He'e + Alahe'e | Keiki Tee - green

100% Organic cotton | Designed in Hawaiʻi nei | Made in the USA

He'e + Alahe'e

Since we could not pass up this awesome combo, the ladies of Kealopiko offer you another pairing from the Kumulipo. A delicious iʻa (food from the ocean), heʻe is well-known and loved by many. There are three species found in Hawaiian waters: Octopus cyanea (a.k.a. "day octopus"), Octopus ornatus (a.k.a. heʻe pū loa or "night octopus"), and the very small Octopus hawaiiensis - the only species endemic to our islands. The upland friend of the heʻe, the alaheʻe tree, is less popular than itʻs charismatic ocean counterpart. This small indigenous tree grows in dry to mesic forests on all the main islands (except Kahoʻolawe and Niʻihau). Itʻs hard and durable wood was fashioned into ʻōʻō (digging sticks for cultivation) and a variety of spears (including ʻō and ihe). Could it be that spears made from this wood were used for "poking" heʻe itself? After all, ʻōheʻe is another name for this species (hmmm...), as well as walaheʻe. The blossoms of this plant have a strongly sweet odor (maybe why scientists call it Psydrax odorata) that often slips or slides (heʻe) along the breeze. The nickname "Hawaiian mock orange" should give you an idea of the headiness of this fragrance that is blown into many peopleʻs houses when their hedges burst into bloom. Ke ʻala e heʻe ana i ke ahe a ka makani - The fragrance that slips by on the gentle blowing of the breeze.