Natural History

Starfruit, Carambola
(Averrhoa carambola)

The fruit's scientific name honors Averrhoes, a 12th-century Arabic physician and philosopher. Carambola is the Portuguese name for the fruit. Like many other fruits found in Hawaii, the carambola is believed to be native to the Malayan archipelago and was brought to America at an early date. In India it has a Sanskrit name, "karmara," which means "appetizer. The fruit is also called "starfruit" and "five corners."

Nobody knows when the tree was introduced into Hawaii. It may have been brought in from southern China by early Chinese immigrants or by sandalwood traders.

The carambola tree grows up to 20 or 30 feet tall and prefers a warm, moist climate with deep, rich soil and protection from the wind. Mature trees like full sun, but during its early years, the plants do require shading. The young trees tend to require careful attention while they mature.
The tree has delicate light green foliage and small pink, purple or white flowers that grow in clusters on short stems along a central flower stem. It begins to bear fruits in its third year. Normally there are two or three crops a year and its season in Hawaii is usually May to June and again in November to December, making it possible to have fruit intermittently from May through December. 

The unusually shaped oval fruits are greenish-yellow and deepen to yellow-gold when ripe. They are three to seven inches long and four to eleven inches in diameter with five clearly defined, lengthwise ridges. The thin skin is edible. Although the fruit contains a small quantity of pectin, it is not recommended for making jelly because it tends to develop an unpleasant bitter flavor when it is cooked or canned.

The fruit is grown commercially in Florida, New Zealand, Thailand, Africa, Israel and Central and South America. In Hawaii, the trees are mostly garden ornamentals and not a major commercial crop.

 
[ Top ]

Arts & Culture

Rubber, First, Last And All The Time....

Many agricultural ventures have been tried along the Hana Coast. The abundance of rainfall and the rich verdant growth of the vegetation make it seem like an ideal place to have some sort of cash crop.

Nahiku is a fertile ahupua'a that was cleared and terraced for irrigated taro cultivation by the Hawaiians. To the east of Nahiku out to Hamoa, the land slopes gently down to the ocean. No large gulches or streams run through the ahupua'a, although there is plenty of rain. Along the shore there was a hala forest that extended from 'Ula'ino to Hana. The forests above Nahiku were traditionally forested with native trees such as koa, 'ohi'a lehua, and sandalwood. Many plants that were used for native medicine also grew there.

The need for automobile tires made rubber a valuable product in the late 1800's. Beginning in 1899, the Nahiku Rubber Plantation (a joint venture by A&B's Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar and Maui Agricultural Company) began planting thousands of rubber trees on the seaward side (makai) of the road. After some initial experimentation in producing rubber, the company incorporated in 1905 and on February 4, 1907, the Nahiku Rubber Plantation was officially established. It was the first rubber plantation on American soil.

The American and Ko'olau Rubber Companies also established rubber plantations in the district shortly afterwards. At one point there were more than 25,000 rubber trees of different varieties growing in and around Nahiku.

However, the quality and quantity of rubber produced by these plantations, despite the hard work of the laborers (who were paid 50 cents for a ten-hour day with a 30-minute lunch break) was not good enough to make a substantial profit for the investors. The companies began to phase out production as early as 1912. The oldest of the rubber companies, the Nahiku Rubber Plantation, closed on January 20, 1915. Stands of rubber trees persist in the district to this day.

At the height of the rubber production, Nahiku had a Chinese grocery and post office, a plantation general store; Protestant, Mormon and Catholic churches and a schoolhouse attended by twenty children. One visitor to the area in 1910 said, "Every place has its peculiarities and characteristics; so with Nahiku. It is rubber, first, last and all the time there."

After the rubber plantations closed, some residents moved out of Nahiku. Those who stayed resumed cultivating bananas and taro for food. Some tried growing bananas as a cash crop and when this didn't work began growing roselle for jelly. Eventually these attempts also failed. The exodus out of Nahiku to the "outside" continued.

While all of this was going on, additional irrigation ditch systems were built to carry the free-flowing waters of the Ko'olau streams from Nahiku through Haiku over into Puunene to irrigate the dry plains there. Construction of these ditches began in 1903 and continued until 1920.  The days of the independent subsistence farmer was waning.

The impact of these irrigation systems upon the rural Hawaiian taro farmers was particularly devastating. Cut off from the free flow of stream water into their taro ponds, many of the farmers had to give up taro farming and move to the city to find new livelihoods.

According to U.S. Census Bureau statistics, in 1930 there were only 182 people living in Nahiku. Of them, 101 were Hawaiian. By 1941 only fifteen families and two non-Hawaiian families lived there, clustered around a one-room school and the churches.

In December, 1942, Territorial Governor Ingram Stainback tried to help the World War II effort by sending 40 prisoners from Oahu Prison to the Keanae Prison Camp (now the YMCA camp) to revive the old Nahiku rubber plantation. The plan was to produce 20,000 to 50,000 pounds of crude rubber annually. The plan did not work.

[ Top ]

Braddah-Nics Lexicon

STANDARD:  It's done, a lost opportunity.
BRADDAH-NICS:  No mo' chance, brah, pau a'ready.

* * * * * *

STANDARD:  It wasn't me; I don't act like that.
BRADDAH-NICS:  I nevah do like that.

* * * * * *

STANDARD:  You aren't doing your share of the work.
BRADDAH-NICS:  You so slack!

[ Top ]

Local Grinds

Mango Bread

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons soda
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons vanilla
• 3/4 cup salad oil
• 2 cups chopped mangoes
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts
• 3 beaten eggs

Procedure:

Preheat electric oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, soda, and cinnamon in mixing bowl. Stir in sugar, coconut, and nuts. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into a greased 9 x 5 x 3in loaf pan and bake for an hour and 15 minutes or until brown. Makes a great Hawaiian holiday gift!

[ Top ]