Brighamia rockii

Description :

Pua 'ala or lulaCampanulaceae (Bellflower family)Endemic to the Hawaiian Islands (windward Molokai, Kalaupapa to Halawa, extant; Lnai, Maunalei Valley, extinct; Maui, extinct)IUCN: Critically EndangeredOahu (Cultivated)Pua ala means "fragrant flower."Single flowerwww.flickr.com/photos/dweickhoff/4822616714/in/dateposted/Habitwww.flickr.com/photos/dweickhoff/4822617018/in/photostream/Hawaiians of former times in Wailau Valley, Molokai cultivated pua ala around their homes to enjoy the sweet fragrant flowers. One older source (Charles Gaudichaud,1819) states that Hawaiians "used all fragrant plants, all flowers and even colored fruits" for lei making. Red or yellow were indicative of divine and chiefly rank; purple flowers and fruit, or with fragrance, were associated with divinity. Because of their long-standing place in oral tradition, the fragrant yellow flowers lula were likely used for lei making by early Hawaiians, even though there are no written sources.Botanist Otto Degener notes: "Brighamia, called by various natives puaala, alula, ohaha, was eaten raw as a supposed remedy for consumption and various other diseases."Today, residents of Kalaupapa are said to still cultivate pua ala in their gardens and use the leaves as an edible vegetable.EtymologyThe endemic genus Brighamia, is named for William Tufts Brigham (1841-1926), geologist, botanist and the first direction of the Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii.The specific epithet rockii is named for Joseph Frances Charles Rock (1884-1962), an Austrian-American botanist who did much to help our current understanding of native Hawaiian plants.nativeplants.hawaii.edu/plant/view/Brighamia_rockii