How to Use Medicinal Plants in Hawaii
Ancient Hawaiians made use of all the plants in their homeland. Some were used as food, some as medicine, some for building, cordage and fiber. The plants they used for medicine are called the la'au, or healing plants. Special practitioners called kahuna la'au lapa'au, were trained from an early age to meet with patients, diagnose their conditions and prepare and administer medicines they made from many special plants. Most of these plants still exist and--like the kahunas--you can make simple, safe, effective medicines for yourself, your family or friends. Many of these Hawaiian plants have equivalents in other locales, so if you don't live in Hawaii and you have plantain growing in your yard, for example, you can also make a simple medicine with similar plants.
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Things You'll Need
- Plantain leaves, stems and flower spikes
- Water
- Mamaki or stinging nettles
- Noni fruit
- Vodka, brandy or apple cider vinegar
- Olive oil
- Jars and other containers
- Glass pans
Instructions
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Make a poultice with plantain to help heal the skin. If you have a bug bite, minor burn or other minor skin ailment, a plantain poultice can speed the healing process. In a nonmetal pan, boil 3 to 4 cups of water. Wash 1/2 cup of plantain leaves, stems and flower spikes and chop them into ½-inch pieces. Add them to boiling water and simmer for 20 minutes. After it cools, grab a handful of the plant material, squeeze it out and tape it to your burn or bug bite. Leave it on overnight if you can. Repeat as necessary.
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Make a tea with mamaki. A member of the stinging nettles family, mamaki has no stinging hairs, so it's safe and easy to handle. Mamaki is a tonic and cleansing agent (it's a diuretic). It also can be used when you're just generally feeling rundown. Boil water in a pan or kettle, put about 2 tbsp. of chopped mamaki leaves into a cup and fill it with the boiled water. Wait about 10 minutes, strain, sweeten if you like and enjoy.
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Make a tincture with noni fruit. Noni (Morinda citrifolia) is popular as a cure-all. Wash and chop one to two very ripe, stinky noni fruit, depending on their size and the size of your jar. Place the pieces in a pint or quart jar and fill it with vodka or brandy. Cap it tightly and shake it up every day for 30 days. Then strain it and take three to four droppers of the mixture every day, mixed with fruit juice to improve the taste. This is something you can take for extended periods; it's said to help maintain good health. If you are treating a specific illness, take more. You can easily make non-alcoholic tincture with apple cider vinegar.
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Make a skin-healing oil. You can use noni fruit, plantain, comfrey, tea tree leaves and flowers and other plants to make an oil that will help heal skin problems of many kinds. Use any of the plants you have available. Gather your plant materials, wash them, pat them dry and chop them into 1/2-inch chunks. Put them in a glass jar until it's about half full, and then fill the jar with olive oil. Set it in a sunny spot for one week, and then strain. Bottle it in smaller fliptop plastic bottles and apply liberally to affected skin areas to relieve dry, chapped skin, heal sunburn more quickly and aid with minor insect bites and burns.
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Tips & Warnings
For long-term storage, refrigerate herbal oils and poultices.
It's fine to treat such things as bug bites, minor burns and simple coughs yourself, but if your condition doesn't improve soon or if it's serious, please visit your doctor.
