The historical biogeography of mind-altering drug plants—such as cannabis, kava, betel nut, ephedra and the opium poppy—are a specialty of a renowned environmental specialist who has served more than 50 years at the University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa.

Professor Mark Merlin’s pioneering research interests include exploring how ancient cultures used plants for healing or religious purposes, investigating how humans have changed the environment over time in places such as �鶹��ý and other tropical Pacific island groups through agriculture or urbanization, and studying how traditional knowledge of plants can help us protect the environment and support sustainability today.

Merlin, who also earned graduate degrees from UH Mānoa, recalled the many professors with whom he worked and the thousands of students that he taught. For example, he worked with UH Sea Grant longtime facilitator, the late Peter Rappa, when current UH President David Lassner was earning his PhD in communication and information sciences. Merlin also taught notable student athletes, including Jim Donovan, former UH lineman and later athletic director, numerous UH football athletes who had careers in the NFL, as well as current Rainbow Warrior football coach Timmy Chang. To all of them, as well as to all his students over his years at UH Mānoa, including many teaching assistants who have gone into positions in academia, Merlin says simply, “thank you.”

Spotlighting �鶹��ý plants

Merlin is proud of his work with a group of scholars to replace continental U.S. ecological examples, such as pine trees and squirrels, used in Pacific regional school textbooks for many years with Hawaiian native examples, including ʻiʻiwi (an endemic species of Hawaiian honeycreeper), ʻō��ʻ�� lehua (a keystone tree in �鶹��ý) and koa (species of large flowering tree native to �鶹��ý). Merlin is also proud of the two guidebooks that he created in the 1970s called Hawaiian Forest Plants and Hawaiian Coastal Plants used by a large variety of people for more than 45 years.

“These field guides got so many people interested in, first of all, exercise, getting out and hiking,” Merlin said. “Second of all, recognizing native plants versus alien plants, especially distinguishing between benign alien plants and those that have become invasive. And then overall developing interest in conservation and protection of �鶹��ý’s unique natural environment and natural history.”

Finding his research passion

Merlin grew up in the Hollywood area. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara. During his college years as a student, protests around the Vietnam War were prevalent across college campuses, Merlin said, and so was the use of psychoactive substances besides alcohol.

He was invited to apply at UH Mānoa and offered a graduate teaching position, eventually earning his master’s and PhD degrees in geography. It was here that he followed his research interest of learning more about plants and the environment.

“I said to myself, if I’m going to spend two years studying for and writing a thesis about something, it better be something interesting. I thought, ‘Back to pot, back to cannabis, back to pakalolo,’” Merlin said. “I started by asking ‘Where did this plant come from? Who started using it? Why did they use it?’ And then I did some research on that and I realized, it’s a super multi-purpose species. So that supported my growing interest in botany, ecology, and ethnobotany, in particular.”

It was this launch pad that inspired Merlin to contribute and foster environmental education and preservation of traditional ecological and ethnobotanical knowledge.

Some of his groundbreaking books, Man and Marijuana (1972), On the Trail of Ancient Opium Poppy (1984), Kava: The Pacific Drug (1992, co-authored) and Cannabis: Evolution and Ethnobotany (2013, co-authored), received critical acclaim. The latter was the co-winner of the Mary Klinger Award for Best Ethnobotany Book by the Society for Ethnobotany. In addition, his more recently co-authored book, Plants and People of the Marshall Islands (2018) was the winner of the Mary Klinger Award.

Merlin also earned numerous honors and accolades, including selection by Gov. George Ariyoshi to serve as an expert environmentalist for a state pesticide committee 1980–88, and a “Lifetime Volunteer Award” (2018) from the �鶹��ý Nature Center “in appreciation for your many years of dedicated service, devotion and commitment to connecting children and families to nature!”

—By Marc Arakaki

The Limu Eater, a book first published in 1978 by the (�鶹��ý Sea Grant) to highlight the historical importance of limu in �鶹��ý as well as one-of-a-kind, delicious recipes, is once again available to the public.

To celebrate the launch of The Limu Eater as well as the and �鶹��ý Sea Grant’s 50th anniversary, more than 150 people gathered at the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Hoʻokupu Center at Kewalo Basin on October 13 to share limu stories, memories and delicious limu dishes, and honor the importance of limu to �鶹��ý’s cultural identity and ecosystem health.

