Ukiuki or Hawaiian dianellaAsphodelaceaeEndemic to the Hawaiian IslandsOahu (Cultivated)Early Hawaiians used the fruit for seed lei and juice extract used as pale to purple-blue dye when mixed with lime for kapa.The leaves were also braided into cordage and for hale (house) thatching. The fruit were used in lei making.NPH00003nativeplants.hawaii.edu/plant/view/Dianella_sandwicensis
Ukiuki or Hawaiian dianellaAsphodelaceaeEndemic to the Hawaiian Islands (All the main islands except Niihau and Kahoolawe)Oahu (Cultivated)Early Hawaiians used the fruit for seed lei and juice extract used as pale to purple-blue dye when mixed with lime for kapa.The leaves were also braided into cordage and for hale (house) thatching. The fruit were used in lei making.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.NPH00002nativeplants.hawaii.edu/plant/view/Dianella_sandwicensis