''Charpentiera'' is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

in the family

Amaranthaceae Amaranthaceae is a family of flowering plants commonly known as the amaranth family, in reference to its type genus '' Amaranthus''. It includes the former goosefoot family Chenopodiaceae and contains about 165 genera and 2,040 species, making i ...

. It consists of five species

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

, where they are known as ''pāpala'', and one species found only on the island of

Tubuai Tubuai or Tupuai is the main island of the Austral Island group, located south of Tahiti. In addition to Tubuai, the group of islands include Rimatara, Rurutu, Raivavae, Rapa and the uninhabited Îles Maria. They are part of the Austral Isla ...

in the

Austral Islands The Austral Islands (french: Îles Australes, officially ''Archipel des Australes;'' ty, Tuha'a Pae) are the southernmost group of islands in French Polynesia, an overseas country of the French Republic in the South Pacific. Geographically, t ...

. All species are

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s, some reaching more than in height. The genus is named for Arsène Charpentier (1781-1818), professor of pharmacy at Antwerp from 1810 to 1814 and at Cherbourg from 1814 to 1816.

Species

*'' Charpentiera australis'' (

) *'' Charpentiera densiflora'' Sohmer ( Kauai) *'' Charpentiera elliptica'' ( Hillebr.)

A.Heller Amos Arthur Heller (March 21, 1867 – May 19, 1944) was an American botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientis ...

(Kauai) *'' Charpentiera obovata'' Gaudich. (main islands of

) *'' Charpentiera ovata'' Gaudich. (

Oahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O� ...

Molokai Molokai , or Molokai (), is the fifth most populated of the eight major islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16 km) at its greatest length and width with a us ...

, Maui,

island of Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii ) is the largest island in the United States, located in the state of Hawaii. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcanic islands in the North Pacific Ocean. With an area of , it has 63% of th ...

) *'' Charpentiera tomentosa'' Sohmer **''Charpentiera tomentosa'' var. ''maakuaensis'' (Oahu) **''Charpentiera tomentosa'' var. ''tomentosa'' (Oahu, Molokai, Lānai, Maui, island of Hawaii)

Uses

Native Hawaiians on the northwest coast of the island of Kauai used lightweight ''pāpala'' branches in the art of ''ōahi''. Branches were ignited and tossed off of high sea

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on ...

s, where they were buoyed by ridge lifts and burned like

fireworks Fireworks are a class of low explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large number of devices ...

References

Amaranthaceae Amaranthaceae genera Trees of Hawaii Endemic flora of Hawaii {{tree-stub