| Garcinia sessilis | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Malpighiales |
| Family: | Clusiaceae |
| Genus: | Garcinia |
| Species: | G. sessilis |
| Binomial name | |
| Garcinia sessilis | |
Garcinia sessilis, commonly known as heilala in Tongan, is an evergreen tree native to the Pacific regions of Tonga. [1] The heilala flower is the national flower of Tonga. [2]
Garcinia sessilis, which can also be known as heilala in Tonga or seilala in Samoa, [3] can grow anywhere from 4 to 20 meters tall and can have a bole up to 30 cm in diameter. [4] The Garcinia sessilis comes from the genus of Garcinia, which are native to regions of Asia, America, Australia, Africa, and Polynesia. With this, Garcinia sessilis is a fruiting plant native to various islands in the Pacific: Solomon Islands, Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga. The tree produces flowers that range in color from pale yellow or pink tinged, to a coral red or carmine, and the fruits range from a yellowish white to red at maturity. [4] Garcinia sessilis can have many uses, ranging from medicine and food, to creating material objects from various parts of the tree. In the country of Tonga, the Garcinia sessilis is an ornamental plant, having been seen as both sacred and representing royalty. [5]
The Garcinia Sessilis is from the genus of Garcinia, a genus of flowering plants that are native to various places across the world, including: Asia, America, Australia, Africa, and Polynesia. This species of Garcinia are specifically located in various islands of the Pacific, including: Solomon Islands, Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga.
The Garcinia Sessilis is a fruiting plant indigenous in the Pacific, specifically on the Solomon Islands, Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga. Here, the plant grows in a multitude of varying habitats, ranging from both wet and dry forests, on the edges of mangrove swamps, in open thickets, as well as dense or dry forests. [4] Garcinia Sessilis seemings grow and can thrive in all environments on their islands, ranging from sea level up to around 1,150 meters. With this, the Garcinia Sessilis does not appear to be at any significant risk, being classified as “Least Concerning” by the IUCN Red List of threatened species. [5]
The Garcinia sessilis has a variety of uses across the islands that it inhabits. Probably the most obvious use could come from the fruit, which is edible. The fruit is identifiable as a red, obovoid around 4 centimeters long, and can be eaten raw. [5] Along with being edible, the Garcinia sessilis also has various medical uses. The first of which uses the leaves of the plant rather than the fruit. Crushing the leaves in some water creates an eye wash used for various eye related problems. The bark of the plant can also be used medicinally. [5]
Alone with being used for food and medicine, the Garcinia is used for more material items. The flowers of the tree can be used to scent coconut oil or are commonly turned into necklaces. Wood is also used from the tree, which is used to build homes on its native islands. The people that have come to inhabit these islands seemingly use all parts of this plant, leaving none to waste as everything has a use. [5]
The Garcinia sessilis has become a largely important plant in Tonga. Planted as ornamental, the Tonga revear the heilala as sacred, and is used as a symbol of royalty. With this, Tonga also made their national flower the Red-Blossomed Heilala and have a festival celebrating the heilala, called the Fourth of July. [6]
The history of Tonga is recorded since the ninth century BC, when seafarers associated with the Lapita diaspora first settled the islands which now make up the Kingdom of Tonga. Along with Fiji and Samoa, the area served as a gateway into the rest of the Pacific region known as Polynesia. Ancient Tongan mythologies recorded by early European explorers report the islands of 'Ata and Tongatapu as the first islands having been hauled to the surface from the deep ocean by Maui.
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Oceania.
Garcinia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Clusiaceae native to Asia, America, Australia, tropical and southern Africa, and Polynesia. The number of species is disputed; Plants of the World Online (POWO) recognise up to 400. Commonly, the plants in this genus are called saptrees, mangosteens, or garcinias, and is one of several plants known as by the name "monkey fruit".
Cananga odorata, known as ylang-ylang or cananga tree, is a tropical tree that is native to the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Queensland, Australia. It is also native to parts of Thailand and Vietnam. It is valued for the essential oils extracted from its flowers, which has a strong floral fragrance. Ylang-ylang is one of the most extensively used natural materials in the perfume industry, earning it the name "Queen of Perfumes".
