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Hāpuʻu or Hāpuʻu pulu Cibotiaceae Endemic to the Hawaiian Islands Oʻahu (Cultivated)  The pulu, the soft woolly material around the base of the fronds, was used by early Hawaiians for dressing wounds and embalming bodies.  Hawaiians, both long ago as well as more recent times, ate the uncoiled fronds (fiddles), which were considered delicious when boiled. The starchy core, though, was famine food. But it was considered the most important food in lean times and one trunk may contain 50-70 pounds of almost pure starch. It was prepared by peeling the young fronds or placing the entire trunk with the starchy center in an ʻimu or in steam vents at the volcano.   The saying was "He hāpuʻu ka ʻai he ai make" (If the hāpuʻu is the food, it is the food of death).  NPH00003 www.nativeplants.hawaii.edu/plant/view/Cibotium_glaucum