In addition, experts from UH Mānoa and (KUA) presented cutting-edge research and ongoing efforts to conserve, restore, raise awareness and promote the sustainable regeneration of limu.

Darren Lerner, director of �鶹��ý Sea Grant, said “The event celebrating the reprinting of this much-loved book was particularly meaningful as we not only celebrated the release of a publication first printed in 1978 by our program, but also the unfortunate passing of its author, Heather Fortner. While she was not able to join us in person as we had originally planned, her passion for limu and �Ჹ�ɲ���ʻ��’s history and culture will live on in the pages of her book for many years to come.”

The reprint is the result of a year-long collaboration with KUA and its Limu Hui network, which is dedicated to restoring limu knowledge, practice and abundance, and capturing the knowledge of the elders (kūpuna) who gather and care for native Hawaiian limu around the islands.

Along with fish and poi, limu was once integral in the traditional Native Hawaiian diet and was used for food, medicine, religious ceremonies and by lapaʻau healing practitioners. Although urban development, overharvesting, climate change and other pressures have caused a decline in the availability of native limu—knowledge and practice still endure. The reprint of The Limu Eater honors the centuries-old cultural practices and will be part of the living, evolving and growing practice of limu hana in �鶹��ý.

Kevin Chang, executive director of KUA, said “We are excited to partner with �鶹��ý Sea Grant to see Heather Fortner’s The Limu Eater become publicly available again as part of a greater Year of the Limu celebration. This effort is a testimony to a generation past, in the 1970’s when limu was again at the top of mind and hearts as part of a Hawaiian civic and cultural renaissance. This effort, too, was sparked from within our Limu Hui by its member and former OHA Chair Colette Machado for whom this book was a favorite. It was her dream that it be republished for the community to access.”

–By Cindy Knapman

The U.S. Mint released the design for a commemorative quarter honoring former University of �鶹��ý instructor and late legendary kumu hula Edith Kanakaʻole. The award-winning composer who taught at and the , is one of five American women to be minted on new quarters as part of the 2023 honorees for the . She joins fellow honorees such as former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Maria Tallchief, America’s first Native American prima ballerina.

“The fact that the design depicts the volcano, flowing lava, and Aunty Edith on the small face of a coin is extraordinary. Cannot have one without the other,” said Taupōuri Tangarō, a Hawaiian studies professor at �鶹��ý CC and director of Hawaiian culture and protocols engagement. “Edith is very much her natural environment as she is our mother, grandmother, great grandmother, hula matriarch, college instructor and Indigenous influencer.”

• Related UH News story: Former UH Hilo, �鶹��ý CC instructor Edith Kanakaʻole to be minted on quarter, March 31, 2022

During her time at �鶹��ý CC and UH Hilo, Kanakaʻole developed a variety of courses on ethnobotany, Polynesian history, genealogy and Hawaiian chant and mythology. To honor her monumental contributions to the UH Hilo campus and community, the humanities building at UH Hilo, which houses subjects such as languages, English, philosophy and kinesiology, is named in honor of the Keaukaha native.

The newly designed quarter will also feature an inscription in ʻōlelo �鶹��ý (Hawaiian language), “e hō mai ka ʻike” or “granting the wisdom.” The phrase comes from a well-known oli (chant) Kanakaʻole composed that asks for knowledge to be bestowed upon the chanter.

“She helped preserve and spread Hawaiian language, traditions, and history, contributing so much to the Native Hawaiian community, �鶹��ý, and our nation,” said U.S. Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, who urged the U.S. Mint to feature Kanakaʻole. “It is fitting that she be honored with this special recognition.”

Kanakaʻole founded Hālau o Kekuhi, an internationally acclaimed dance company known for its ʻaihaʻa or low-postured, bombastic style of hula. The Edith Kanakaʻole Multi-Purpose Stadium in Hilo where the world-famous Merrie Monarch Hula Festival is held is also named in her honor.

In the late 1970s, Kanakaʻole recorded Hiʻipoi I Ka ʻĀina Aloha (Cherish the Beloved Land), which later captured a Nā Hōkū Hanohano award for Best Traditional Album of the Year. The album features mele (songs) that express her love for the land and includes compositions such as “Ka Uluwehi O Ke Kai” that celebrate the various limu of the sea, and is also a popular song performed by hula dancers of all ages.

