From Common Forest Trees of Hawaii

Mokihana
Melicope anisata
Rue Or Citrus family (Rutaceae)

Native species ()

This species, known only from Kauai, is easily recognized by its strong pleasant fragrance like anise, in all parts, that persists for years. It is a small shrubby tree to 26 ft (8 m) high, with trunk to 10 inches (25 ). Bark gray, smooth, thin. Inner bark with green cap, light yellow, spicy, with strong taste and odor like anise or licorice. Twigs with minute pressed gray hairs when young, soon nearly hairless, with raised half-round leafscars. End bud narrow, composed of paired very young hairy leaves.


W. L. Wagner, Smithsonian Institution - NMNH - Botany
Leaves paired or , with leaf-stalks 1⁄4–1 1⁄2 inches (6–40 ) long, with tiny hairs when young. elliptical, thin, hairless, mostly rounded at both ends or slightly notched at and short-pointed at base, straight on edges, mostly 1 1⁄2–6 inches (4–15 ) long and 1–3 inches (2.5–7.5 ) wide, with several fine side veins nearly at right angle with , light green above, paler beneath, with tiny dots visible under a lens.

Flower clusters () at leaf bases, usually less than 3⁄4 inch (2 ) long. Flowers of one or both sexes (), short-, 1–3 (rarely 5), 1⁄4 inch (6 ) long. Male flowers are composed of four blunt less than 1⁄8 inch (3 ) long, four pointed petals slightly more than 1⁄4 inch (6 ) long, four as long as petals and four half as long, and a minute . Female flowers are similar, with four petals nearly 1⁄4 inch (6 ) long, eight minute sterile , and on a the with broad four- , short , and four- .

() cube-shaped, 3⁄8–1⁄2 inch (10-13 ) broad, light green, hairless, splitting into four parts. Seeds egg-shaped, shiny black, one or two in a part. borne abundantly in early fall, especially in September, as well as in other times of the year.

The seed and wood retain their fragrance for many years and were favorite perfumes of the Hawaiians, often placed in their tapa cloth. The , which are symbolic of the island of Kauai, were gathered and strung into leis. However, fresh and dry can cause a painful irritation on a perspiring neck, even burning through clothing. The skin will redden, blister, and peel. The chemical coumarin in the leaves causes the burning sensation, which can recur later when sensitized skin is moistened by perspiration. The leaves served also in home remedies.

The wood is yellowish white, fine-textured, tough, but rather soft. It was used by the Hawaiians for kapa beaters and for canoe trim and rigging.

Common at altitudes of 2500–4000 ft (762–1219 m) in mountains on Kauai. Collecting for leis has caused the plants to become less common. Also, in the Kokee region, the plants have been crowded out by the introduced Larsen or blackberry (Rubus argutus).

Special areas
Kokee, Wahiawa

Range
Kauai only

A few species on other islands have similar fragrance, but not so lasting. The fragrances of other species of Melicope, called alani, vary from citrus and anise to root beer scents. Hikers crush the leaves and put them in their pockets.

Botanical
Pelea anisata Mann

stamen -- the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower; The stamen consists of an anther supported by a filament.

lobe -- Being divided by clefts.

cm -- A centimeter which is about 0.4 inches.

Glands are plant structures that secrete liquids, salts or other substances. Glands often appear as hairs with a drop of liquid at the end.

In an opposite leaf arrangement the leaves come in pairs with one leaf on each side of a stem.

stigma - The tip of a pistil that receives the pollen.

endemic -- when restricted to a certain country or area.

style -- This is a long and thread-like structure that connects the stigma with the ovary. A flower may have a single style, or several of them.

midrib -- The central and most prominent vein of a leaf or leaf-like thing.

The apex is the tip or the furthest point from the attachment.

disc flowers are those in the center of a sunflower or daisy. Not a ray flower.

cyme -- Multiple flower stalks emerge from a single point and the flowers at the end bloom first.

Bearing some flowers with stamens only, some with pistils only and some with both, on the same or different plants.

A pistil is the female structure of many flowers. It contains one or more carpels. Each carpel contins an ovary, style and stigma. The stigma receives the pollen which grows thru the style to reach the ovary.

An evergreen tree retains a large portion of its green leaves all year.

capsule -- a type of simple, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. In most cases the capsule splits apart to release seeds.

fruit -- any seed-bearing structure in flowering plants. It is formed from the ovary after flowering.

synonym -- In botany a synonym is a species name that at one time was thought to be the correct name for a plant but was later found to be incorrect and has been replaced by a new name.

mm -- millimeter. About 1/25th of an inch.

Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom.

stalk -- The supporting structure of an organ. Examples of stalks are stem, peduncle, petiole, ...

The botanical term "berry" is different from common usage. Strawberries and raspberries are not berries. But a tomatoe is. A true berry is a fruit with the seeds immersed in the pulp.

An ovary is a part of the female reproductive organ of the flower. Above the ovary is the style and the stigma, which is where the pollen lands and germinates to grow down through the style to the ovary.

blade -- Just the flat part of a leaf. Not the stem.