Freycinetia arborea
Freycinetia arborea, Ieie, is a densely branched, brittle, woody climber in the family Pandanaceae, endemic to the Pacific Islands. Ieie is found in moist forest on the Hawaiian, Marquesas, Austral, Society, and Cook Islands. It grows into the forest canopy, attaching itself to a host tree using aerial roots. It may also grow as a sprawling tangle on the forest floor. The shiny green leaves have pointed ends and are spiny on the lower side of the midrib and along the edges. Leaves measure long and wide, and are spirally arranged around the ends of branches. Flowers form on spike-like inflorescences at the end of branches, and are either staminate or pistillate. Staminate spikes are yellowish-white and up to in length. Pistillate spikes are but elongate to once fruit are produced. Three to four spikes are surrounded by orange-salmon bracts. Fruit is long and contains many seeds. The bracts and fruit of the ieie were a favorite food of the ōū, an extinct Hawaiian honeycreeper that was formerly a principal seed dispersal vector for plants with small seeded, fleshy fruits in low elevation forests. It is also a favored food of the alalā, which is currently extinct in the wild.
''Uses
used ieie to make hīnai hoomoe ia, hīnai hooluuluu, and mahiole ie.
