Kī Photograph by Heidi Fickinger
1. n. Ti, a woody plant (Cordyline terminalis aka fruticosa) in the lily family, native to tropical Asia and Australia. It consists of a branched or unbranched, slender, ringed stem, ending in a cluster of narrow-oblong, leaves 30 to 60 cm long, from among which at times rises a large panicle of small, light-colored flowers. The leaves were put to many uses by the Hawaiians, as for house thatch, food wrappers, hula skirts, sandals; the thick, sweet roots were baked for food or distilled for brandy. (Neal 203–4.) Besides green-leaved tis, which rarely fruit, many ornamental varieties are grown in gardens, having leaves wide to narrow, large to small, the colors purple, crimson, scarlet, rust, pink, or green, striped or plain. Red tis may have red flowers and berries. Green ti leaves are still believed to afford protection from spirits (wehewehe.org)
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