Kaʻū News Briefs Oct. 3, 2024

KAʻŪ NATIVE PLANT OF THE MONTH is A'E (Zanthoxylum hawaiiens) in the column by author Jodie Rosam and artist Joan Yoshioka.

    Description: It is a pleasure to share October’s friend with you: meet aʻe! Aʻe is also the featured plant for the 2024 Run for the Dry Forest, happening October 19th at Puʻuwaʻawaʻa, so you get two opportunities to get to know more about this amazing tree. If you have never participated in the run (or walk) before, I highly encourage you to check it out. You may even walk away with an aʻe t-shirt (designed by Joan), a native plant, and a chance to see aʻe in person!
    Aʻe is a gorgeous endemic tree species in the Rutaceae or citrus family. This medium-sized tree most often grows to about 5-8m (16-25’) tall and about 25cm (10”) in diameter, though sometimes they can be much larger. Aʻe trunks are easily identifiable when walking through the forest - the pale and dark gray bark stands out among the rest. The opposite leaves are composed of 3 triangular-shaped leaflets that are a lovely shade of green. The leaflets can have a silver sheen to them from the fine hairs that grow on the surface. If you can get close enough, they are worth a sniff - aʻe leaflets smell like lemon oil. Aʻe are dioecious, meaning all flowers on a tree are either male or female. They form in clusters of about 20 and have 4 greenish-white, triangular petals. Fruits are shaped like miniature lemons and contain a single seed. Aʻe are a magnificent sight to see in Hawaiian forests, but this and all Zanthoxylum species are endangered. Wildfires, habitat fragmentation, and invasive plants, rats, and ungulates put aʻe more at risk

for extinction everyday. Like many of the species I have introduced you to, these plants need help to ensure its persistence.
    Uses: Beneath the gray bark of aʻe lies a lovely hard wood that when ground down, yields a yellow dye. The dense wood was also useful in creating kua kuku (kapa beating boards) and iʻe kuku (wooden kapa beaters), as well as ʻōʻō (digging sticks) and ōʻō ʻihe (throwing spears). I would imagine the lemony-scent yields some medicinal uses too, so if you know of any, please do share them! The fruits were likely a source of nutrition for the ʻalalā (Hawaiian crow, now extinct in the wild), and possibly the ʻōmaʻo (Hawaiian thrush).
    Habitat: Aʻe can be found at approximately 550-1,740m (1,800-5,700ft) elevation, growing on lava flows, dry forests, and mixed mesic forests - typically on the leeward sides of the islands. Formerly found on the islands of Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi, Maui, Molokaʻi, and Lānaʻi, aʻe populations have declined so much that it may be extirpated from Lānaʻi and Kauaʻi. It was no doubt much more common than it is today, but unfortunately aʻe is becoming a rarity in native forests.
    Growing and Purchasing: Because of its rarity, aʻe is not used as an ornamental (but how great would it be if the State and County adopted a policy to plant uncommon native species into their grounds instead of things like autograph tree and non-native fan palms?!?!). If you would like to see aʻe in its native habitat and learn more about this treasured tree, please visit Puʻuwaʻawaʻa this month. Hope to see you on the trail!

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EARLIER AGE DEATH IS ASSOCIATED WITH HEPATITIS C IN HAWAI'I, notes the state Department of Health in its campaign during Liver Cancer Awareness Month in October. DOH released Premature Deaths and Disparities Associated with Hepatitis C: The Hawaiʻi Hepatitis C Mortality Report. It analyzed mortality data from 2000 to 2021 to understand the burden of hepatitis C infections on local communities. DOH states that findings will guide efforts to improve liver health and reduce preventable deaths and says, "This novel report was the first comprehensive analysis of hepatitis C death data for Hawaiʻi." The most important findings include:
    People with hepatitis C die at a younger age than the general population. Most (88 percent) Hawaiʻi residents with hepatitis C-related deaths did not reach age 75, which was lower than the U.S. life expectancy in 2021.
    Many deaths occur before retirement age. Among Hawaiʻi residents with hepatitis C-associated deaths, more than 40 percent died before the average retirement age of 65 years (as compared to 23 percent for all causes of death).

    Progress is being made. Hepatitis C death rates were lower than the national average from 2017 to 2020, with 2.63 deaths per 100,000 in Hawaiʻi compared to 3.45 per 100,000 in the U.S. in 2020. However, disparities in death rates were observed for male and white residents in Hawaiʻi.
    To stem the tide of preventable deaths, the report makes recommendations on how to eliminate hepatitis C in Hawaiʻi, including universal reflex testing and increased access to curative medication. The report also prioritizes population-based data collection and analysis to share more information with community partners.
    "Deaths due to hepatitis C are completely preventable," said State Health Director Dr. Kenneth Fink. "Although Hawaiʻi has made progress in reducing these deaths, people are still dying unnecessarily from a curable infection. DOH is committed to working with our local coalition, Hep Free Hawaiʻi, and other partners to eliminate this deadly disease."
    The development of this report was the result of a multi-sector collaboration between DOH and external partners, including Hep Free Hawaiʻi and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Download the report at https://health.hawaii.gov/harmreduction/new-early-deaths-due-to-hep-c-in-hawai%ca%bbi/.
    This report aligns with Hep Free 2030, the statewide strategy to eliminate viral hepatitis in Hawaiʻi by 2030, which was developed by DOH in collaboration with Hep Free Hawaiʻi and more than 160 community stakeholders.
    For local hepatitis C screening and treatment resources, visit www.hepfreehawaii.org.
    For free local hepatitis C provider training, visit https://uhpcme.teachable.com/p/hepatitis-c-training.
    For more information on hepatitis elimination efforts in Hawaiʻi, visit www.hepfreehawaii.org/hep-free-2030.

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To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See upcoming events, print edition and archive at kaunews.com.