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- ›Rauvolfia
Hao
Rauvolfia sandwicensis
Rauvolfia sandwicensis, the devil's-pepper, also known as hao in the Hawaiian language, is a species of flowering plant in the milkweed family, Apocynaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. It is a shrub, a small tree reaching 6 m (20 ft) in height, or, rarely, a medium-sized tree up to 12 m (39 ft) tall with a trunk diameter of 0.3 m (0.98 ft). Hao inhabits coastal mesic and mixed mesic forests at elevations of 100–500 m (330–1,640 ft).
From the article Rauvolfia sandwicensis on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
The wood of the Hao is a yellow-ish color and the wood can produce a poisonous smoke if burned. During 1957, a study was conducted on the Hao to determine the types of alkaloid compounds within the make-up of the tree. The evidence showed that the Hao tree contained Tetraphylline, Tetraphyllicine, Sandwincine, and Ajmalicine with the alkaloid compounds having a unique relationship for the tree. The Hao trees are typically small but there have been sightings of taller-sized Hao trees on Kaua'i. One other plant that resembles that Hao tree is the Ochrosia compta or Holei tree due to both plants having similar looking flowers and sized fruits. The main differences between the Hao and the Holei trees are the leaf color and texture. The Hao leaf has a lighter green color and thinner texture compared to the Holei.
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Rauvolfia sandwicensis in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 167765.