You may not know about it yet, but at present, there is already more or less fifty-two thousand eight hundred eighty-five medicinal plants available. Yet, this article will not talk about all these plants rather; we will discuss to you the legendary ti leaf plant. You may not know about it, but we are sure that you are already familiar with the ti leaf plant. For those of you who have seen someone dancing the hula dance, if you may have noticed, the leaves that are used in creating the skirt comes from the ti leaf plant. If you want to know more about it, we suggest that you continue reading this article until the very end.
For those of you reading this article who were given a chance to visit Hawaii in the past, surely, you have observed the unique flora and landscape of the region. Out of all the various plants that you can see in Hawaii, the ti leaf plant is one of the most commonly observed, especially since it plays a big role in the culture of Hawaii. According to some experts, they claim that the ti leaf plant is not native to the islands of Hawaii. As a matter of fact, these historians claimed that the Polynesians are the ones who brought the ti leaf plant to Hawaii when they settled there around four hundred to five hundred A.D. With regards to Polynesians, they are skilled mariners hence, they tend to leave their islands when they became overpopulated or when the conditions will not allow them to farm.
As a way to prepare for the long journey, what Polynesians often do is that they brought with them plants that they can cultivate, pigs, dogs, chickens, tools and other necessities that will allow them to survive in the new island. The thing that they use for their travel are dugout canoes that were created correctly. One of the plants that they brought with them when they settled in the islands of Hawaii is the ti leaf plant. The survival of the ti leaf plant in the long journey is said to become of the special meaning it holds.
There was a folklore regarding the ti leaf plant wherein it has been said that it is sacred to both the Hawaiian God of Fertility, Lono and also, the Hawaiian Goddess of Hula, Laka. And since the ti leaf plant holds a great deal of significance to the Gods, priests are utilizing them during ceremonies as a way to ward off any evil spirits. As for the ancient Hawaiians, they actually took advantage of the folklore and made use of the leaves of the ti leaf plant as their primary source of food, utensils and also, medicine.