''Santalum ellipticum'', commonly known as ''Iliahialoe'' ( Hawaiian) or coastal sandalwood, is a species of

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 ...

in the

mistletoe Mistletoe is the common name for obligate hemiparasitic plants in the order Santalales. They are attached to their host tree or shrub by a structure called the haustorium, through which they extract water and nutrients from the host plant ...

family,

Santalaceae The Santalaceae, sandalwoods, are a widely distributed family of flowering plants (including small trees, shrubs, perennial herbs, and epiphytic climbersHewson & George t al.br>''Santalaceae'' taxonomy, 1984, pp. 191-194.) which, like other memb ...

, that is

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 ...

to the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost ...

. It is a sprawling shrub to small

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 ...

, typically reaching a height of and a canopy spread of , but is extremely variable in size and shape. Like other members of the genus, ''S. ellipticum'' is a

hemi-parasite A parasitic plant is a plant that derives some or all of its nutritional requirements from another living plant. They make up about 1% of angiosperms and are found in almost every biome. All parasitic plants develop a specialized organ called th ...

, deriving some of its

nutrients A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow, and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi, and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excr ...

from the host plant by attaching to its roots.

Habitat and range

''Iliahialoe'' inhabits dry forests, low shrublands, and lava plains throughout the archipelago, including the

Northwestern Hawaiian Islands The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands or Leeward Hawaiian Islands are a series of islands and atolls in the Hawaiian island chain located northwest (in some cases, far to the northwest) of the islands of Kauai and Niihau. Politically, they are all ...

, but has been

extirpated Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...

from

Laysan Laysan (; haw, italics=no, Kauō ), located northwest of Honolulu at , is one of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It comprises one land mass of , about in size. It is an atoll of sorts, although the land completely surrounds a shallow c ...

and

Kahoolawe Kahoolawe (Hawaiian: ), anglicized as Kahoolawe (), is the smallest of the eight main volcanic islands in the Hawaiian Islands. Kahoolawe is located about southwest of Maui and also southeast of Lānaʻi, and it is long by wide, with a total ...

. Although never recorded on

Niihau Niihau ( Hawaiian: ), anglicized as Niihau ( ), is the westernmost main and seventh largest inhabited island in Hawaii. It is southwest of Kauaʻi across the Kaulakahi Channel. Its area is . Several intermittent playa lakes provide wetland habi ...

, its historic presence on the island is almost certain. ''S. ellipticum'' is generally found at elevations from sea level to , but populations can occur as high as . An isolated individual was observed growing at on the island of Hawaii.

Uses

Non-medicinal

The ''laau ala'' (

heartwood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

) of ''iliahialoe'' contains valuable, aromatic

essential oils An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the o ...

. Trees were harvested for export to China between 1791 and 1840, where the hard, yellowish-brown

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of ligni ...

was made into carved objects, chests, and

incense Incense is aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremony. It may also ...

. The ''iliahialoe'' trade peaked from 1815 to 1826.

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawai ...

s used the wood to make ''pola'', the deck on a ''waa kaulua'' ( double-hulled canoe). Powdered ''laau ala'' was used as a

perfume Perfume (, ; french: parfum) is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. ...

and added to ''

kapa Kapa is a fabric made by native Hawaiians from the bast fibres of certain species of trees and shrubs in the orders Rosales and Malvales. Description and uses It is similar to ''tapa'' found elsewhere in Polynesia (the Hawaiian phoneme cor ...

'' cloth.

Medicinal

s combined leaves and bark of the ''iliahialoe'' with ''naio'' (''

Myoporum sandwicense ''Myoporum sandwicense'', commonly known as ''naio'', bastard sandalwood or false sandalwood is a species of flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae. It is a tree or shrub highly variable in its form, the size and shape of its ...

'') ashes to treat ''kepia o ke poo'' (

dandruff Dandruff is a skin condition that mainly affects the scalp. Symptoms include flaking and sometimes mild itchiness. It can result in social or self-esteem problems. A more severe form of the condition, which includes inflammation of the skin, ...

) and ''liha o ka lauoho'' (

head lice The head louse (''Pediculus humanus capitis'') is an obligate ectoparasite of humans. Head lice are wingless insects that spend their entire lives on the human scalp and feeding exclusively on human blood. Humans are the only known hosts of t ...

). ''Iliahialoe'' shavings mixed with ''awa'' ('' Piper methysticum''), ''nioi'' (''

Eugenia reinwardtiana ''Eugenia reinwardtiana'' ( Chamorro: a'abang) is a shrub to small tree in the family Myrtaceae, (Native to tropical forests in northern Queensland, Australia; Indonesia, and the Pacific Islands). Also known as the Cedar Bay cherry. Other comm ...

''), ''ahakea'' (''

Bobea ''Bobea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. All species in this genus are endemic to Hawaii. ''Bobea'' was named for Jean-Baptiste Bobe-Moreau by Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré in 1830 in his book ''Voyage de l'Uranie''. The ...

'' spp.), and ''kauila'' ('' Alphitonia ponderosa'') was used to treat

sexually transmitted disease Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are Transmission (medicine), spread by Human sexual activity, sexual activity, especi ...

References

ellipticum Plants described in 1829 Trees of Hawaii Endemic flora of Hawaii Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Santalales-stub