are small and pointed. A close relative of this plant is the pilo, an erect tree which bears small, orange-red fruit. The Hawaiian used these kukaenene berries as an emetic. They were a favorite food of the nene or Hawaiian goose.

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MAUI WORMWOOD
Artemisia mauiensis—Sunflower Family (Compositae)

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The Maui wormwood is a fairly common plant in the drier sections of Haleakala, on cliffs in the crater and in dry gullies around Puu Nianiau, the hill below the lodge. Its general appearance is silvery with long leaves almost round in cross section. The plant gives off a sagelike fragrance when crushed. The minute, orange-colored flowers cluster at the ends of the thick branches.

The Maui wormwood is known only from East Maui, but other plants of the genus Artemisia are abundant in other areas. The common sagebrush on the Pacific Coast is an Artemisia.