What is Māmaki?

By Māla Māmā Farm

The islands of Hawai’i, are some of the most isolated pieces of land that exist on this earth. As King David Kalākaua states in The Legends and Myths of Hawai’i, “Deeply embosomed in the silent wastes of the broad Pacific, with no habitable land nearer than two thousand miles, these islands greet the eye of the approaching mariner like a shadowy paradise, suddenly lifted from the blue depths by the malicious spirits of the world of waters, either to lure him to his destruction or disappear as he drops his anchor by the enchanted shores”. Hawai’i is also home to some of the rarest plant and animal species in the world. Māmaki, a special plant found only in Hawai’i, having its many uses by ancient Hawaiians as well as growing in popularity today, will be the main focus of this article. The role of māmaki in Hawai'i’s biodiverse ecosystem will be explained. Also, māmaki's cultural significance and usage in ancient Hawai’i, along with its utilization today will be further discussed.

Māmaki, a member of the nettle family, is a native (endemic) plant to Hawai'i, with several species. It thrives in higher elevations ranging from 1,500-4,000 feet, growing as a small shrub all the way up to a 15 foot tree. The leaves of the different varieties vary from light to dark green with a light underside (almost grayish). The veins of the leaf vary from a light green to a reddish almost purple color. It has a smooth bark on which the leaves grow in uniform as they fill each branch with vegetative growth. A greenish white flower will cluster at the leaf axils. The female flowers will produce a berry that almost resembles a small raspberry starting hard in body and green in color, and eventually ripen and soften in body while turning into a whitish gray to a pale yellowish brown color. Each berry contains a vast amount of mamaki seeds (which are tiny in size), while each tree can have a vast amount of berries. Māmaki is known to attract the Kamehameha butterfly and the Koa butterfly, which are both native (endemic) to the islands of Hawai’i. This proves the significant role that native mamaki plays in the biodiversity of Hawai’i’s ecosystem, as well as the importance of preservation and abundance of native species in their natural environments in all ecosystems found throughout the world. In the article Native Plants and Biodiversity, author Ryan Pankau explains, “Simply put, the choice of plants we add to our gardens and landscapes can have an impact on biodiversity, with native plants providing the greatest benefit.  Our native plant life supports native insect populations, which in turn support larger animals creating a “food web” of interconnected species".

According to Beatrice Krauss, author of Plants in Hawaiian Medicine, "In Hawaiian medicine, plants are used in the healing process, and this treatment is also known as herbal medicine". The Hawaiian medicinal kahuna, known as the la’au lapa’au, were herbal practitioners. During the era of ancient Hawai'i, the native Hawaiians who inhabited these islands found māmaki to be a highly beneficial plant. “In old Hawai’i, before foreign contact from the west, Hawaiian healers had hundreds of native plants, in addition to those they had brought from the Marquesas, for uses of medicine. However, there is record of probably not more than a hundred at most known today as having been used for medicine” (Krauss, 2001). Having the ability to understand the medicinal properties that certain plant species contain, and ultimately using them to heal was an essential part of the ancient Hawaiians way of survival. Māmaki was used to heal various ailments as an herbal medicine. Māmaki was used to treat thrush (known as ‘ea in Hawaiian), starting with the mother ingesting the māmaki berry while she was pregnant and eventually feeding it to her baby. This practice was known to reduce the occurrence of thrush. The leaves of the māmaki were brewed in hot water to create a tonic that one would ingest while feeling weak or in need of hydration (Krauss, 2001). Ancient Hawaiians found that hot water activated the elements in the māmaki leaf resulting in highly medicinal properties. Along with its leaves being used as medicine, the bark of the māmaki was said to have been utilized for material making. Kapa was beaten from the fibrous inner bark, and cordage was made from isolated fibers (Krauss, 2001).

As mentioned earlier, ancient Hawaiians found that hot water activated the elements in the māmaki leaf resulting in highly medicinal properties. Today, māmaki has become a popular ingredient in tea brewing with special interest not only in its smooth-earthly flavor but for the medicinal properties that it possesses as well. According to the article from Sage Journals, Investigation of Antioxidant, Anticancer, and Chemopreventive Properties of Hawaiian Grown Māmaki tea (Pipturus albidus), “Māmaki tea is reported to contain diverse antioxidants, such as catechins, chlorogenic acid, and rutin, along with antibacterial and antiviral activities. The medicinal uses of Māmaki tea range from antioxidant, mild natural laxative, anti-allergic effect, promoting cardiovascular and liver health, to decreasing stress levels”. Research from University of Hawai'i shows that māmaki tea has higher antioxidant levels than green tea, oolong tea, and black tea.The results of scientific research proves that the ancient Hawaiians truly understood how valuable the māmaki plant was. 

There is a growing market for māmaki tea today, with the increase of information and public awareness. Local farmers are finding value as the market steadily grows, ultimately providing another cash crop for the agricultural industry here in the islands. Companies are finding that māmaki tea as a beverage has become a popular choice amongst tea drinkers and health enthusiasts, capitalizing on its ability to attract consumers. Māmaki tea has gained so much popularity that it even found its way into retail stores outside of Hawai’i. Local plant nurseries also provide young māmaki starters, ensuring and preserving its population for the future generations to come. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has recognized the plant’s commercial potential too, awarding the University of Hawai'i a $55,000 specialty block grant to assess different māmaki varieties and expand access to greater-yielding māmaki plants for interested growers.

Since the arrival of the first foreigners that visited Hawai'i in 1778, many of the island's natural resources, lands, native plant and animal species, historical artifacts, and traditions have been lost. The population of Native Hawaiians has decreased dramatically in this timeframe as well. Only are we left with fragments and pieces that remind us of what Hawai’i once was. The māmaki plant can be regarded as one of these special pieces. Through the preservation of the species and traditional knowledge, the Hawaiian people are able to use māmaki as a building block in the perpetuation and renaissance of their culture. The purpose of this article was to inform you as the reader about the māmaki plant, along with its significance in Hawai'i’s ecosystem, culture and the health of its people. With its inevitable popularity and market value increase, the māmaki plant should be respected in the highest regard, for it is part of a Hawaiian culture that has suffered great amounts of tragedy from the desecration of its land and natural resources, colonialism, racism, indoctrination, monetization, and cultural appropriation. The main purpose for the use of Māmaki should be to heal it's Native Hawaiian community and those within it.

Work Cited:

Kalakaua, David King of Hawaii, and Rollin Mallory Daggett. “Hawaiian Legends:Introduction.” The Legends and Myths of Hawaii: The Fables and Folk-Lore of a Strange People, Mutual Publishing, Honolulu, HI, 1990, pp. v-v. 

Krauss, Beatrice H. Plants in Hawaiian Medicine. Bess Press, 2001. 

Pankau, Ryan. “Native Plants and Biodiversity.” University of Illinois Extension, 10 May 2019, https://extension.illinois.edu/blogs/garden-scoop/2019-05-10-native-plants-and-biodiversity. 

Sun, Alanna, et al. “Investigation of Antioxidant, Anticancer, and Chemopreventive Properties of Hawaiian Grown Māmaki Tea (Pipturus Albidus).” Natural Product Communications, vol. 17, no. 3, 7 Mar. 2022, https://doi.org/10.1177/1934578x221080945.