Osteomeles anthyllidifolia
COMMON NAME | ʻŪlei or Hawaiian
hawthorn |
TYPE | Shrub |
FAMILY | Rosaceae |
NOTES | A sprawling shrub
with flexible, prostrate branches that can eventually develop into a large
shrub up to 10 feet tall. The glossy green leaves are about 3 inches long and
made of up of 15 to 25 small leaflets. The white, slightly fragrant flowers
grow in small clusters of 3 to 6 blossoms at the ends of the branches.‘Ūlei
has very hard, flexible wood. Hawaiians used those attributes in several
ways. Large, older branches and trunks were used to make digging sticks
(‘ō’ō), fish spears or a musical instrument called the ‘ukēkē (mouth harp). |
GEOGRAPHIC REGION | Hawaii |
NATIVE HABITAT | Dry to mesic forests,
shrublands, coastal areas, and lava plains |
WEB SOURCES |
