History shows that when Hawai’i was first settled, there were few edible plants: mostly ferns and some tree fruits. That is one reason why the first Polynesian voyagers brought select, important plants with them, in their traditional canoes. These plants, known as “canoe plants” hold a special significance in the history and culture of Hawaii.
There are estimated to be over 20 canoe plants brought to Hawaii, and the majority of them had not only nutritional but also cultural and even religious importance to the first Hawaiians.
It is thought that the first Hawaiians settled on the islands as early as 300 AD, so these canoe plants have been grown in the Hawaiian Islands for thousands of years.
In this post, I’ll share about the Top 10 Canoe Plants of Old Hawaii, and how they are still used today and why you should include them in your tropical garden, too.
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Top 10 Canoe Plants of Old Hawai’i
Kalo
Kalo, also known as Taro root, is one of the most notable plants in Hawaiian culture. Kalo is considered a sacred food and is still used today for ceremonies and important family events.
There may have been up to 300 ancient varieties that were brought by the first Hawaiians, but today, we know of over 80 different types of kalo grown in Hawai’i.
Kalo is a tuber, and one of the best forms of carbs (complex carbs), and its leaves are also full of vitamins and are a good source of iron, too. Most types of kalo grow well in damp, wet areas and require at least 7-9 months of continual warm weather to mature, which is why Kalo grows well in Hawai’i.
In Hawai’i, a baby’s first food is often cooked, mashed kalo, known as ‘poi’. Other ways to eat and enjoy kalo include: baked, roasted, boiled or cooked and mashed. The leaves can be served like cooked spinach, but they must be fully-cooked before eating. Do not consume raw kalo leaves.
Kalo no longer one of the only games in town. Since western contact, a whole variety of edible food crops have found their way to Hawaiiʻs shores, expanding the culinary potential of the islands. You can learn about other tropical greens that grow great in the tropics in this post here.
Coconut (Niu)
Some of the plants the first Hawaiians brought with them probably were already growing on the Islands, one example of this is coconut.
It’s assumed that coconut palms were native to the islands because of how their seeds disperse, which is by sprouting where they drop or sometimes carried off by the current to sprout on some distant land, like Hawaii.
Either way, the ancient Hawaiians that settled the islands brought with them known varieties of coconut, some that were short when they fruited, others that produced better meat, and others that produced more quality juice.
One of the reasons coconuts were so important to the first Hawaiians is because they provided a clean source of one of human’s most basic needs: water. Coconut water is potable and immediately safe to drink, which is why it would be a staple for the ancient Hawaiians.
Coconuts also had cultural significance, and were usually planted with the birth of a new child.
Coconut trees take a long time to produce fruits – up to 10 years! Sometimes 18 years like mine! (but you might get lucky and see your first coconut after 6 years).
Trees start producing a higher yield close to 15 years, so this plant requires commitment and patience.
Fresh coconut cream and coconut water are staples for traditional Hawaiian dishes. The trunk was used to carve drums, the coconut hulls were carved into traditional musical instruments, and the outer fibers of the coconut were used to create strong ropes.
Bamboo
Bamboo is a canoe plant that was brought to Hawai’i, but was not cultivated for food purposes. Bamboo was planted as a fast-growing resource which could act as a building material, for fishing poles, to make ceremonial knives, and for crop irrigation, given the bamboo’s natural tube-design.
Today, bamboo remains an important plant and is starting to gain recognition as a sustainable material – but this is something the first Hawaiians knew all along.
I highly recommend growing bamboo because it has so many uses and can act as a natural fence for your property, too. If you want to know more about harvesting and preserving bamboo so that you can build with it, check out my in-depth article on how to do just that.
Sugarcane (Ko)
Sugar cane has been grown commercially throughout Hawaii, but it first started off as a valued plant for every Hawaiin family. Sugar cane is easy to grow, it thrives in warm, wet conditions and it provides sweetness to life.
While today there may be controversies over cane plantations and harvesting of sugarcane, when the first Hawaiians brought it on their canoes, this plant was an important and pleasant addition to everyday life.
In ancient times, there may have been dozens of varieties of sugarcane, with colors ranging from green to purple. Today, it is still easy to grow your own sugarcane on your homestead, and fun to extract the juice yourself.
Ulu
Ulu is the traditional name for breadfruit. Breadfruit trees were some of the first trees planted in groves by the initial Hawaiian settlers because this starchy, dense fruit held an important place in the traditional Islander diet.
Also, the strong Ulu trees provided wood for canoes or timber for building homes, making this a necessary canoe plant for the first Hawaiian communities thousands of years ago.
Today, these massive trees are a great addition to a homestead, because they provide both fruit and shade. I like to plant them near my sheep pasture, because they give the sheep a cool place to relax on a hot day. I also enjoy eating the breadfruit, and these trees are prolific producers.
