Dianella lavarum

Description:

[syn. Dianella sandwicensis]Ukiuki, Hawaiian dianella*AsphodelaceaeEndemic to the Hawaiian Islands (Oahu, Molokai, Lnai, Maui, Hawaii Island)Photo: Oahu, (Cultivated)Early Hawaiian used the leaves were also braided into cordage and were used for hale (house) thatching.Juice extract used as pale to purple-blue dye when mixed with lime for kapa.The fruit was used for lei by early Hawaiians.Fruits are edible and taste like cactus or dragonfruit.EtymologyThe generic name Dianella is from the Roman deity Diana (lit., divine), goddess of chastity, hunting, and the moon, and the Latin ella is diminutive or small.The species name sandwicensis refers to the "Sandwich Islands," as the Hawaiian Islands were once called, and named by James Cook on one of his voyages in the 1770's. James Cook named the islands after John Montagu (The fourth Earl of Sandwich) for supporting Cook's voyages._____* Though apparently not fully recognized yet, there are at least three distinctive species of Dianella native to the Hawaiian Islands: Dianella lavarum, D. multipedicellata and D. sandwicensis.nativeplants.hawaii.edu/plant/