OHIʻA AI

Aloha! I’m Ohi’a Ai, or mountain apple in English, a canoe plant and relative of ohia lehua and yellow rose apple. 

About me:

I originated around India and Malaysia, but I grow on lots of pacific islands because of the amazing humid climates! I like to live in shady, protected valleys with plenty of rain, sometimes by myself, sometimes in groves. You can find me on windward mountainsides, up to about 1,800 ft.

I flower in Spring, and drop fuzzy hot pink stamens all over the ground, then my apples show up in the Summer. They’re bright red with sweet white pulp inside, and taste kind of like a pear (you can eat them fresh or dried). Usually I start bearing fruit after 7 or 8 years.

Appearance: 

• I’m a small tree and can usually grow up to about 20 ft tall

• I have gray, smooth, spotted bark

• My leaves are thick, oval shaped, and shiny dark green

• I have bright, star shaped flowers that grow on short stems off my trunk and main branches

• My fruit are 2-3 inches long and oval/box shaped, with thin red skin and one or two large seeds in the middle

Traditional Uses:

• My bark and leaves have been used in medicine (leaves in a tonic for sore throat, bark pounded and used on lesions and lacerations, etc.)

• My bark and roots also make a reddish-brown dye for tapa cloth, and the wood from my trunk is used to build houses