I returned home late and I exclaimed, “I still have to plant something!!!”
With the flashlight on, I went into the nursery to grab the Alii‘poe (Canna). Julia received 4 seeds from her coworker and she managed to sprout one of them. Apparently the tubers are edible and starchy. More importantly the seeds are used to make jewelery and also to fill up ‘uli‘uli, a Hawaiian rattle instrument used for hula.
I love it when we get these unusual native plants and then end up learning so much about them. Hopefully we can make our own ‘uli‘uli soon.
Originally posted on 2021-01-22, part of the daily planting journal behind Ha’a Chocolate’s food forest on Hawai’i Island.