# Myoporum sandwicense

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Myoporum_sandwicense
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Myoporum_sandwicense.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myoporum_sandwicense
> Source revision: 1355311275
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

***Myoporum sandwicense***, commonly known as ***naio***, **bastard sandalwood** or **false sandalwood** is a species of [flowering](/source/Flowering_plant) plant in the figwort [family](/source/Family_(taxonomy)), [Scrophulariaceae](/source/Scrophulariaceae). It is a tree or shrub highly variable in its form, the size and shape of its leaves, in the number of flowers in a group and in the shape of its fruit. It is native to the [Hawaiian Islands](/source/Hawaiian_Islands)[1][2] and the island of [ʻEua](/source/%CA%BBEua) in [Tonga](/source/Tonga).[3]

## Description

*Myoporum sandwicense* grows as either a small tree, large tree, or dwarf shrub, depending on the elevation and conditions. As a small tree, it reaches a height of 9 metres (30 ft) with a trunk diameter of 0.3 metres (0.98 ft). The largest naio have a height of 18 metres (59 ft) and a trunk diameter of 0.9 metres (3.0 ft). At the [tree line](/source/Tree_line), naio grows as a 0.6-metre (2.0-foot) shrub. The bark on older specimens is often dark, rough and furrowed.[4] The leaves are arranged alternately, often crowded near the ends of the stems, mostly 60-135 mm in long, 11-25 mm in wide, elliptic to lance-shaped and with a distinct mid-vein on the lower surface.

Flowers are present all year and are arranged in groups of 2 to 6 in leaf [axils](/source/Axil) on stalks 4.5-18 mm in long. They are a tubular bell shape with a fragrant odor and there are 5 lance-shaped [sepals](/source/Sepal) and 5 [petals](/source/Petal) forming the tube. The tube is generally white or pink with darker blotches at the base of the lobes and the tube is usually 1.5-3.5 mm in long with lobes about the same length. The fruit is a waxy white [drupe](/source/Drupe) that is 8 millimetres (0.31 in) in diameter, juicy, and bitter to taste. The fruit usually dry out and remain attached to the branch.[1][2][4]

## Taxonomy

The species was first formally described as *Polycoelium sandwicense* by [Alphonse Pyramus de Candolle](/source/Alphonse_Pyramus_de_Candolle) in 1847. In 1862 [Asa Gray](/source/Asa_Gray) renamed the species *Myoporum sandwicense* in *[Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences](/source/Proceedings_of_the_American_Academy_of_Arts_and_Sciences)*.[3][5] The [specific epithet](/source/Botanical_name) *sandwicense* refers to the Sandwich Islands, the name given by [James Cook](/source/James_Cook) to the [Hawaiian Islands](/source/Hawaiian_Islands), where the [type](/source/Type_(biology)) specimen was collected.[1]

There are two subspecies:[1]

- *Myoporum sandwicense* [A.Gray](/source/A.Gray) subsp. *sandwicense* which occurs on all the Hawaiian Islands and has fruit which is oval to almost spherical;
- *Myoporum sandwicense* subsp. *lanaiensis* ([G.L.Webster](/source/G.L.Webster)) Chinnock which is only found on [Lanai](/source/Lanai) and has fruit which is cone-shaped to lens-shaped.

In 1951 [Grady Webster](/source/Grady_Webster) included a form found in the [Cook Islands](/source/Cook_Islands) as *Myoporum sandwicense* subsp. *wilderi*[6] but it is now known as *[Myoporum wilderi](/source/Myoporum_wilderi)* Skottsb. [7]

Some sources describe varieties including *degeneri* Webster, *fauriei* (Levl.) Kraenzlin, *st.-johnii* Webster, and *stellatum* Webster.[8] In addition, a prostrate, shrubby variety known as *naio papa* ("flat *naio*") grows only at [South Point](/source/Ka_Lae) on the [island of Hawaii](/source/Hawaii_(island)) and is characterized by its similarities to creeping shrubs.[9]

## Distribution and habitat

The distribution of *M. sandwicense* in the United States is limited to the state of [Hawaii](/source/Hawaii). Within the state, it is found on all of the major islands[2] at elevations from sea level to 2,380 metres (7,810 ft).[10] *Naio* can be found in a variety of habitats, including [low shrublands](/source/Hawaiian_tropical_low_shrublands), [dry forests](/source/Hawaiian_tropical_dry_forests), [mesic forests](/source/Hawaiian_tropical_rainforests#Mixed_mesic_forests), and [wet forests](/source/Hawaiian_tropical_rainforests#Wet_forests), but is most common in [subalpine shrublands](/source/Hawaiian_tropical_high_shrublands).[2]

## Uses

### Indigenous uses

The finely-textured wood of *M. sandwicense* is hard and has a [specific gravity](/source/Specific_gravity) of 0.55.[11] [Native Hawaiians](/source/Native_Hawaiians), who called the wood *aaka*, used it to make *manu* (bow and stern ornamental end pieces) and *pale* ([gunwales](/source/Gunwale)) for *waa* ([outrigger canoes](/source/Outrigger_canoe)), *pou* (house posts),[12] *haha ka upena* (fishing net spacers),[10] and *lamalama* (long-burning torches for night fishing). The [oily](/source/Vegetable_fats_and_oils) wood was also used as a substitute for *iliahi* (*[Santalum](/source/Santalum)* spp.) due to the similarity in smell when burned.[13]

