Ahi limu poke: raw fish with limu

Limu, otherwise known as rimu, remu or ʻimu (from Proto-Austronesian *limut)[1] is a general Polynesian term for edible plants living underwater, such as seaweed, or plants living near water, like algae.[2][3] In Hawaii, there are approximately one hundred names for kinds of limu, sixty of which can be matched with scientific names.[4] Hundreds of species of marine algae were once found in Hawaii.[5] Many limu are edible, and used in the cuisine throughout most of Polynesia.

Uses

Several species of limu are used as food throughout Polynesia and is typically eaten raw as accompaniment to meals, usually fish.

In Hawaii, limu was seen as a major component of the Hawaiian diet alongside fish and poi.[6] Hawaiians cultivated several varieties of seaweed for food as well as to feed fish farmed within fish ponds. As many as 75 types of limu were used for food, more than the 35 used in Japanese cuisine, which is also well known for its use of seaweed.[5] In modern times, limu is often used as a condiment, typically in raw fish dishes such as poke.[7]

Limu was used in hoʻoponopono, the ancient Hawaiian process of conflict resolution. Injured and accused parties gathered to pray, seek forgiveness and eat limu kala leaves as a symbol of reconciliation.[7][8] It is also used in traditional hula attire[9] and as medicine.[10]

Due to the shape of its foliage, the Maori also applied the name rimu to the native tree Dacrydium cupressinum.[2]

Types

Limu comes from multiple genera[6]

Cook Islands

Image English name Indigenous name Description and use
Crowned sea bells (Turbinaria ornata) Remu taratara (Rarotonga and Mauke), Rimu taratara (Aitutaki), Limu (Pukapuka)[11]
Double-edge sargassum (Sargassum aquifolium) Rimu akau[12]
Open-sponge seaweed (Hydroclathrus clathratus) Remu oma (Rarotonga)[13]
Sargassum obtusifolium (Sargassum obtusifolium) Remu ʻūmoemoe (Rarotonga)[14]
Sea grapes (Caulerpa racemosa) Remu kai (Rarotonga and Mauke), Remu kōnini (Mangaia), Rimu kai (Aitutaki)[15]
Turkeytail seaweed (Padina boryana) Remu taʻiriʻiri (Rarotonga)[16]

Easter Island

Image English name Indigenous name Description and use
Dictyopteris australis (Dictyopteris australis) Auke
Sargassum obtusifolium (Sargassum obtusifolium) Miritoni

French Polynesia

Image English name Indigenous name Description and use
Chnoospora minima (Chnoospora minima) Imu keikei aoa (Marquesan) [17]
Cladophora patentiramea (Cladophora patentiramea) Imu ouoho (Marquesan) [17]
Gracilaria (Gracilaria) Remu ʻura (Tahitian)
Grass kelp (Enteromorpha flexuosa) Imu vai (Marquesan) [17]
Green sea cushion (Codium arabicum) Imu tutae kioe (Marquesan) [17]
Sea grapes (Caulerpa racemosa) ʻonini (Tahitian), Imu topua (Marquesan), Remu vine (Austral), Konini (Rapan) [17]
Sea lettuce (Ulva lactuca) Rimu miti (Tahitian), Imu kokuu (Marquesan) [17]

Hawaii

Image English name Indigenous name Description and use
Branched sea cushion (Codium edule) Limu wawaeʻiole
Branched string lettuce (Ulva prolifera) Limu ʻeleʻele
Crowned sea bells (Turbinaria ornata) Limu kahili
Dictyopteris (Dictyopteris) Limu lipoa once found in almost continuous beds around O‘ahu. Disappeared from Waikiki Beach in the 1960s, crowded out by pollution and the invasive Gracilaria salicornia.
Dictyota (Dictyota) Limu alani
Double-edge sargassum (Sargassum aquifolium) Limu kala employed during hoʻoponopono.
Grateloupia filicina (Grateloupia filicina) Limu huluhuluwaena or "pubic hair") – favorite of Liliʻuokalani.[8]
Gelidium (Gelidium) Limu loloa long or slender[5]
Gymnogongrus (Gymnogongrus) Limu koele dry or hard[5]
Halymenia formosa (Halymenia formosa) Lepelepe-o-Hina shawl of the goddess Hina. Shares its name with a native butterfly and a family of nudibranchs.[8]
Laurencia nidifica (Laurencia nidifica) Limu maneʻoneʻo
Laver (Porphyra) Limu luau
Ogo (Gracilaria coronopifolia) Limu manauea cooked with meats to form a savory jelly. Later diced raw with poke, mixed with chili and salt.[8]
Red sea plume (Asparagopsis taxiformis) Limu kohu
Sea lettuce (Ulva lactuca) Limu palahalaha, Pakaiea named after a shark god who was swaddled in its silken leaves.[8][18] used in hula[19]
Tattered sea moss (Hypnea) Limu hina
Tuffed seaweed (Ahnfeltiopsis concinna) Limu ʻakiʻaki

New Zealand

Image English name Indigenous name Description and use
Bubble caulerpa (Caulerpa sedoides) Rimurimu
Carrageenan weed (Gigartina) Rehia, Rimurehia
Eelgrass (Zostera) Karepō, Nana
Gracilaria (Gracilaria)
Kelp (Laminariales) Pakake, Pakaka
Neptune’s necklace (Hormosira banksii) Koiri
Sea lettuce (Ulva lactuca) Rimu kaikai
Sea rimu (Caulerpa brownii) Rimurimu
Southern bull kelp (Durvillaea) Rimurapa, Rimuroa, Kōauau
Southern laver (Pyropia) Karengo, Parengo

