Flowers - raw or cooked. They can be cooked as a potherb[301 ]. The flowers are produced all year round[302 ]. Leaves[301 ]. They can be fermented into a sauce, used as a substrate for the tempeh starter culture, or boiled in salted water to make the beverage known as Onge tea[301 ]. The young leaves are eaten in times of famine[307 ]. The green bark is eaten in times of famine[307 ].

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.


The flowers and the sap of the plant are widely utilized in a variety of medicines[302 ]. The flowers are laxative[307 ]. An infusion of the leaves is used to aid in the delivery of a child[311 ]. Postpartum discharges are treated with an infusion of the leaves[311 ]. The leaves are used in treating coughs and sore throats[311 ]. They are made into a paste and used as a poultice for sores, cuts, open wounds, boils and swellings[311 ]. The bark and leaves of H. tiliaceus are used medicinally, especially to relieve coughs, sore throats and tuberculosis[303 ]. In Tonga, the bark and the young leaves are used to treat skin diseases[311 ]. The bark, on its own, is used in treating eye infections and injuries, and stomach-aches[311 ]. An infusion of the bark is taken three times if the placenta is retained after the birth of the child[311 ]. The fluid from the bark is used to promote menstruation[311 ]. The Cook Island Maoris use the bark, together with coconut bark or husk, to make an infusion used for bathing fractures[311 ]. In Fiji, the leaves are wrapped around fractured bones and sprained muscles[311 ]. Juice from the leaves is used in treating gonorrhoea[311 ]. Acetone extracts from the leaves of H. tiliaceus showed antibacterial activity[303 ]. A treatment made from the leaves, roots and bark is given for fever[311 ].

Agroforestry Uses: Although its natural habit is a tree, the plant is amenable to pruning and can be grown as a hedge[302 , 307 ]. It is commonly planted as living fencing, whilst a creeping variety is planted as a wind-break in Hawaii[339 ]. It has also been used to reforest eroded land, contain beach erosion, coastal rehabilitation, as a shade tree and a wind-break, especially along the seashore[303 , 307 ]. Other Uses The bark fibres can be used for cordage[302 ]. It is used to manufacture a good quality rope which is can be used for caulking boats and is also used for plaiting mats[303 ]. The green bark peels off easily in wide strips[307 ]. It is used for making a fine fibre and is also beaten out to make traditional tapa bark cloth[307 ]. Tapa cloth is produced by beating strips of bark on a flat surface with a wooden mallet. A very fine cloth can be made in this way, the more the bark is beaten the finer the cloth becomes. Larger sizes can be made by overlapping 2 pieces of bark and beating them together[171 ]. The fibre from the bark has a wide range of other applications, including being used as canoe caulking; to make cordage for clothing and dancing skirts and kilts; coconut-climbing bandages or foot harnesses; mats; sandals; sewing tape; paint brushes; slings; kava strainers[339 ]. The wood, when dried for six months, is used for fireworks[339 ]. The heartwood is a dark greenish brown; the sapwood whitish. The wood is light in weight, moderately soft and porous. The wood is useful for light construction, net floats and corks[302 , 307 ]. An important wood for the Polynesians, who use it for a wide range of purposes, including the outriggers of canoes, carving, house rafters, pig-tethering posts, spreaders, bailers, booms and occasionally hulls, fishing rods, hoists and floats, fishnet frames and handles, bows, fruit-picking rods, tools etc[307 , 339 ]. The wood is used for fuel[307 ]. It makes a decent firewood, especially for slow smoking, and is used in making fire by friction[339 ]. Paper manufactured from H. Tiliaceus pulp is of low quality as the fibres are short (0.7-1.3 mm) and is only suitable for wrapping paper[303 ].

Special Uses