226 J-'isli-I'disoiiiii!^ ill llie llincaiiaii Islands 



I'LAXTS L'Si:i) TN HOI, A 1- ISI 1 1 XC. 



The plants used l)y Hawaiians in liola-fishini;- were (iiiliiilni 

 (Tcphrosia piscatoria Pers. =:= T. purpurea Pers. ) and ^ikiit I ll'ik- 

 sfrociiiia sj). ), the former l)ein^- llie more lii,L;hl_\- prized. indeed 

 most of tlie l:)eUer informed Idawaiians say that tlicse were tlie only 

 sources of fish poison. One reliahle informant, however, added 

 the hitter ^oiu'd ipu aicau'a'a ( Cucnrbita iiiaxiiiia Duch. ) to the list 

 and explained that akia was not a very strong poison. ^Ikia alone 

 was sufficiently powerful to kill small fish, but to kill large ones the 

 leaves or fruit pulp of the ipu (ncaa:^'a were combined with it. 



Hillebrand'"' mentionel awa (Piper mcthysticum Forst. ) as a fish 

 poison, but no confirmation of such use is obtainable from natives 

 today. They say that aiva was used l)y fishermen, but ridicule the 

 idea of wasting it on fish. It is possible that Millebrand had in 

 mind the traditional custom of "feeding" awa to sharks in the pro- 

 cess of "creating" shark gods. Rock° adds the anapanapa or ku- 

 kiikii (Cohibrina asiatiea) to the list, with the statement that it 

 "was often used for stupefying fish." He was, however, unable to 

 recall his authority but thought it was a man from Kauai. The 

 writer has consulted old Hawaiians from Oahu, Alaui, and Hawaii 

 on the subject, and they deny that this shrub was used for narcot- 

 izing fish. We may admit the possibility that the plant was used 

 for such a purpose on the Island of Kauai. The introduced Plii- 

 meria was mentioned by one Hawaiian as being used as a fish- 

 poison, and there are probably many other plants suitable for the 

 purpose. Quicklime is said to have Ijeen used in later times, occa- 

 sionally, with aiihiihii and akia. 



.hthiihii is a small shrub, 1 to 3^^ feet high, growing in the 

 open on the rocky ground of the coastal region and of the valley 

 slopes. Its best development is reached in the dry sections below 

 the 300-foot level, and it has not been observed at a greater eleva- 

 tion than 1000 feet above the sea. Its stock is perennial, foliating 

 thickly, fruiting after heavy rains, and dying back in dry weather. 



° Hillebrand, W. F., Flora of llic llawaiian Islands, p. ^84, Heidelberg, 

 1888. 



"Rock, J. F., InditiX'iious Trees of the llavvaiian Islands, j). 283, Mono- 

 Inln, 1913. 



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