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Natural History

‘AKIA
(Wikstroema spp.)

‘Akia are native Hawaiian plants that may be ground cover, shrubs, or trees with many small jointed branches that repeatedly fork in pairs. Another name for them is kauhi. There are about a dozen species of the plants which are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. They like to grow in the full sun and most are found in dry districts. They are found in a variety of habitats including hillsides, dry ridges, lava flows, coastal areas, dry forests and open plains from ten to 4,000 feet elevation on Kauai, Oahu, Molokai and Maui.

Its Latin name honors J. E. Wikstrom, a Swedish botanist who lived from 1789 to 1856.

The bark from the plant provides a strong fiber used to make ropes, braids, and kapa bark cloth. It is very difficult to break off a branch of the ‘akia because the bark is extremely strong.

The leaves are mostly opposite, but sometimes a slight displacement of one of a pair occurs. They are short-stemmed, small, oval or narrow, smooth on both sides and with smooth margins. Frequently the leaves are somewhat leathery and thick.

Flowers are tiny, yellowish, four-parted tubes without petals. They are born in clusters at the tips of the branches or in the axils of the leaves. They have a heady scent and are apparently pollinated by nocturnal insects for the flowers are particularly fragrant at night.

After several months these flowers develop into firm fruits which are ovoid drupes, small (usually less than ½ inch in diameter) and short-stemmed. Their color ranges from yellow to orange to red and a juicy, thin-skinned pulp surrounds a single seed. These berries are sometimes used in a lei which was called “lei ‘akia ha’aha’a”. Many strands intertwined with maile vine make a magnificent lei.

At least one of the species is known as “the fish poison plant.” The plant root, bark, and leaves were sometimes pounded to release a chemical that is a narcotic for fish. According to ethnologist J. F. G. Stokes, fishermen used the concoction to keep from being bitten by eels when they were fishing in the saltwater tidal pools. They placed double handfuls of the plant in the fibrous sheath of a coconut leaf or in twisted bunches of grasses which were then stuck under rocks or into crevices where the fish were thought to lurk. The fish were stunned by the poison and floated to the surface where they were harvested. This method of fishing did not poison the flesh of the fish which could still be eaten.

Botanist Otto Degener says that although the plant is harmless to the touch, it is extremely poisonous if eaten. Its root and bark were used with certain parts of several other plants as an ingredient for a deadly drink that was used for the execution of criminals by order of a chief. Traditionally, the person presenting the poison in a cup told the doomed man, “He wahi mea ola ia.” (This is to keep you alive.)

Some ‘akia had medicinal qualities and the elders tell stories about stringing the fruit to provide an easy way to transport it without bruising or crushing. Ethanol extracts of at least one species of the plant has been used to help treat tumors.

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Lucky You Live Hawaii

The water is usually muddy and dark because of the run-off from the stream. Large rocks sitting on the shallow ocean bottom protrude above the surface of the water and sometimes small surf forms on the rocks. Large waves can create powerful rip tides and a lot of surge at the mouth of the bay and very large surf sometimes completely closes the narrow channel into the bay.

In pre-sugar days when the stream had a continuous flow, there were a number of terraces in the valley. According to E. S. C. Handy, “the gradually rising land of Hamakuapoko in earlier times would have been suitable for dry taro but not for wet. It was probably well-populated and cultivated....” On old land maps, the land east of the gulch was a patchwork of small landholdings, an indication that families worked and lived on this land.

The Haiku sugar plantation, organized by George Douglas in 1858, out-produced all others within four years after it was started. During that time the company built its first mill on the grounds of what is now the Baldwin estate. Cane was ground there and shipped out of Maliko Bay for 23 years.

The most famous story connected with the gulch involved Henry P. Baldwin during the construction of the Hamakua Ditch. In November, 1876, Baldwin organized the Hamakua Ditch Company to carry water by tunnel and ditch from the Nahiku district in East Maui to the dry lowlands of Central Maui for the sugar plantation in Paia that was owned by Baldwin and his partner Samuel T. Alexander. A lot rode on the completion of the irrigation system.

