'Ahakea

Bobea is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. All species in this genus are endemic to Hawaii.^[1] Bobea was named for Jean-Baptiste Bobe-Moreau by Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré in 1830 in his book Voyage de l'Uranie.

The wood of Bobea is hard, wearable, and yellow. It was used for the gunwales of Polynesian voyaging canoes. The gunwales of modern canoes are sometimes painted yellow in imitation of the wood that is no longer widely available.

Species

• Bobea brevipes A.Gray – ʻAhakea lau liʻi (Kauaʻi, Oʻahu)^[2]
• Bobea gaudichaudii (Cham. & Schltdl.) H.St.John & Herbst – ʻAhakea lau nui (Kauaʻi, Molokaʻi, Maui, island of Hawaiʻi)^[2]
• Bobea sandwicensis (A.Gray) Hillebr. – ʻAhakea^[3] (Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Maui)^[2]
• Bobea timonioides (Hook.f.) Hillebr. – ʻAhakea (Maui, island of Hawaiʻi)^[2]

References