I feel one of the greatest things we can do is learn to propagate this amazing plant so that we may share the food security it delivers to our neighbors. To learn how to propagate breadfruit, click on over to this post.
Mountain Apple
The vibrant pink mountain apples that are a signature of mountainous areas of Hawai’i are not ‘native plants’, but rather, canoe plants brought by the first Hawaiians in ancient times. These fruits are found on other Pacific Islands, and parts of India and Malaysia, too.
Historically, mountain apple trees also provided medicine (found in the bark) and offered strong timber for beams of a house. Mountain apples are a favorite fruit throughout Hawaii when they are in season.
While you may not build a house with them today, mountain apple trees are a great addition to your homestead, offering beautiful shade and delicious fruits.
Sweet Potato (Uala)
You can get a wide variety of sweet potatoes throughout Hawaii: from white to purple-flesh, and brown to orange skin! The diversity is due to the many sweet potato varieties brought as canoe plants by the first Hawaiians.
How did ancient polynesians have sweet potatoes to bring with them to the islands if they are endemic to South America? Many believe Hawaii wasnʻt the only place these ancient polynesians visited.
Today, Hawaiian purple sweet potatoes are a common traditional Hawaiian food. They are a great addition to any homestead because they are an easy-to-grow vegetable that loves the Hawaiian volcanic soil. These hearty vegetables provide plenty of vitamins and minerals like copper, manganese and iron, too.
They are easy to plant: just get a fresh sweet potato, wait for it to spout, and plant the sprouted slips. So easy!
Kava (Awa)
This traditional plant provided two essentials for life: medicine and alcohol. It’s easy to see why the first Hawaiians wanted to ensure they brought it in their canoes. As a medicine, kava is said to relieve headaches and arthritis pain.
The Kava plant is a relaxant with sedative properties and can be used for recreational or religious purposes. It is especially relaxing when paired with a traditional Hawaiian, lomi-lomi massage.
The kava plant grows as a large shrub and prefers well-draining soil and lots of rain. The root is the part that is consumed and you can chew pieces of the raw, uncooked root (but remove the peel and clean the pieces well).
Banana
Bananas were likely one of the first fruits brought by early Hawaiians in their canoes. We know that bananas were an important source of food in ancient times, and they are still enjoyed today: ripe, cooked, baked or fried.
You should plant bananas on your tropical homestead: they are easy to grow and provide an abundance of fruit. But, when you are first starting out, keep in mind that banana plants aren’t really trees, although we think of them like that.
The root system of bananas is different from that of trees, and therefore they grow together in clumps. Transplanted bananas thrive best in clumps of at least 6 plants (can be various sizes, but count that there are that many little plants starting).
They love water and lots of sun. Give them good-draining soil and you’ll be rewarded with delicious fruits after about a year, with very minimal effort.
Wauke
Wauke was an important canoe plant for the first Hawaiians because through the fiber of this tree they made cloth. Instead of animal skins or woven materials, the ancient Polynesians (and Hawaiians) used the fibers of this tree to make their bedding, clothes and more.
The skin of the tree would be stripped and soaked, then laid on rocks and beaten to make it stick together, then left to dry in the sun. This process caused the fibers to mat together and create a ‘piece’ of strong cloth. More strips of the tree’s skin would be added, dried and beaten, until it created a large piece suitable for use.
The finished product was white and might be dyed, if desired. Traditional forms of cloth-making and decorating with stamps and natural dyes are returning throughout the islands, making these trees more popular, once again.
Why did Hawaiians bring plants with them?
While the Hawaiian Islands had an abundance of fresh fish and seafood, edible plants were lacking. The first Hawaiians brought plants as they established their communities as sources of food, medicine, building materials and more.
Many of the plants they brought were common throughout the Pacific Islands and we can speculate which ones were likely brought in on canoes. However, because so much time has passed, most of these plants are considered ‘native’ now.
How canoe crops fit into your tropical garden
I don’t suggest you plant all plants on this list in your tropical garden, but I think it’s definitely worth it to elevate your homestead with some of these ancient canoe plants.
The first thing we know about canoe plants is that they grow well in Hawaii: they love the humidity, the sun and the volcanic soil. All of these plants will grow easily and have developed natural immunities to pests and diseases (that’s why they’ve lasted so long!).
Instead of bringing in imported plants that need lots of attention and special care, consider planting these Hawaiian canoe plants on your homestead, first.
Bamboo, coconut, kalo, bananas and sweet potatoes are just a few of the easy-to-grow canoe plants of Old Hawai’t that would grow well your tropical garden because they are ideal tropical plants. They would all fit well into a tropical food forest, which you can learn more about designing in this post.
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