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Candlenut/ Kukui Tree
Aleurites moluccana
21.3349, -157.862
Field Notes
Description:
This plant is commonly known as the candlenut tree and the kukui tree in Hawaiʻi. The roots of this tree are brown in color and found close to or on the surface of the ground. Its stem and branches are also brown and very fibrous and sturdy. The stem can reach up to 18 meters high and 12.5 centimeters in diameter. The healthy leaves of the kukui tree are green in color, have waxy leaf tips, have pinnate venation, and are about the size of the average human adult hand. This tree contains flowers that aren't seen in the photographs above. The flowers are whitish yellow and are about the size of bottle caps and smaller. These flowers have 5 petals. The fruit of this tree is known as the kukui or candlenut. It is a very fibrous fruit with one seed in the middle, much like an avocado.
Habitat:
This tree is found on all of the 8 major Hawaiian islands, usually in valleys and gulches up to 500 meters in elevation. It can also be found in moist tropical regions like Hawaiʻi.
Notes:
This plant is Polynesian introduced and is also the state tree. In ancient Hawaiian culture, the kukui was used for candles, medicines (from the sap and raw nut), and the meat inside the fruit is known as inamona and is put into a variety of the Hawaiian foods today, like poke (fish). Also, the white flowers could be used to aid in the healing of mouth sores.
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