Earlier that year the Reciprocity Treaty signed between the Hawaiian Kingdom and the United States gave Hawaii the advantage of duty-free sugar. Alexander and Baldwin secured a water rights lease from the Hawaiian Kingdom for water rights in East Maui. The ditch had to be completed within two years or all improvements would revert to the government.

The project was the first great irrigation project in Hawaii, and as it progressed, the stakes of the young entrepreneurs’ gamble got higher. California sugar magnate Claus Spreckels secured a lease to water rights below and beyond the Hamakua Ditch from the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1876. One term of this agreement said that if the Hamakua ditch was not completed on time, Spreckels would get the water rights held by Baldwin and Alexander.

Everyone watched with great interest as the Hamakua Ditch Company crews hacked their way through 17 miles of dense, rain-soaked forest. One of the project’s major problems was crossing the deep gulches between Nahiku and Haiku. Pipes had to be run down one side and up the other. The men rappelled down the cliff faces and climbed up the other side as they worked their way towards their goal.

The workers balked when they reached Maliko Gulch, the last and largest obstacle. The extremely high, steep cliffs of the gulch were daunting. Baldwin, who had lost his right arm in an industrial accident in the mill at Paliuli in Paia in 1876, personally went to the site and lowered himself down the cliff to show the men that it could be safely done. Inspired, the workers completed the ditch just before the deadline.

In 1913, the Kahului Railroad Company constructed a steel railroad trestle across Maliko Gulch that extended the line from Paia to Haiku. At 684 feet long and 230 feet high, it was the highest railroad trestle ever constructed in Hawaii. (The Hawaiian Consolidated Railroad on the Big Island had a trestle that was longer, at 1,006 feet, but it was only 193 feet high.) The Maliko trestle was located just below Pu’u O Umi and was used to support the irrigation conduit of the Hamakua Ditch. The huge structure was dismantled and scrapped in the 1960s, but many of the old concrete foundation blocks can still be seen.

The major attraction these days at Maliko Bay is the public boat ramp, constructed in 1976. Located on the east side of the bay, the concrete ramp is well-used; there are few launching facilities on Maui, after all. Both private and commercial fishermen use the boat ramp for Maliko Bay is considered to be one of the best akule and ‘opelu grounds on Maui. To the rear of the beach is a large coconut grove with several corrals and a riding arena. Known as the Double A Arena, it was built by Danny and Wilfred Awai, who own the property. Rodeos and related events are regularly held there.

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Braddah-Nics Lexicon

STANDARD: She was getiing a bit upset.
BRADDAH-NICS: Her was coming li'la bit habut....

* * * * * *

STANDARD: I was never able to relate to him.
BRADDAH-NICS: The guy was really laters.....

* * * * * *

STANDARD: Oh, my! You really didn't have to do that.
BRADDAH-NICS: Aiee! No need, you!
 

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Local Grinds

Stuffed Lychees


Ingredients:

Procedure:

 

Drain lychees.
Place sherry, salt, and cremachees in electric mixer - beat until smooth.
Stir in remaining ingredients.
Stuff lychees with mixture.

Makes approx. 24

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Spotlight On…

Haliimaile

Haliimaile still looks like an old plantation camp even though the homes in the camp are privately owned, now, and no longer company worker housing. As a typical self-contained camp, Haliimaile had its own camp store, a theatre (long-gone now), as well as a dispensary (also defunct) and a gym and recreational activities. Parents sent their children to Makawao for schooling and on Sundays, the families attended church in Makawao as well. 

When Kamehameha III proclaimed that the Makawao area would be the nation's first experiment in private land ownership, he exempted from sale a tract of land that was one of the first used to experiment with growing sugar in the Makawao area. The Haliimaile Plantation was established in 1848 and was operated by William A. McLane. It changed hands and names a number of times in the ensuing years.

With the rise of the pineapple industry, Haliimaile became the headquarters of the newly organized Maui Pineapple Company in 1931. The area around the village are planted still in pineapple and in sugar cane.

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