Calophyllum inophyllum is a large evergreen plant, commonly called tamanu, oil-nut, mastwood, beach calophyllum or beautyleaf. It is native to tropical Asia and Wallacea. Due to its importance as a source of timber for the traditional shipbuilding of large outrigger ships, it has been spread in prehistoric times by the migrations of the Austronesian peoples to the islands of Oceania and Madagascar, along with other members of the genus Calophyllum. It has since been naturalized in regions in the East African coast. It is also a source of the culturally important tamanu oil.
Pandanus tectorius is a species of Pandanus (screwpine) that is native to Malesia, Papuasia, eastern Australia, and the Pacific Islands. It grows in the coastal lowlands typically near the edge of the ocean. Common names in English include thatch screwpine, Tahitian screwpine, hala tree and pandanus. The fruit is edible and sometimes known as hala fruit.
The paper mulberry is a species of flowering plant in the family Moraceae. It is native to Asia, where its range includes Taiwan, mainland China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, Myanmar, and India. It is widely cultivated elsewhere and it grows as an introduced species in New Zealand, parts of Europe, the United States, and Africa. Other common names include tapa cloth tree.
Fagraea berteroana, commonly known as the pua keni keni, pua kenikeni or perfume flower tree, is a small spreading tree or a large shrub. It is known as the pua-lulu in the Samoan Islands, and as pua in Tonga and Tahiti.
The Tuʻi Tonga Empire, or Tongan Empire, are descriptions sometimes given to Tongan expansionism and projected hegemony in Oceania which began around 950 CE, reaching its peak during the period 1200–1500.
Spondias dulcis, known commonly as June plum, is a tropical tree, with edible fruit containing a fibrous pit. In the English-speaking Caribbean it is typically known as golden apple and elsewhere in the Caribbean as pommecythere or cythere. In Polynesia it is known as vī.
The Polynesian starling is a species of starling of the family Sturnidae. It is found in the Samoan Islands, Fiji, Niue, Tonga, the Santa Cruz Islands and Wallis and Futuna. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and tropical moist forests. Various subspecies exist throughout this wide range, some darker in coloration and some lighter. Its call is a raspy buzz or rattle. Diet is fruit and insects.
The Pacific imperial pigeon, Pacific pigeon, Pacific fruit pigeon or lupe is a widespread pigeon species in the family Columbidae. It is found in American Samoa, the Cook Islands, the smaller islands of eastern Fiji, Kiribati, Niue, the smaller satellite islands of Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Wallis and Futuna Islands.
The many-colored fruit dove, also known as manuma in the Samoan language, is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It occurs on islands in the south-west Pacific Ocean where it is found in Fiji, the Samoan Islands, and Tonga. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. Today, the birds are most often found in Fiji and Tonga. It usually feeds high in the canopy on fruit and berries, especially banyan fig. The nest is a small platform of twigs where one white egg is laid.
The insular flying fox or Pacific flying fox is a species of flying fox in the family Pteropodidae. It is geographically widespread, the most widespread flying fox in the Pacific: it is found in American Samoa, the Cook Islands, Fiji, New Caledonia, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu.
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 common, including language relatedness, cultural practices, and traditional beliefs. In centuries past, they had a strong shared tradition of sailing and using stars to navigate at night.
Inocarpus fagifer, commonly known as the Tahitian chestnut or Polynesian chestnut, is a species of flowering plant in the subfamily Faboideae of the legume family, Fabaceae. The tree has a wide range in the tropics of the south-west Pacific and south-east Asian regions, and a history of traditional use by the peoples of Polynesia and Melanesia. It is the only edible and culturally important member of the genus Inocarpus.
One of the major human migration events was the maritime settlement of the islands of the Indo-Pacific by the Austronesian peoples, believed to have started from at least 5,500 to 4,000 BP. These migrations were accompanied by a set of domesticated, semi-domesticated, and commensal plants and animals transported via outrigger ships and catamarans that enabled early Austronesians to thrive in the islands of Maritime Southeast Asia, Near Oceania (Melanesia), Remote Oceania, Madagascar, and the Comoros Islands.
The following is a list of all reported tropical cyclones within the South Pacific Ocean, to the east of 160°E, before 1900.
Wayne Arthur Whistler was an American ethnobotanist, academic and writer. Whistler, an adjunct professor at the University of Hawaii's Department of Botany, was an expert on tropical flora of the Pacific Islands, especially Samoa and Tonga.
Garcinia pseudoguttifera, known as the mo'onia tree in its native range, is a species of flowering tree in the family Clusiaceae (Guttiferae). The specific epithet (pseudoguttifera) comes from Greek pseudo and Neo-Latin guttifera.