Freycinetia arborea
Species of plant
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Freycinetia arborea, or ʻIeʻie, is a densely branched, brittle, woody climber in the family Pandanaceae, endemic to the Pacific Islands. ʻIeʻie is found in moist forest on the Hawaiian, Marquesas, Austral, Society, and Cook Islands. It grows into the forest canopy, attaching itself to a host tree using aerial roots.[2] It may also grow as a sprawling tangle on the forest floor.[3]
| Freycinetia arborea | |
|---|---|
| |
| Fruit | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Pandanales |
| Family: | Pandanaceae |
| Genus: | Freycinetia |
| Species: | F. arborea |
| Binomial name | |
| Freycinetia arborea | |
The name originates from Proto-Oceanic *kiRekiRe reflected in other Freycinetia plants with related names across Polynesia: ʻieʻie in Tahiti refers to Freycinetia demissa while New Zealand's Freycinetia banksii is the kiekie.[4]
Description
The shiny green leaves have pointed ends and are spiny on the lower side of the midrib and along the edges.[5] Leaves measure 40â80 centimetres (16â31 in) long and 1â3 centimetres (0.39â1.18 in) wide, and are spirally arranged around the ends of branches. Flowers form on spike-like inflorescences at the end of branches, and are either staminate or pistillate. Staminate spikes are yellowish-white and up to 10 centimetres (3.9 in) in length. Pistillate spikes are 3â4 centimetres (1.2â1.6 in) but elongate to 7.5â9.5 centimetres (3.0â3.7 in) once fruit are produced. Three to four spikes are surrounded by orange-salmon bracts. Fruit is 1 centimetre (0.39 in) long and contains many 1.5-millimetre (0.059 in) seeds.[2] The bracts and fruit of the Ê»ieÊ»ie were a favorite food of the Ê»Åʻū (Psittirostra psittacea), an extinct Hawaiian honeycreeper that was formerly a principal seed dispersal vector for plants with small seeded, fleshy fruits in low elevation forests.[6] It is also a favored food of the Ê»alalÄ (Corvus hawaiiensis), which is currently extinct in the wild.[7]
Uses
Native Hawaiians plaited ʻieʻie into hīnaʻi hoʻomoe iʻa (fish baskets), hīnaʻi hoʻoluʻuluʻu (fish traps).[3] The vine (or rather the split aerial roots) also became the framework for helmets worn by the aliʻi (mahiole iʻe).[3][8]
