From Common Forest Trees of Hawaii

Hao
Rauvolfia sandwicensis
Dogbane family (Apocynaceae)

Native species ()

Hao is a variable species of small native trees or shrubs widespread in mainly dry areas, characterized by milky sap, elliptical or oblong light green leaves mostly 4–5 at ringed small greenish yellow or whitish tubular flowers, and two- black A small tree 20 ft (6 ) high, sometimes to 40 ft (12 ), and 1 ft (0.3 ) in trunk diameter, or a shrub. Bark light gray, smooth or lightly fissured. Inner bark yellowish or brown streaked with pink, bitter, when cut exuding white, slightly bitter sap or latex. Twigs stout, hairless, light green, turning gray, with raised half-round leafscars at ringed


©2003 Forest And Kim Starr
Leaves mostly 4–5 at (), hairless, with slender light green leafstalk 5⁄8–1 1⁄4 inches (1.5–3 ) long, slightly flattened and winged, and in angle at leaf base 5–12 tiny stalked Blades elliptical or oblong, 2 1⁄2–5 inches (6–13 ) long and 1–2 inches (2.5–5 ) wide, thin or slightly thickened, blunt to long-pointed at both ends and straight on edges, upper surface dull light green with light yellow and many fine parallel side veins, lower surface paler.

Flower clusters () mostly branched. Flowers many, crowded, nearly stalkless, fragrant, 3⁄8– 1⁄2 inch (10–13 ) long, composed of green of five pointed overlapping greenish yellow or whitish narrow tubular with five rounded overlapping spreading five small inside tube, and with two ovaries, threadlike and long

() are two- about 1⁄2 inch (13 ) long and broad, slightly flattened and heart-shaped, with at base, black, fleshy.

Sapwood is light yellow and heartwood deep reddish brown. Moderately heavy, fine-textured, moderately hard, durable, straight-grained and without growth rings. Not used by the Hawaiians for fuel because the smoke was thought to be poisonous, nor for charcoal because it burned completely to ashes. It was, however, considered a good wood for construction.

Scattered mostly in dry forests on leeward slopes to about 2000 ft (610 ) altitude. A stunted shrub on a‘a rough lava flows.

Special area
Volcanoes

Range
Hawaiian Islands only

Other common name
devilpepper

Botanical
Rauvolfia degeneri Sherff, R. forbesii Sherff, R. helleri Sherff, R. mauiensis Sherff, R. molokaiensis Sherff, R. remotiflora Deg. & Sherff

This variable species was divided into seven differing mainly in sizes of leaves and flowers (Sherff 1947). The six segregates were questioned in a monograph by Rao (1956) and are treated here as

The Rauvolfia (formerly also spelled Rauwolfia) commemorates Leonhard Rauwolf (1535–96), German botanist and physician. He collected plants and made an early herbarium on his travels through the Near East in 1573–75.

node -- The point at which there is attached growth, as in the place where each leaf is attached.

cm -- A centimeter which is about 0.4 inches.

m -- A meter is about 10% larger than a yard.

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

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.

terminal -- Located at the end (the tip or the apex).

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

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.

lobe -- Rounded parts of a leaf (or other organ). Lobes bulge out about 1/4 of the leaf diameter.

calyx -- the sepals of a flower, typically forming a whorl that encloses the petals and forms a protective layer around a flower in bud.

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

drupe -- A fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a hardened shell containing a seed. A peach is a drupe. A raspberry is composed of drupelets.

whorled -- The leaves are arranged in whorls of 3 or more leaves along the stems of a plant.

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.

corolla -- The name for all the petals of a flower taken together.

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

genus -- A subdivision of a botanical Family in which all members have a significant number of similar characteristics.