Kanakaʻole died in 1979.

The late legendary kumu hula and University of �鶹��ý instructor Edith Kanakaʻole is among the 2023 honorees for the announced by the United States Mint. An award-winning composer and former instructor at and , Kanakaʻole will be one of five American women to be minted on new quarters next year, joining fellow honorees such as former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Maria Tallchief, America’s first Native American prima ballerina.

During her time at �鶹��ý CC and UH Hilo, Kanakaʻole developed a variety of courses on ethnobotany, Polynesian history, genealogy and Hawaiian chant and mythology. To honor her monumental contributions to the Hilo campus, the humanities building at UH Hilo which houses subjects such as languages, English, philosophy and kinesiology is named in honor of the Keaukaha native.

Pualani Kanakaʻole Kanahele, a retired �鶹��ý CC Hawaiian studies professor and daughter of the late Kanakaʻole, released this statement on the Edith Kanakaʻole Foundation website: “My mother was a ‘pusher’ but she always did it with a smile. She pushed all six of her children, when it was not yet a natural process for Hawaiians, toward higher education to earn a degree. When she became an instructor at the University of �鶹��ý in Hilo, she encouraged Hawaiian students to 1) maintain their stay and earn their degree, 2) know who they were as Hawaiians and elevate the status of the Lāhui.”

In 1999, Kanahele helped launch at �鶹��ý CC. The program, which stresses the importance of Hawaiian cultural values and practices in higher education, is intertwined with teaching styles and lessons that stem directly from Kanakaʻole.

Taupōuri Tangarō, a Hawaiian studies professor at �鶹��ý CC and director of Hawaiian culture and protocols engagement for �鶹��ý CC and UH Hilo, put Kanakaʻole‘s service to the UH system in the context of today’s �鶹��ý Papa O Ke Ao Initiative, which was created to address the higher education needs of Native Hawaiians and make UH a model Indigenous-serving institution.

“Edith began indigenizing higher education in 1973, beginning here at �鶹��ý Community College, nearly 40 years before the �鶹��ý Papa O Ke Ao initiative was established in 2012,” said Tangarō. “She was stellar in her capacity to envision outcomes, and to intersect higher education and Indigenous culture.”

Kanakaʻole founded Hālau o Kekuhi, an internationally recognized dance company known for its ʻaihaʻa or low-postured, bombastic style of hula. Kanahele and her sister, Nālani, were both trained by their mother in the classical art form, which can account for eight generations of kumu hula. The Edith Kanakaʻole Multi-Purpose Stadium in Hilo where the world-famous Merrie Monarch Hula Festival is held is also named in her honor.

In the late 1970s, Kanakaʻole recorded Hiʻipoi I Ka ʻĀina Aloha (Cherish the Beloved Land), which later captured a Nā Hōkū Hanohano award for Best Traditional Album of the Year. The album features mele (songs) that express her love for the land and includes compositions such as “Ka Uluwehi O Ke Kai” that celebrates the various limu of the sea, and is also a popular song performed by hula dancers of all ages.

Kanakaʻole died in 1979.

Nearly a millennium before Europeans explored the Pacific, Native Hawaiians had already introduced sugarcane, known as kō, to the islands. In fact, they cultivated kō extensively in many ecosystems, using diverse agricultural systems and developing dozens of native varieties.

A new book, , written by University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa’s Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences Professor Noa Lincoln examines these native and heirloom kō, along with detailed varietal descriptions of cultivars held in collections today.

• Related UH News story: Sugarcane is not dead, just different, September 3, 2017

The book represents a decade of fieldwork and historical research by Lincoln. With more than 370 color photos, ��ō includes the ethnobotany in Hawaiian culture, outlining its uses for food, medicine, cultural practices and ways of knowing.

“They look like giant candy canes; they really grabbed my attention!” said Lincoln. “You can see why early explorers called them the ‘Noble Canes.’”

Lincoln added, “Heirloom crops are often heralded as being tastier and more nutritious than our modern varieties. This is because breeding often focuses on uniformity, disease resistance, packability and other traits. But as we breed for specific traits, we often lose others. Sugarcanes are no different, with the soft flesh of our heirloom Hawaiian canes being sweeter and juicier than modern hybrids.”

Related UH News video: Sugarcane is not dead, just different