Native Plants of KHP: ‘Aweoweo

Name: ‘Āweoweo or ‘Āheahea(Chenopodium oahuense)Description: An endemic shrub with silvery leaves that look like a goose’s foot, found in coastal areas, lowland dry forest and shrubland, and subalpine shrubland on nearly all the Hawaiian Islands (Wagner et al. 1999).Best Growing Conditions: Full sun to partial shade; water once a week until established and then only during drought (Culliney & Koebele 1999).Interesting Facts: Called ‘āweoweo because the crushed fruits and leaves sometimes have a fishlike fragrance. Hawaiians cooked and ate ‘āweoweo (Krauss 1993). Most Chenopodium species outside Hawai‘i are small herbs. In contrast, ‘āweoweo is a woody shrub that, in some places, grows more than ten feet tall (Carlquist 1980). More information about ‘āweoweo can be found at:http://nativeplants.hawaii.eduText & photograph by Bruce P Koebele