Dodonaea viscosa
COMMON NAME | A'ali'I, Hop Bush
or Sand Olive |
TYPE | Shrub |
FAMILY | Sapindaceae |
NOTES | A medium-sized shrub
or small tree up to 25 feet tall, but most often it is 6 to 12 feet in
height. There is a lot of variation in leaf size and shape, but the leaves
are generally longer than they are wide and most often pointed. new leaves, and sometimes older ones as
well, are covered with a sticky substance. Generally, older leaves have a
rough, sandpapery texture. The plant may have one or several main trunks
which have reddish-brown to blackish gray bark. The wood is extremely tough
and durable. In New Zealand, where it is the heaviest of any native wood, the
Māori have traditionally used it for making weapons, carved walking staves,
axe-handles, and weights on drill shafts.Native Hawaiians made pou (house
posts), laʻau melomelo (fishing lures), and ʻōʻō (digging sticks) from
ʻaʻaliʻi wood and a red dye from the fruit. |
GEOGRAPHIC REGION | Australia, India, and tropical and
subtropical Africa |
NATIVE HABITAT | Does well in a wide
range of climates and soils from riverine forest, sandy beaches to rocky soils
on hillsides and arid marginal areas, mostly in disturbed areas. |
WEB SOURCES |
