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Rhus sandwicensis
Also called Hawaiian sumac
Neneleau (Rhus sandwicensis) is a small tree in the cashew family, endemic to Hawaii, found in dry to wet forests at 180–610 m. It is a native forest tree rather than a common garden or houseplant, so growing it is mainly a matter of matching its native forest conditions.
Rhus sandwicensis, commonly known as neneleau, neleau or Hawaiian sumac, is a species of flowering plant in the cashew family, Anacardiaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. It is small tree, reaching a height of 4.5–7.5 m (15–25 ft) and a trunk diameter of 10–30 cm (3.9–11.8 in). Neneleau inhabits dry, coastal mesic, mixed mesic and wet forests at elevations of 180–610 m (590–2,000 ft) on all main islands.
The Latin specific epithet of sandwicensis refers to the "Sandwich Islands," as the Hawaiian Islands were once called, and named by James Cook on one of his voyages in the 1770s. James Cook named the islands after John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich for supporting Cook's voyages.
Neneleau wood was used by Native Hawaiians to make laʻau lomi lomi (massage sticks) and ʻumeke (calabashes).
Fragrant sumac · Chinese sumac · Winged sumac · Sicilian sumac · Smooth sumac · Lemonade sumac · Kearney's sumac · Prairie sumac · False poison sumac · Littleleaf sumac · Sugar sumac · Potanin Sumac
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Rhus sandwicensis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
