RE: Punaculture, part II - or, My Land in Hawai'i

[John Schinnerer <John-Schinnerer@data-dimensions.com>]

Aloha,

-----Original Message-----
From: Ava Devenport [mailto:essenheal@iname.com]

>But, I noticed the remark regarding 'nasty invasive weeds', do you know 
>what the weeds are?  If you can identify them for me, I may be able to 
>offer you some great insights into making these weeds a viable portion of 
>your land, possibly giving you uses for them that you may not have 
>considered.  And tips on keeping them 'in check'.

Thanks, and I don't know most of their names (there's only about three main
ones)...nor have I heard or seen any redeeming qualities any of them have,
other than cutting and using some as rough mulch (as long as there's no
viable seed on them).  I've done a bit of that - but in the tropics, where
so many plants propagate by vegetative reproduction, a cut piece of plant
left on the ground might just start growing again instead of rotting as one
would wish!  So I've been somewhat reluctant to mulch with plant material
that I don't know the viability of... :-o  If I get some names, I will get
back to you about this. 

Actually, I do have some ideas for the guava - which is not too fast-moving,
but is invasive - building material and furniture uses for the wood.  Don't
much care for the fruit myself, but maybe I'll acquire a taste... :-)

>Also, as a charter member of United Plant Savers, I'd like to ask if you 
>are aware of the great efforts in Hawaii to save the Kava Kava population.


Yeah - it's called 'awa in Hawaiian - there is one native variety, the one
the Polynesians brought with them, plus some more recent imports from other
parts of Polynesia.  More info on 'awa at:

http://www.hawaii-nation.org/canoe/awa.html

Note that the above site and much other 'awa info refers to processed 'awa
root as a narcotic, which is apparently incorrect.  It is more correctly
classified as a soporific, not a narcotic...I don't know myself what the
chemical/biological difference is but I know that a narcotic is probably a
lot easier to make "illegal" than a soporific.  I do have a couple small
plants on my land, starts from a friend nearby, hopefully thriving...

The dark side of the recent popularity of 'awa products, used other than
traditionally and bioregionally, is the same as most other such plants - a
combination of piracy and depletion of wild-growing plants and destruction
of existing ecosystems in order to grow chemically-dependent monocultures of
'awa.  :-p

John Schinnerer