Family: Sapindaceae
Attractive glossy dark green pinnate foliage and showy shiny marble-like fruits adorn the mānele tree. Cream-colored flowers are produced in striking terminal triangular shaped clusters. As trees age, the smooth light-colored bark can become fissured and eventually sheds off in large scales to expose a new smooth bark layer. Mānele is also partial-fully deciduous as it seasonally loses its leaves.
In the wild, you can find mānele growing near Kīlauea, Mauna Loa, and Hualālai volcanoes within dry to moist forests. Mānele can grow in well draining rocky or sandy soils as well as dense loamy or clay soils. This indigenous tree is widespread in the tropical Americas like Brazil, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, and Florida.
This highly adaptable tree is a useful small to medium ornamental. Trees in Hawaiʻi can reach 25-50 feet in 15-20 years with proper care. Tolerant to heat, aridity, wind, salt, poor soil, and drought once established, mānele is a superb specimen for use as park, shade, yard, or street tree. The hardwood is resistant to breakage, fruits are persistent, and trees produce moderate litter. Young trees need to be pruned to produce an aesthetic single trunk look. When the tree is young, use a slow-release fertilizer (13-13-13) and watch out for red spider mite infestations.
Mānele is not recommend to be planted near areas with young children or pets as the seeds and leaves are toxic. Some cultures use the toxic seeds for fish poison, insecticide, and certain traditional medicines. Mānele is easily propagated from seeds. You may need to soak fruits in water first to make it easier to remove seeds. Next, scarify the seeds and soak for 24 hours in warm water. You should see germination in a week or two if done properly.
The beautiful black seeds can be strung as permanent lei, while the fruit pulp was used as soap for shampooing hair and washing clothes. The species name saponaria refers to its saponin-rich fruits, which can create a soapy lather when mixed with water. Mānele also produces a beautiful hardwood still used in woodworking.
Plant Uses:
- Cultural significance
- Lei flower
- Medicinal
- Ornamental
- Privacy / screening
- Shade
- Specimen
- Windbreak
- Woodworking