Niue

Image English name Indigenous name Description and use
Cactus tree alga (Caulerpa cupressoides) Limu tahi
Sea grapes (Caulerpa racemosa) Limu fua

Samoa

Image English name Indigenous name Description and use
Crowned sea bells (Turbinaria ornata) Limu lautalatala
Gracilaria (Gracilaria) Limu aau
Halymenia (Halymenia) A ʻau
Sargassum (Sargassum) Limu vavoa
Sea grapes (Caulerpa racemosa) Fuafua
Turkeytail seaweed (Padina boryana) Limu lautaliga

Tonga

Image English name Indigenous name Description and use
Cactus tree alga (Caulerpa cupressoides) Kaka [20]
Cladosiphon (Cladosiphon) Tangaʻu [20]
Flat-top sea grape (Caulerpa peltata) Fuofua [20]
Green feather algae (Caulerpa sertularioides) Louniu [20]
Hypnea charoides (Hypnea charoides) Limu vai [20]
Scalpel green seaweed (Caulerpa scalpelliformis) Palalafa [20]
Sea grapes (Caulerpa racemosa) Toke, Fuofua [20]
Serrated green seaweed (Caulerpa serrulata) Kaka [20]

Tuvalu

Image English name Indigenous name Description and use
Sea grapes (Caulerpa racemosa) Limu pukupuku

Threats

Limu has become increasingly difficult to find because of over-picking, pollution, and urban development,[21] especially construction in watersheds. Many important kinds of limu grow best in brackish water where fresh water empties into the sea. Another threat to limu is the spread of marine alien invasive species, such as members of the genus Kappaphycus (smothering seaweed), Gracilaria salicornia (gorilla ogo), Avrainvillea amadelpha (leather mudweed), Hypnea musciformis (hook weed) and Acanthophora spicifera (prickly seaweed).[22]

See also

Further reading

  • Abbott, Isabella Aiona (1992). Lā'au Hawai'i: Traditional Hawaiian Uses of Plants. Bishop Museum Press. ISBN 9780930897628.
  • Abbott, Isabella Aiona; Huisman, John Marinus (2004). Marine Green and Brown Algae of the Hawaiian Islands. Bishop Museum Press. ISBN 9781581780307.

References

  1. ↑ Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen (2010). "*limut: moss, algae". Austronesian Comparative Dictionary. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Limu: Seaweed, mosses and algae of polynesia". Te Māra Reo: The Language Garden. Benton Family Trust. 2022.
  3. ↑ "Nā Puke Wehewehe ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi". wehewehe.org. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
  4. ↑ Aiona Abbott, Isabella. "Limu" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-09-05.
  5. 1 2 3 4 MacCaughey, Vaughan (1916). "The Seaweeds of Hawaii". American Journal of Botany. 3 (8): 474–479. doi:10.1002/j.1537-2197.1916.tb05429.x. ISSN 0002-9122. JSTOR 2435240.
  6. 1 2 "Edible Limu of Hawaii". www.hawaii.edu. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  7. 1 2 Spalding, Heather. "Got limu? Uses for algae in Hawaii and beyond" (PDF). University of Hawaii. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Wianecki, Shannon (2010-03-01). "The Lure of Limu". mauimagazine.net. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  9. ↑ "New Algae Species Discovered in Hawaii's Deep Waters". www.papahanaumokuakea.gov. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
  10. ↑ Reed, Minnie (1907). Economic seaweeds of Hawaii and their food value. Washington, U.S. Government Printing Office. hdl:10125/42229.
  11. ↑ "Cook Islands Biodiversity: Turbinaria ornata - Spiny-leaf Seaweed". Cook Islands Biodiversity & Natural Heritage. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Cook Islands Biodiversity: Sargassum echinocarpum". Cook Islands Biodiversity & Natural Heritage. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Cook Islands Biodiversity: Hydroclathrus clathratus - Sponge Seaweed". Cook Islands Biodiversity & Natural Heritage. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Cook Islands Biodiversity: Sargassum obtusifolium". Cook Islands Biodiversity & Natural Heritage. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Cook Islands Biodiversity: Caulerpa racemosa - Sea-Grapes Seaweed". Cook Islands Biodiversity & Natural Heritage. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Cook Islands Biodiversity: Padina australis - Fan-leaf Seaweed". Cook Islands Biodiversity & Natural Heritage. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Conte, Éric. "La consommation des algues en Polynésie française : premiers résultats d'une enquête". Journal de la Société des Océanistes. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  18. ↑ Lincoln, Noa Kekuewa (2020-10-31). Kō: An Ethnobotanical Guide to Hawaiian Sugarcane Cultivars. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-8307-2.
  19. ↑ "Limu Palahalaha". Waikīkī Aquarium. 2013-11-11. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Ostraff, Melinda. "Contemporary Uses of Limu (marine algae) in the Vava'u Island Group, Kingdom of Tonga: an Ethnobotanical Study". University of Victoria. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  21. ↑ Hiraishi, Ku`uwehi (12 April 2018). "Cultivating a Future for Hawaiian Seaweed". www.hawaiipublicradio.org. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
  22. ↑ "Invasive Algae". Aquatic Invasive Species. 2013-12-09. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
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