Freycinetia arborea

Freycinetia arborea, ʻIeʻie, is a densely branched, brittle, woody climber in the family Pandanaceae, endemic to the Pacific Islands.

ʻIeʻie is found in moist forest on the Hawaiian, Marquesas, Austral, Society, and Cook Islands.

[4] The shiny green leaves have pointed ends and are spiny on the lower side of the midrib and along the edges.

[2] The bracts and fruit of the ʻieʻie were a favorite food of the ʻōʻū (Psittirostra psittacea), an extinct Hawaiian honeycreeper that was formerly a principal seed dispersal vector for plants with small seeded, fleshy fruits in low elevation forests.

[3] The vine (or rather the split aerial roots) also became the framework for helmets worn by the aliʻi (mahiole iʻe).

A ʻieʻie climbing on a Eucalyptus