### Horticulture

*M. sandwicense* can be cultivated using [seeds](/source/Seed) separated from the fruit - the average [germination](/source/Germination) time varies by reports but is most commonly noted as taking between six and eighteen months. Propagation by [cuttings](/source/Cutting_(plant)) and [air layering](/source/Air_layering) is also possible.[2]

### Other uses

For a short time in the 19th century after most *Iliahi* *([Santalum freycinetianum](/source/Santalum_freycinetianum))* had been harvested, *naio* was exported to China, where it was made into incense and burned in [Joss houses](/source/Chinese_temple_architecture).[14]

## References

1. Chinnock, R.J. (Bob) (2007). *Eremophila and allied genera : a monograph of the plant family Myoporaceae*. 1st ed. Dural, NSW: Rosenberg. pp. 142–145. ISBN 9781877058165.

1. ["Myoporum sandwicense"](http://www2.hawaii.edu/~eherring/hawnprop/myo-sand.htm). College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Retrieved 2 December 2015.

1. ["*Myoporum sandwicense* (A.DC.) A.Gray"](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:585317-1). *[Plants of the World Online](/source/Plants_of_the_World_Online)*. [Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew](/source/Royal_Botanic_Gardens,_Kew). Retrieved 21 March 2025.

1. Little Jr., Elbert L. & Skolmen, Roger G. ["Naio, false-sandalwood"](http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/forestry/trees/CommonTreesHI/CFT_Myoporum_sandwicense.pdf). College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Retrieved 2 December 2015.

1. Gray, Asa (1862). ["Characters of some New or Obscure Species of Plants"](https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/22221#page/58/mode/1up). *Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences*. **6**: 52. Retrieved 2 December 2015.

1. Webster, Grady L. (1951). ["The Polynesian Species of Myoporum"](http://herbarium.ucdavis.edu/publications/webster/2.Pacific%20Science%201951.pdf). *Pacific Science*. **5** (1): 52–77. Retrieved 2 December 2015.

1. ["Myoporum sandwicense (Bastard Sandalwood, Naio, Sandal-wood)"](http://zipcodezoo.com/index.php/Myoporum_sandwicense). Potomac, Maryland, United States: Bayscience Foundation Inc. Retrieved 2013-03-03.

1. Barboza, Rick (24 January 2003). ["In the Garden - Naio papa"](http://starbulletin.com/2003/01/24/features/garden.html). *[Honolulu Star-Bulletin](/source/Honolulu_Star-Bulletin)*. Retrieved 2008-03-07.

1. ["naio, naeo, naieo"](http://www2.bishopmuseum.org/ethnobotanydb/resultsdetailed.asp?search=naio). *Hawaiian Ethnobotany Online Database*. [Bernice P. Bishop Museum](/source/Bernice_P._Bishop_Museum). Retrieved 2009-03-28.

1. Little Jr., Elbert L. & Roger G. Skolmen (1989). ["Naio, false-sandalwood"](http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/forestry/data/CommonTreesHI/CFT_Myoporum_sandwicense.pdf). [United States Forest Service](/source/United_States_Forest_Service)

1. Medeiros, A. C.; C.F. Davenport; C.G. Chimera (1998). ["Auwahi: Ethnobotany of a Hawaiian Dryland Forest"](http://www.hear.org/naturalareas/auwahi/ethnobotany_of_auwahi.pdf). Cooperative National Park Resources Studies Unit, [University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa](/source/University_of_Hawai%CA%BBi_at_M%C4%81noa)

1. ["Naio"](http://old.kcc.hawaii.edu/campus/tour/plants/pnaio.htm). *Native Hawaiian Plants*. [Kapiʻolani Community College](/source/Kapi%CA%BBolani_Community_College). Retrieved 2008-03-07.

1. Thrum, Thomas George (1891). [*Hawaiian almanac and annual for 1892*](https://books.google.com/books?id=2uwKAAAAIAAJ&q=naio). [Honolulu](/source/Honolulu), Hawaiʻi: Press Publishing Co. Steam Print. p. 93. [OCLC 746499177](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/746499177). Retrieved 2013-03-03. [Alt URL](http://evols.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/handle/10524/662/Thrums-1892.pdf?sequence=2) *See also [Thrum's Hawaiian Annual](/source/Thrum's_Hawaiian_Annual)*

## External links

- ["Naio"](http://old.kcc.hawaii.edu/campus/tour/plants/pnaio.htm). *Native Hawaiian Plants*. Kapiʻolani Community College.
- [*Myoporum sandwicense* (naio) information](http://www.hear.org/species/myoporum_sandwicense/) from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR)
- [*Myoporum sandwicense* (naio) images](http://www.hear.org/starr/plants/images/species/?q=myoporum+sandwicense) from Forest & Kim Starr

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Myoporum sandwicense](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myoporum_sandwicense) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myoporum_sandwicense?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.