Limu, otherwise known as rimu, remu or imu (from

Proto-Austronesian Proto-Austronesian (commonly abbreviated as PAN or PAn) is a proto-language. It is the reconstructed ancestor of the Austronesian languages, one of the world's major language families. Proto-Austronesian is assumed to have begun to diversify in ...

*''limut'') is a general Polynesian term for edible plants living underwater, such as

seaweed Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of ''Rhodophyta'' (red), '' Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ''Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ...

, or plants living near water, like

algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...

. In Hawaii, there are approximately one hundred names for kinds of limu, sixty of which can be matched with scientific names. Hundreds of species of marine algae were once found in Hawaii. Many limu are edible, and used in the cuisine throughout most of

Polynesia Polynesia ( , ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in ...

Uses

Several species of limu are used as food throughout Polynesia and is typically eaten raw as accompaniment to meals, usually fish. In Hawaii, limu was seen as a major component of the Hawaiian diet alongside fish and poi. Hawaiians cultivated several varieties of seaweed for food as well as to feed fish farmed within fish ponds. As many as 75 types of limu were used for food, more than the 35 used in

Japanese cuisine Japanese cuisine encompasses the regional and traditional foods of Japan, which have developed through centuries of political, economic, and social changes. The traditional cuisine of Japan (Japanese language, Japanese: ) is based on rice with m ...

, which is also well known for its use of seaweed. In modern times, limu is often used as a condiment, typically in raw fish dishes such as

poke Poke may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Poke (Ender's Game), Poke (''Ender's Game''), a fictional character * Poke (game), a two-player card game * Poke, a fictional bar owner in the television series ''Treme (season 2), Treme'' * The ...

. Limu was used in ''

hoʻoponopono () is a traditional Hawaiian practice of reconciliation and forgiveness. The Hawaiian word translates into English simply as ''correction'', with the synonyms ''manage'' or ''supervise''. Similar forgiveness practices are performed on islands thro ...

'', the ancient Hawaiian process of conflict resolution. Injured and accused parties gathered to pray, seek forgiveness and eat leaves as a symbol of reconciliation. It is also used in traditional

hula Hula () is a Hawaiian dance form expressing chant (''oli'') or song (Mele (Hawaiian language), ''mele''). It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Native Hawaiians who settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of the oli ...

attire and as medicine. Due to the shape of its foliage, the Maori also applied the name to the native tree ''

Dacrydium cupressinum ''Dacrydium cupressinum'', commonly known as rimu, is a species of tree in the family Podocarpaceae. It is a dioecious evergreen conifer, reaching heights of up to , and can have a stout trunk up to in diameter. It is endemic to New Zealand ...

''.

Types

''Limu'' comes from multiple

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

Cook Islands

Easter Island

French Polynesia

Hawaii

New Zealand

Niue

Samoa

Tonga

Tuvalu

Threats

Limu has become increasingly difficult to find because of over-picking, pollution, and urban development, especially construction in

watershed Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

s. Many important kinds of ''limu'' grow best in

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...

water where fresh water empties into the sea. Another threat to ''limu'' is the spread of marine alien

invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

, such as members of the genus ''

Kappaphycus ''Kappaphycus'' is a genus of red algae. Species are distributed in the waters of East Africa, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hainan Island, the Philippines, and Micronesia.Guiry, M. D. In: Guiry, M. D. & G. M. Guiry. 2013''Kappaphycus''.AlgaeBase. Nationa ...

(''smothering seaweed), ''Gracilaria salicornia'' (gorilla ogo), ''Avrainvillea amadelpha'' (leather mudweed), ''

Hypnea musciformis ''Hypnea'' is a genus of Rhodophyta, red algae, and a well known carrageenophyte (plant producing polysaccharide carrageenan). Taxonomy and nomenclature ''Hypnea'' is a genus of red seaweed under class Florideophyceae, order Gigartinales, and ...

'' (hook weed) and '' Acanthophora spicifera'' (prickly seaweed).

References

External links

* * {{portal bar, Food Edible seaweeds Native Hawaiian cuisine Niuean cuisine Samoan cuisine Tokelauan cuisine Tongan cuisine Tuvaluan cuisine Wallis and Futuna cuisine Algae of Hawaii Polynesian cuisine