Wealth and status in traditional Tuvaluan culture was determined by possession of pulaka and taro pits (pela)[6] and coconut trees.
[citation needed] Charles Hedley (1896) identified the uses of plants and trees that were harvested from the native broadleaf forest as including:[8] While some use is made of traditional flora, modern Tuvalu imports building materials and other products to replace the things traditionally harvested from the native broadleaf forest.
[10][11] In 1892 Captain Davis of HMS Royalist, reported on trading activities and traders on each of the islands visited:[12] In modern times there is lower demand for copra and coconut oil as other commodities can be substituted for what were the earlier uses of these products.
[citation needed] Grown in large pits (pela)[6] of composted soil below the water table,[13] pulaka is the main source for carbohydrates.
[20] Besides rising saltwater levels, "changing lifestyles and eating habits" also threaten the cultivation of the crop,[3] a process that began during and after World War II, when American occupying troops supplied the islands with imported foods and many pulaka pits are no longer maintained.
The Tuvaluans benefited from the canned food supplied by the American forces, although the change in diet continued after the war, which resulted in long term impacts on health.
[23] On Funafuti, the Fatoaga Fiafia Garden grows vegetables, including cucumbers, beans, pumpkins and Chinese cabbages, and tests salt-tolerant crops, such as a hybrid pawpaw.